Looking to view some cats in Miami area

[Mitchell87]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum though I've been reading a bunch of old threads about the various live aboard cats that are in the market. I'm hoping to buy a used cat within the next year, but of course I'd like to start figuring out what I like and don't like by viewing boats in person and if I'm lucky maybe getting to ride along for a day sail or short passage if the opportunity arises.

From what I've been reading thus far, it seems the pdq Antares 42, Antares 44, Catanas, st. Francis 44 or 48's, and maybe some others of the same quality is where my interest lies. I will be chartering a nautitech open 40 in May, but after reading various threads it seems the French cats made for charter are of less quality then what I'm interested in.

I am looking to liveaboard. I work 28 days on 28 days off so I'd have to have a good plan for safely mooring the boat when I'm away for work.

Fyi, I'll probably be looking at used boats(but not to used) under 350k, but could be more I suppose. For now though I'd like to see some nice catamarans in person and I'm hoping maybe some you owners in south Florida could hook me up and allow me to view or perhaps crew aboard your vessels.

Thanks,
Mitchell

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mitchell.

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Mitchell.

Thanks GordMay, I see you're from Thunder Bay. I sailed there on the Tallship Bounty in 2010.

[Dulcesuenos]

Best luck, where will ypu be based? Mooring a 500k+ boat in Fl would be iffy for me unless your at a mooring field. I think I'd be based in a marina. At first I agreed w you on French built boats. After having one and tearing into it and seeing alot of the construction, and having owned a South african built, and American made cats. I think it is more a question of use and maintenance. Any boat in the charter trade will get a lot of use. And a lot of careless people tromping about. I will say after looking at 4 french built cats, the french dont know how properly wire boats so that is a minor but correctable concern. The Antares are beautiful and nicely laid out. Not sure the catanas are in the same league or category,

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

Best luck, where will ypu be based? Mooring a 500k+ boat in Fl would be iffy for me unless your at a mooring field. I think I'd be based in a marina. At first I agreed w you on French built boats. After having one and tearing into it and seeing alot of the construction, and having owned a South african built, and American made cats. I think it is more a question of use and maintenance. Any boat in the charter trade will get a lot of use. And a lot of careless people tromping about. I will say after looking at 4 french built cats, the french dont know how properly wire boats so that is a minor but correctable concern. The Antares are beautiful and nicely laid out. Not sure the catanas are in the same league or category,

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I live in Miami, I work out of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. My first choice for mooring would be Dinner Key Marina, as I love the area of Coconut Grove and I have a Realestate venture in the area. I realize Dinner Key Marina is pricey so I may look at what's available on the Miami River, etc. that's good to hear that the French cats low quality may be more myth than fact.

At the moment the Antares line would be my first choice. I really like the look and of course their reputation precedes themselves. I like the idea of the galley down and having three staterooms with huge master instead of four since at the moment, it's just me.

Any recommendations on how to see some of these boats in person besides enlisting the help of a broker to show me around? I don't want to waste a brokers time since I know I won't be in the market for a year or so.

[Sand crab]

PDQ only built a few Antares 42s because they stretched the design to 44 after a year or 2 of production. Shortly after that the power cat division was sold off and they moved the sail cat production from Canada to Argentina and those are now known as just the Antares 44i, not PDQ. You will have to double your budget for an A44i. I'm not sure of the pricing on the PDQ versions because there weren't many made and there are none on YW.
There are many cats for sale in Fort Lauderdale and the biggest cat specific brokers are based there. I don't think they would mind showing you the cats at their dock. That's where you want to look.

Good luck in your search.

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

PDQ only built a few Antares 42s because they stretched the design to 44 after a year or 2 of production. Shortly after that the power cat division was sold off and they moved the sail cat production from Canada to Argentina and those are now known as just the Antares 44i, not PDQ. You will have to double your budget for an A44i. I'm not sure of the pricing on the PDQ versions because there weren't many made and there are none on YW.
There are many cats for sale in Fort Lauderdale and the biggest cat specific brokers are based there. I don't think they would mind showing you the cats at their dock. That's where you want to look.

Good luck in your search.

Thanks for the replies.

