Manta owners

[pangaea6]

Well I plan on cruising for a few yrs. with my wife and 3 young daughters. East coast, Carib., and then heading over to Med and South Pacific. So I did want to be safe and comfortable but not get everything in every PAC Manta offers if I really won't NEED it (gets expensive!). I feel like with 4 women on board a washer would be nice, could do w/o dryer but hey, if I got a washer might as well tack on the dryer. Like on some of the PAC's it has extra 200 amp Lifeline battery bank and sine inverter, what about different kw radar domes? Does anybody have a 'sea anchor'?
I know I can eventually ask Dan but its nice to hear from owners maybe some of the expensive things they could do w/o to cut costs or the things that really matter for comfort and safety. Like do you like the window louvres on the outside for the main salon? I just don't have any experience sailing or anything so I'm not sure what our preferences would be on some things. I was gonna leave out the wind generator in favor of just solar panels. Thanks for all advice.

[pangaea6]

Oh yeah, and how is the noise from the engines, up top and down below in the berths? Any fumes, smells or problems from those being right under the bed? Do you have a watermaker and did you get it at the factory? And howmany solar panels do you have and do they seem to work for you fine? Thanks

[eskfreedom]

I envy you for getting a new one.We are going to have to buy a used one.Most people get the comfort pac and I probably would to but anything else like anchors,dingy,or safety stuff I would buy and install my self.

[Harriet]

1. The dryer is part of the washer - it is an all-in-one unit, although I have heard from many people who have them that the dryer doesn't work too well, especially on heavy items like jeans and towels.
2. We bought the extra Lifeline batteries and extra solar panels (we have 6) to keep them charged. Under normal conditions, I don't need to run my generator for anything but air conditioning, since the solar panels keep the batteries happy. When we were the show boat in 2004, we were opening and closing the fridge and freezer all day long, had lots of lights on, etc. and we weren't on shore power! That's how well the solar panels work. We don't have a wind generator and have no plans to get one. The inverter, however, gets used almost daily. Never had a problem with it.
3. I'll check with the captain about the radar. I'm not sure what we have and we're not aboard at this time.
4. We don't currently have a sea anchor, but we are researching them. Based on your cruising plans, it is probably a good idea, but I don't have any personal experience using either them or with drogues.
5. The engines are very quiet up top, obviously a little noisier down below. The only time I have ever been in my bunk with the engines going is when we have been on a passage. That means I am going to get 3-4 hours of sleep before I have to be on watch again, so I'm usually tired enough to crash regardless of noise. And given the choice between engines under the bunks or accessed at the stern steps, give me the bunk set up. If you develop engine trouble in a heavy sea, you don't want to be out on the stern steps trying to fix it.
6. With fresh water heads and 4 women aboard, a watermaker is essential. I know Manta has switched from Spectra to Sea Recovery, so I can't really comment except to say that we have had a bit of trouble with the Spectra this winter. I'm sure if you prefer Spectra that Manta will install it. I would absolutely have the factory install this piece of equipment, as the cost of installation is not that great compared to the cost of the unit, and you don't want to void the warranty because you made a mistake in the installation.
7. There are other, little things that will make your life easier. For example, an extra overhead light above the fridge/freezer and a light over the dry locker (mounted under the cabinet). Look into different salon table options (with a family of 5, you need one that doesn't have that taper on the end).
Hope this helps.

Harriet

[Intentional Drifter]

eskfreedom --

I noticed that you are in Oregon. There's a 2000 Manta available in Bellingham, s/v Ninja.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...ck&searchtype=

I've been on this boat. It is a liveaboard, crewed charter, that has been very well kept. If you're serious about a Manta, you might want to take a look at this one.

ID

[eskfreedom]

Ninja is our dream boat!Yet Ive talked to Ron and he is not interested in Realestate and unfortunately our house isn't ready to sell yet. I still have a bunch of stuff to.I pray Ninja is still for sale next spring.

