KNYSNA 500se

[smj]

Originally Posted by AndyandDawn

LOVE IT !!! Just came back from Miami. The Knysna 500SE (pronounced nice-na) was by far our favorite boat that we looked at. Great looking lines and incredible detail and quality in construction and workmanship. Kevin Fouche is extremely involved with his clients and willing to customize as per your individual tastes may request. I see the posts regarding the somewhat closed in Helm, yet there is no doubt in my mind that Kevin would listen and modify the hard top to suit your particular desires. Personally I could not find a better view of all four corners on another 40' to 50' cat at the show. My wife and I at 6' 0" tall were both very comfortable in the seat at the same time feeling like this luxury rocket was begging to do 20 knots.



I can honestly say that did not care for the feeling of disconnect that a flybridge configured boat has on some of the production cats being away from the cockpit, salon, never mind the tending to anything on the deck. But hey that's the charter boat market.



The Knysna 500SE is a Boutique Custom built yacht having all the luxury and accomodation without going over board, over size and over weight like the production cats. If you are looking for a floating condo, that is fine, stay with those big beautiful production cats. Yet, when I really consider how much we want a sailboat that can quickly and safely handle a longer trip, rather than having a restrictive boat made for hopping from island to island slowly around the carribean without sacrificing all those very nice luxury appointments that a well built yacht should have then I believe this is the boat for us.



Please respond and give me some like type size / model options, as this 50' cat seemed very managebale for two people to handle. We are definitely willing to consider used.

Outremer 51, lighter and probably much faster.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, AndyandDawn.

[AndyandDawn]

Originally Posted by smj

Outremer 51, lighter and probably much faster.

Hello SMJ,

Thanks for the kind response, As a newbie and in our limited opinion the Outremer 51 seems to be a great looking, terrific boat that keeps performance in the forefront of it's design and construction. Even more so than the Knysna 500. While the Outremer is extremely accomodating and very well appointed, the trade offs that we seem to have with dagger board construction is that we like the benefits of the shallower draft, and better performance characteristics. Yet we seem to find merit in some issues I have read regarding dagger board rattle, space loss to forego the pocket space required, lifting and lower mechanism (block & tackle) maintenance, high cost of repair if the unfortunate occurance of impact.

Somewhat unrelated. The wife fell in love with a Majestic 530 built by Royal Cape Catamarans that was also at the Miami show. For the exceptionally great price of the Majestic 530 offered compared to the significantly higher price of a Lagoon 520 or a Saba 50 it is a fantastic deal if the bigger heavier catamarans are in your future The Majestic 530 had unmatched quality and workmanship and the highest and most luxurious features of all of them. Please note that Majestic 530 is equipped with bow thrusters and twin 75 Yanmars to properly accomodate it's size and weight. Gorgeous boat !!

Yet we plan on sailing more than just the Carribean and are looking for that special boat that has the features but doesn't give up that get up and go. Please keep the ideas regarding alternate makes and models coming. Greatly appreciated.

[colemj]

Bigger and heavier doesn't even begin to describe the Majestic 530. You will need all 150hp and the bow thrusters on that one…

Mark

[smj]

You will definitely give up some space to have the performance of the Outremer, all personal choice.
We saw the first Majestic built at the Miami show years ago. The quality of the glass work was miserable back then and from what I saw at this Miami show it hasn't changed much. Look above the salon windows on the outside and you will see what I mean, looks like it was faired in by a 12 year old. No doubt lots of room but the design is like strapping two monohulls together, and I imagine the performance would reflect that.

[AndyandDawn]

Thanks again SMJ for your response. I have to admit I didn't get as involved in the details with my inspection or conversation with the builder Ken Bircher on the Majestic 530 (I was just too damn comfortable) as I did with Kevin regarding the impressive construction details on the Knysna 500.

Also, you are very correct in regards personal choice and opinion when forgiving space for performance. No better indicator than todays huge charter market and the condo like features demanded by todays production built buyers. Performance seems to fit into the category of yes it has sails and it can sail.

The Outremer 51 again is an abolutely excellent boat. (In my Opinion)

[ruslan124]

I also saw the Knysna at Miami and felt that the build quality "appeared" excellent. The overall layout was also impressive with a lot of light in the cabins. I personally thought the interior styling of that particular boat was a little too old fashioned for my liking.

Did you get a chance to look at the Dean 5000 (now xquisite X5). The base price was $1.2m and that was very well equipped. For an additional $100k you pretty much have everything available on the options list. Base engines were I believe 80HP. The new Xquisite refinements that are coming look positive, in particular the new saloon arrangement. Of course if you do research Dean there are some questionable findings on past Dean boats so it will be interesting to see how the X5 shapes up under new owners.

The build quality of the 5000 appeared excellent on the show boat. Styling and layout were fantastic. I am not a big fan of the batwings but I liked this boat way more than I expected. I now need to do the research and figure out what the expected performance of the X5 will be. Hopefully the first launch and test will happen in July or August.

[AndyandDawn]

Thanks for the great response,

The Xquisite X5 won my Sexiest Looking Boat at the Show Award - IMO. The table in the cockpit was really terrific with the world map lasered etched into the top.

Yet I must admit that I absolutely busted the S#&t out of my shoulder on that bat wing or low cockpit cover when I went to step out onto the starboard deck. So much so, that my poorly placed new I-phone 6 plus jumped out of my shirt pocket and bounced around the deck until I could get my fingers wrapped around it next to the toe rail. I am glad I did not hit my head as I would have been taking a dip.

