Nautitech build quality

[Giova]

Originally Posted by Giova

Hi Wpg3ut,
You're absolutely right. After posting the message I searched FB to provide the links but it seems the group has been cancelled. The owner of the group was extremely upset posting "unpolite" messages with pictures of the build quality in the bulkheads and the chainplate ... but I cannot find it anymore. For the YT videos, you can search the forum for Nautitech and there are some threads about them and more discussions on Nautitech quality so I suggest you to read them. Again, hard to say if this criticism have grounds to reality. What concerns me is that while it is unusual to find people complaining about their own boat since they have to resell it, on Nautitech there are actually a few open complains. In fact it is not that easy to find any evidence on most cats even though we all know of particular serious problems. So, seeing owners being so annoyed by their own vessel leaves me with lots of doubts. And again, I would be more than happy to have positive feedbacks because I really like the concept of the Nautitech Open cats.

Here is the thread in cruisingforum https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...lk-198754.html

[Steel sails]

The. owners group is still there
Nautitech catamaran owner's group
I just logged on to it

You can find complaints about every boat
Google
Lagoon bulkhead problems
Fountain Pajot blister problems
Leopard balsa core problems
As Yeola says I don't think there's much between any of them Quality wise
Charter a few see what you like
Performance wise length 1st then Sa/d

[capnmatt]

We have chartered the Astrea 42 two or three times and are now on our fourth day on a nautitech open 44. I’ve always liked the Astrea and feel like it strikes a nice balance for a charter cat. We’ve sailed it in somewhat spirited, as well as lighter winds and always find it acceptable for what it is. I find it an easy boat to become comfortable with - as well as the lagoon 42.

So far we’ve only had the Open 44 on beam or upwind legs in about 18-20 knots true. Probably have averaged 8-9 knots with single reefed and marginally trimmed sails so I’m happy with that. I am very curious to see how it will do off the wind and in lighter winds. This is also pretty much a brand new boat so pretty slippery hulls. I was concerned about visibility at first but have learned to deal with it. However, it would factor in more if I was going to own a boat in charter or if sailing mostly in congested areas. I do like the raised helm station of the Astrea and other 42ish foot cats so not 100% on the aft helms. Not a dealbreaker in itself but I’m not sure that raising the main sail a few feet to allow for a raised helm would really make that much of a difference performance-wise. On the flip side, visibility and communication would be much improved with a single raised helm. Haven’t seen any real issues with fit and finish so far but like I said, brand new boat.

Bottom line, I think based on my current experience I would probably opt for the Open 44 over a comparably priced Lagoon or FP, but it’s not a clear cut decision. Just depends if you prioritize a touch more performance (Open 44) or would give a little more space and slightly more livability (Astrea or Lagoon 42) the edge. That said, I would definitely recommend sailing the open 44/46 before purchasing. The helm position is definitely something to make sure you’re comfortable with. I think I like it but it’s a bit of a departure from the other primary charter cats,

[Giova]

Thank you capnmatt!
Keep posting on performance, feeling and quality perception.
Any noise in the hulls while cruising?
Bridgedeck Slamming?
There's a good amount of guys relying on your feedback ;-) (no pressure)
Enjoy!

[chris in SG]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Could you please share some pictures if your interior mods?
Thanks.

I will just try to post one, which is relevant to 'forward-facing nav station'. I made many other changes, and I would encourage everyone not to be scared of trying this. If you look at the back of the desk, you can see the curved moulding supporting the settee width that I removed. The nav seat is just a stool, no back support but it keeps you awake..

This particular mod makes a massive difference to my enjoyment of sailing with exposed helms. You have the ability to choose exposure or shelter, depending on the conditions.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by chris in SG

I will just try to post one, which is relevant to 'forward-facing nav station'. I made many other changes, and I would encourage everyone not to be scared of trying this. If you look at the back of the desk, you can see the curved moulding supporting the settee width that I removed. The nav seat is just a stool, no back support but it keeps you awake..



This particular mod makes a massive difference to my enjoyment of sailing with exposed helms. You have the ability to choose exposure or shelter, depending on the conditions.

Thanks.

Well done. That looks fantastic.
This was one of the things I was missing when I saw the boat on a boat show.

[sailingforfun]

I’ve always been of the opinion, if you are sailing you are not in a hurry, so be comfortable. I’ve always owned Lagoons.

[svwhileone]

I own a 2021 Nautitech 46 Open and am currently in the Bahamas in my first cruising season. I've been living aboard for 4 months now and it's been sailed/motored from Miami to Mathews, VA and back now since being delivered via ship to Miami in December 2021.

I'm far from an expert but when I started to look for a boat in December 2019, I made a huge spreadsheet and started going through the list...both sloops and cats. I almost bought an almost-new Hylas 49 but ultimately decided a cat made the most sense for us based on the type of sailing we were going to do. Happy wife, happy life.

Overall, I have no regrets. I liked the foam core construction over balsa...I've only sailed a Leopard 40 and I don't mind the outboard helms. When under longer passages, we're either in the cockpit or saloon anyways under autopilot. I do agree with another comment, get the dual helm engine controls....I'll be adding it. Decided against it when the broker talked me out of it (what!?!?) scaring me about loosing engine controls after a lightning strike.