[pangaea6]

Harriet - thanks for your long responce and your time, very helpful

Esk - thanks for letting me latch onto your thread here

I too would like to get a used Manta as they seem to be cheaper but they sure do seem hard to come by, I guess a good sign that most owners want to keep them

[PHIL+MARYANNE]

We are Phil & MaryAnne von Stade of Portland, ME. We are taking delivery of a Manta 42 MK4 (!!) Hull #112 in October. We've done a bunch of research, but still have a few questions and decisions to be made in the next few weeks. Was wondering which other Manta owners are out there. Don't like to put our email address on these bulletin boards, but you can send us private mail and we'll get back to you or communicate here in this thread. Harriett has been a WEALTH of info, as have some other folks not on this forum. JJ - I believe you're a Manta owner? Oasis?? Drop a line and say howdy.

I hope to develop a nice, well-illustrated website BLOG, where we'll have lots of tech info on our Manta and helpful tips I've been collecting. Welcome other Manta owners to login, once it's up in a couple of months.

For a cruising couple or family with one or two kids, I don't believe there's a better boat.

Cheers!

[tfsilver]

My wife and I are looking seriously at the Manta for offshore sailing. We are concerned about the bridgedeck clearance, but the curved shape of the underside of the bridgedeck may help with slamming. Has anyone been on a Manta in rough seas where they could comment on this issue.

[PHIL+MARYANNE]

Tony,
We've tried lots of cats. All slam, sooner or later. Bridge deck clearance is a critical factor, but shape is also important. The Manta is very rounded underneath, with a nice exit aft. We have not been on a Manta under large-wave conditions but understand that they slam far less than other boats. We've talked to MANY manta owners, and they all feel Mantas slam less than other boats in this size range. We're taking delivery of our Manta in October and feel confident she's the best couples cruising boat built, certainly for our requirements.

Get into large 50+' cats and bridge-deck slamming is not as serious, but there are other handling (and cost) issues. Even large skinny-hulled and other designs built for speed may suffer too.

Hope this helps.
Cheers!
Phil

[videorov]

If you want to stay dry and pilot the boat from inside or from the center
cockpit you might look at Chris White Designs Cats. I cam across them while looking at difftent Cats and they sure have some intersting features
Ive never seen on a cat.

[PHIL+MARYANNE]

We've been on (but not sailed) a Chris White 55 and a 63' Schooner Cat! The 55 was gorgeous, but at about $1million a bit!!!! over our budget. His designs are fast, have long skinny hulls - so you really need about 55' for the room. The forward cockpit has pros and cons. If we had the money and speed were a BIG consideration, an Atlantic 55 (Chris's design) would be tops. But we're cruisers and like our creature comforts, and a bit of doe left in the kitty..... went with Manta.

Chris is a very nice guy and easy to talk with. He happened to be in Portland, Maine one day and gave us the tour of the two boats mentioned above. Checkout his website at: www.chriswhitedesigns.com.
Cheers!

[fhrussell]

Manta 42' owners...here is an Ebay auction for a tramp in nice condition...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/42-MA...QQcmdZViewItem

[Jentine]

My daughter and I recently delivered a Manta 40 from Curacao to the Bahamas. The first day out was in confused seas coming from astearn and starboard. They were in the vacinity of 10-12 feet with 30-35 kts of wind. The boat took the wind and waves in stride with a single reef in the main and about 30% of the genoa in use.
The down side of the trip was the ride of the cat. Cats do not take kindly to confused or large sea. The bridge deck was continually slammed by the waves welling up in the space below. The impact was sufficient that the deck moved enough that it could be felt anywhere about the boat. Being a monohull sailor, I was not enamored by the violent pitching and diving of the boat. The hulls act as two independent entities. The port bow dives followed by the starboard stern followed by the starboard bow and lastly by the port stearn. The violent pitching and rolling can never be anticipated. I have been aboard monohulls in high confused seas and the difference is striking. A monohull develops a rythm that can be anticipated and compensated for; something the cat never does.
I was impressed by the liveaboard space and ease at anchor and would be interested in such a vessel if I never put to sea but ...............that is not the case.
I will stick to monohulls for a predictable ride and a greater feeling of security.

[videorov]

http://www.chriswhitedesigns.com/atl...5/trinidad.php

They seem to like it very much.