I've seen a couple pdq 42's circa 2002 go for around $350k and the circa 2005-2007 44's anywhere from $500k-700k. So I may be limited to the early pdq Antares.
Thanks for the advice about going to cat specific brokers in ft lauderdale. I'll look into that.
I remember seeing a pic of a 44i that's registered in Key Biscayne. I wonder if the owners are on this forum and are not half way across the world right now and might be able to let me see the boat.

[Sand crab]

Check out the Multihull Company, Catamaran Company and Just Catamarans in or near Ft. Lauderdale.

BTW The Manta 38/40/42 line are known for good quality, easy sailing and a good resale value. And in your budget.

[HopCar]

Welcome aboard Mitchell. It's good to have another Miami guy on the forum. Brooks Jones over at Sailing Services probably knows who owns cats in the Miami area. You might want to go over, introduce yourself, and ask him for some input.

[Thenaz007]

My experience with the larger brokers is they insist on an exclusive buyers representative contract before they will say two words to you, although they will let you see their cats.

The Strictly Sail and Annapolis shows are great to see a lot of cats.

Antares is awesome if you are going to do serious ocean sailing. Most women despise the galley down.

My plan is to stick mostly to the Caribbean in a extensively surveyed 5 year old 42-48' charter cat for 40% less. I spent a week on a 43' R&C live-aboard sailing class and it was plenty of room, impressive performance, and not too big to maneuver easily.

Prices go up exponentially for more performance, more room, more "seaworthiness".

The more I study, the smaller boat I consider, because the more I realize how big a factor marina expenses can be.

[Scaramanga F25]

Call Caroline at Catco in Ft Lauderdale.
She has been most helpfull.

954 471 5127

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Check out the Multihull Company, Catamaran Company and Just Catamarans in or near Ft. Lauderdale.

BTW The Manta 38/40/42 line are known for good quality, easy sailing and a good resale value. And in your budget.

I appreciate the info. I will look into the Manta and the companies you listed.

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Welcome aboard Mitchell. It's good to have another Miami guy on the forum. Brooks Jones over at Sailing Services probably knows who owns cats in the Miami area. You might want to go over, introduce yourself, and ask him for some input.

I'll make a note to call Brook Jones as well. Thanks for your help and nice to make your acquaintance.

[Tom and Maje]

I highly recommend Jeff Jones. He works for the Multihull Company in Ft. Lauderdale. His phone # is 954 557 4050. He will help you find the boat you want and guide you through the process. When we bought our catamaran (Leopard 40) last fall, he told me to offer less than I was going to. Then he helped the surveyor find problems with the boat. We talked with him for 9 years before we bought.

What you need to do is figure out your budget, what you want the boat for, and what you need in a boat. For example, my husband is 6'4" and had a aversion to hitting his head or stooping a lot. That narrowed our choices immediately. The budget helped as well. We have already made our first off-shore passage, and I don't curse my small galley anymore. It is the perfect size for bracing in rough seas. Nor would I now buy a boat that did not have a U shaped galley. A trip to the Annapolis Boat Show is also a good idea.

Good luck! I hope you find the boat that is meant to be yours.

Maje

[Mitchell87]

Originally Posted by Tom and Maje

I highly recommend Jeff Jones. He works for the Multihull Company in Ft. Lauderdale. His phone # is 954 557 4050. He will help you find the boat you want and guide you through the process. When we bought our catamaran (Leopard 40) last fall, he told me to offer less than I was going to. Then he helped the surveyor find problems with the boat. We talked with him for 9 years before we bought.

What you need to do is figure out your budget, what you want the boat for, and what you need in a boat. For example, my husband is 6'4" and had a aversion to hitting his head or stooping a lot. That narrowed our choices immediately. The budget helped as well. We have already made our first off-shore passage, and I don't curse my small galley anymore. It is the perfect size for bracing in rough seas. Nor would I now buy a boat that did not have a U shaped galley. A trip to the Annapolis Boat Show is also a good idea.


Good luck! I hope you find the boat that is meant to be yours.

Maje

I contacted Jeff and he is going to put together a list of vessels for me to see in a couple weeks when I get back to Miami. So thanks for the information.

I'm pretty tall myself. I'm 6'2" so decent headroom would be great!