Lagoon 420 Owners & Fans

[ess105]

From past experience, price lists are updated once or twice per year. How this trickles through to actual boats is going to be down to each dealer and may be influenced by inventories. The best way to compare would be to talk to a number of dealers. The options are standard so you should be able to compare like for like. Of course, price is not the only factor. You'll have to apply your own value to service, reputation, ability to charter with same company (if that's the way you're going).

[catinq]

Hey Steve. Thinking of buying 420 Hybrid in chartering for a few years. How would you rate your experiences with the charter company and any helpful advice would be great.
What kind of % of the boat gets paid each year by chartering? THX

[ess105]

I'm happy with CatCo. If you're looking to buy any boat into charter I strongly recommend you find an outfit that can handle the sail and the charter management. CatCo have the advantage of being the main Lagoon dealer in the islands so everything goes through them. I am happy with my % but I'm lothe to quote as it's a single data point. What you really need to do is research and get multiple data points. For instance, Dignity is an owner version which we knew from the get go would be cheaper per week and may not sell quite as many weeks as a charter version. We took this route out of choice. That being said, Dignity has had a good season so far. I thought the credit crunch might impact charter sales but it's not obvious. Having said that, I only have the one year of experience.

[catinq]

Thanks for the info, very enlightening. The 420 we are looking at is an owners version at a steal so can't pass that up. It also has the G2 upgrade and was wondering if you had yours upgraded or if you were thinking about it. Also thinking about adding 6-8 solar panels and curious if you can use that source to charge the propulsion cells as well?

Mike

[ess105]

Dignity is due for the G2 upgrade very shortly. From what I am hearing it looks promising. I am also looking to add solar panels and am currently researching my options. You can only realistically consider charging the house bank with them. Even if you could find a way to charge the drive banks it's not going to make a lot of difference.

[catinq]

Thats what I assumed but still something to mull over. Just wanted to say I have been following your thread for some time as the Hybrid in my opinion is setting the bar for the future. If someone who we won't mention hadn't handled the situation so poorly and you hadn't handled it so well, I may have been discouraged from the hybrid. Thanks again for all of your opinions......very informative.

[catinq]

One other quick question for cruisers. Any opinions on watermakers would be very helpful. Looking for dependable and easy access to filters/parts

[ess105]

There are lots of threads on watermakers on this board. I am opting for a Spectra as I've heard their customer service is very good and there's a lot of good feedback on their products.

[keevers]

We are chartering Blue Water Bound this June from CatCo. Does anyone know if it will have the G2 upgrade I keep hearing about and exactly what is the upgrade to accomplish? Thanks for you help.

[Karend007]

Originally Posted by ess105

Dignity is due for the G2 upgrade very shortly. From what I am hearing it looks promising. I am also looking to add solar panels and am currently researching my options. You can only realistically consider charging the house bank with them. Even if you could find a way to charge the drive banks it's not going to make a lot of difference.

Hi, finally back in harbour - intrigued as to why you say that charging the 72v won't make much difference as they should keep the house fully charged automatically (maybe with some losses). My thoughts were that charging the 72v (ganging 6 panels in series) will effectively reduce the impact of the solar panels on the energy management system so my thinking (not checked with anyone who would know) is that you charge the 72 volt trying to keep them above 80% as long as possible so the generator doesn't kick in. I am mainly thinking about anchoring for this. You should be able to pump in just as many watt hours or amp hours this way - but I have only just started looking so will keep you up to date with what I find out. What do you think about this approach?

The scarey thing is I have just calculated my power usage with the way we have configured the boat - nice and comfortable - and it is big. I am looking at new LEDs for the saloon and also the anchor light as a start. I have also seen some solar panels that are long, not so wide and could be mounted on the top of the hull outside the lifelines that may work well. Will let you know.

On the tachos - I have done little on this but the description was a "read switch on each shaft feeding back to tachos on the helm - doesn't help much I know but again will give further details as I find out more.

So I think I have said alot but given little information and will come back with more as I get it.

By the way G2 is scheduled for me this week

Matt

[Mark424]

Originally Posted by Karend007

By the way G2 is scheduled for me this week

Matt

Matt, can you comment more on what the G2 upgrade entails? I've only seem passing references to it. Any word from the street (sea) on how good the G2 improvements are in real life? Thanks Mark

[Karend007]

Originally Posted by Alaskagator

Please give me some guidance on selecting a Dinghy for my 420. Can anyone tell me the max. length that will fit between the hulls and I would also appreciate any feedback regarding brand of dinghy and outboard. I am currently looking at an aluminum RIB (Aquapro, Titan, AB) between 9 and 10 feet long and hoping that a 6 hp Tahatsu outboard will push it. Thanks a bunch.

Hi,

I bought a Zodiac 3.1m rib coupled with a 6 hp 4stroke suzuki - nice combination for 2 adults - and have put in the second seat and went touring with another couple around a bay we were anchored in - nice and comfortable.

The bonus is I can raise the dinghy by myself by hand - no need for the winch and can leave the motor on for short passages - unless the swell is too high - we did a 10 hour trip in about 1.5m - 2m swell (or chop) oon or last trip and there were no problems.

For the two of us - 3.1 meters is more than enough

Cheers

Matt

[Sunset Key]

My wife & I own Hull # 5 of the Lagoon 420 hybrid series. We've cruised it over 3,000 miles since last August, living on board for for seven months. We had the first G2 upgrade in the US in April.

Mike Murray

[ess105]

Welcome to the group Mike. Sorry I haven't acknowledged sooner as I've been crewing aboard Lagoon 440 hull #1 from Bermuda to Azores. Currently chilling in Horta - such a cool place to be. Any chance you'll be in Caribbean next season? We're moving aboard Dignity in October and will be slowly making our way down the chain from the BVIs.

[Sunset Key]

We won't be going farther south than the Exumas next winter. We live in Fernandina Beach, so if you get up this way let us know.