Along with being almost knocked unconcious, the salon was jammed with people so I somehow made the conclussion that I needed to move on. My wife loved the boat and everything about it. She said something about a clear or plexi-glass floor that she liked. At $300K more than the Knysna 500SE and it maybe worth it based on your opinions and what you have mentioned and is also a bargain compared to the equally sized production cats. I will take a closer look at the Dean Boats based on your comments. Please keep me updated with what you find about performance characteristics of this great looking yacht.

[ruslan124]

Originally Posted by AndyandDawn

Thanks for the great response,

The Xquisite X5 won my Sexiest Looking Boat at the Show Award - IMO. The table in the cockpit was really terrific with the world map lasered etched into the top.

Yet I must admit that I absolutely busted the S#&t out of my shoulder on that bat wing or low cockpit cover when I went to step out onto the starboard deck. So much so, that my poorly placed new I-phone 6 plus jumped out of my shirt pocket and bounced around the deck until I could get my fingers wrapped around it next to the toe rail. I am glad I did not hit my head as I would have been taking a dip.

Along with being almost knocked unconcious, the salon was jammed with people so I somehow made the conclussion that I needed to move on. My wife loved the boat and everything about it. She said something about a clear or plexi-glass floor that she liked. At $300K more than the Knysna 500SE and it maybe worth it based on your opinions and what you have mentioned and is also a bargain compared to the equally sized production cats. I will take a closer look at the Dean Boats based on your comments. Please keep me updated with what you find about performance characteristics of this great looking yacht.

The Xquisite yachts web site is fantastic and shows well the new interior with the modified lounge seating. It also openly published the pricing and options. I am no expert but my research shows the base price with the excellent as standard equipment is very appealing. It may be $300k more but I would be interested to find out what comes with the base price on the Knynsa.

How tall are you. I have no recollection of having headroom issues with the batwings but now that you mention it, they could be a problem for 6ft plus crewmembers. The wife is only 5ft5in so it was not a problem for her.

Are you sure she did not say clear DOOR? All of the shower stalls were clear. I do not recall any clear floor.

[AndyandDawn]

Went to the Xquisite Yacht website. Wow !! The X5 is very impressive to say the very least. I would think that they will fill up their build slots quickly if not already taken. Is there any available? The add on options are nice and I would almost suggest that a buyer would either have them all installed or he may want to shop for something more specific as some of these items are somewhat subject to personal opinions as to what products are better than others.

The Knysna 500SE that was at the show was priced at $890,000 as it was presented, yet did not included the dingy and outboard unless you let them show it at the show like the current owners did. There was a couple of other small items that really was not a big issue as pretty much everything was standard.

For a rough glance at the performance it would be interesting to see a comparrison of sail area to displacement ratios (SA/D) for these two yachts. The lack of netting (trampolines) on the front of the X5 seems to be well accomodated with the 3' 3" deck clearance as well as the fact that most slap occurs midship under the salon anyway.

[ruslan124]

Originally Posted by AndyandDawn

Went to the Xquisite Yacht website. Wow !! The X5 is very impressive to say the very least. I would think that they will fill up their build slots quickly if not already taken. Is there any available? The add on options are nice and I would almost suggest that a buyer would either have them all installed or he may want to shop for something more specific as some of these items are somewhat subject to personal opinions as to what products are better than others.

The Knysna 500SE that was at the show was priced at $890,000 as it was presented, yet did not included the dingy and outboard unless you let them show it at the show like the current owners did. There was a couple of other small items that really was not a big issue as pretty much everything was standard.

For a rough glance at the performance it would be interesting to see a comparrison of sail area to displacement ratios (SA/D) for these two yachts. The lack of netting (trampolines) on the front of the X5 seems to be well accomodated with the 3' 3" deck clearance as well as the fact that most slap occurs midship under the salon anyway.

The build slots are on the website. Last I looked they had only sold Hull 1. Also I do not believe the X5 price included a Dingy but it had a pretty good list of standard features.

[Sand crab]

The problem with the X5 is it's still a Dean and has all the baggage associated with that brand. FWIW the company and that boat were all called Dean, then Dream and now Xquisite. After the reorganization they still kept Mr. Dean there to help out. This company really needs a new model or several models if they are going to improve their image.

A similar issue is affecting Maverick.

[Katiusha]

There isn't much baggage associated with Deans, ask all those who circumnavigated and handled plenty of heavy weather on Deans. There are only two boats that refused to get Dean to do the proper repairs on ONE issue with a new (at a time) design with a previous model and have caused a lot of ruckus on the web: Mr Luke and some woman in the Seychelles.

It might be worth to do some fact checking and to talk with the company itself before making sweeping statements.




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[rjrendemd]

The 500 se replaces the 480. I purchased hull #1 of the Knysna 480. It was new in late 2010 and I bought it in mid 2011 When it was one year old. Within a year both hulls delaminated badly at great expense to me. The manufacturer said that their warranty did not transfer to the 2nd owner. Unless they have improved their manufacturing process I would not recommend purchasing this builder.

[BigBeakie]

Originally Posted by rjrendemd

The 500 se replaces the 480. I purchased hull #1 of the Knysna 480. It was new in late 2010 and I bought it in mid 2011 When it was one year old. Within a year both hulls delaminated badly at great expense to me. The manufacturer said that their warranty did not transfer to the 2nd owner. Unless they have improved their manufacturing process I would not recommend purchasing this builder.

As a learning opportunity, could you share what the reason for the delamination was?