It has cable steering. I added an arch with 1600W of solar on the back and 4x330Ah Victron lithium batteries.

The only things that have "broke" was the large drawer underneath the nav station seat. I think someone kick the drawer and the front panel detached from the drawer...it was easy to fix, but a different design is merited. Flooring and cabinet materials are holding up ok. I can see if the boat were in charter, it could wear fast. However, I'm under no misconceptions. I bought a production boat. Couldn't afford something more boutique or custom...or rather, didn't want to spend the money. The other thing that broke were a block on the davit and that, I think, was user error (I have 3 electric winches...easy to overload that system). I think those blocks are a little under sized....oh yeah, the strainer on the freshwater pump intake is really not suitable. Many folks have noted a similar problem with the o-ring blowing out. Somewhat frustrating Nautitech wouldn't make a design change mid-production.

I don't have a ton of experience on performance but I do know I kicked, what I believe was a Lagoon of comparable size (according to AIS), sailing from Rock Sound to Highborne Cay in 15-20 pretty much downwind. In the trip, I gained 4nm on him. Of course, I'm assuming he was doing his best to keep up, I'm only assuming that because sailboats are always racing!

I bought an Oxley parasailor but haven't yet finished rigging it. I have the Gennaker as well.

Not sure what broker you will use, but make sure you don't use mine.

I know another cruiser that has had to replace their rudders due to extreme delam, but they admit they had grounded her. Others have also had delam issues with their rudders. Mine seem fine. Knock on wood, I've not seen any blistering.

Join the facebook group, lots of great information there (if you haven't already).

[Aloha-Ralf]

I own a 2018 46 FLY. We live between 8-12 month a year on the boat. So far we have sailed her to French Polynesia. We had many problems with the boat, but non because of structural problems or overall build quality. The problems typically are because of the components used like fresh water pump, boiler, stove, bilge pumps, cushion zippers, hydrolic steering, knobs for sun shades falling off, vhf loud speaker not working etc. The worst was chafing of the diamond stays and a side window starting to come off (Nautitech paid for replacing and repairing of everything) The components Nautitech uses are of average or even above average dimension/quality. So you will have the same problems with any brand, but the after sales service of Nautitech was very complicated. As I said, in the end Nautitech always paid for everything, but it was PITA. Actually I was quite happy to be out of warranty after two years, because if something fails now I just repair it. Having said all that:

I would always buy a Nautitech again.

But next time I will choose my dealer very wisely, because the dealer sits between you and Nautitech wrt warranties and can (and in our case did) make life complicated. PM me if you want to have a recommendation for a good Nautitech dealer.

I have sailed several other catamarans and for me Nautitech clearly has a better quality than Lagoon, FP and for sure Bali (the worst "boat" I have ever been on). The best quality I have ever seen was from Swisscat, but then they are more expensive. When we got our boat, we engaged a very good french surveyor before legally accepting the boat. This was money well spent. The surveyor found many small things, but he was very pleased with the structural quality. Interestingly, the surveyer does not accept jobs to survey new Lagoons and FPs, because he said that there is always a chance to find structural problems, particular with the Lagoons, and then the surveyer will have to do a lot of nasty back and forth arguing with the dealer and the manufacturer. Something he had in the past and does not want to do ever again.

[Tin Tin]

Originally Posted by Aloha-Ralf

I own a 2018 46 FLY. We live between 8-12 month a year on the boat. So far we have sailed her to French Polynesia. We had many problems with the boat, but non because of structural problems or overall build quality. The problems typically are because of the components used like fresh water pump, boiler, stove, bilge pumps, cushion zippers, hydrolic steering, knobs for sun shades falling off, vhf loud speaker not working etc. The worst was chafing of the diamond stays and a side window starting to come off (Nautitech paid for replacing and repairing of everything) The components Nautitech uses are of average or even above average dimension/quality. So you will have the same problems with any brand, but the after sales service of Nautitech was very complicated. As I said, in the end Nautitech always paid for everything, but it was PITA. Actually I was quite happy to be out of warranty after two years, because if something fails now I just repair it. Having said all that:

I would always buy a Nautitech again.

But next time I will choose my dealer very wisely, because the dealer sits between you and Nautitech wrt warranties and can (and in our case did) make life complicated. PM me if you want to have a recommendation for a good Nautitech dealer..

What was your warranty claim on Nautitech about and why was it difficult?

[smj]

Originally Posted by sailingforfun

I’ve always been of the opinion, if you are sailing you are not in a hurry, so be comfortable. I’ve always owned Lagoons.

And that why so many different cats are produced, hopefully one of them will cover a buyers priorities!

[lo2jones]

Yelolya has some great points. I have a very similar background as they…Worrying about the performance over your top choices is splitting hairs a bit. Visibility is going to a problem on every cat. Fly bridges, for me, put me further away from all reference points. When maneuvering in tight quarters, it is probably better to rely on crew to tell you what you can’t see and focus on what you can…I have videos of my picking up new cats at the port and delivering them to various points up to 100 nm away. It was occasionally painful, but alway interesting.

[Aloha-Ralf]

Originally Posted by Tin Tin

What was your warranty claim on Nautitech about and why was it difficult?

Warranty claims were failure of fresh water pump, boiler, stove, bilge pump, cushion zippers, hydrolic steering, knobs for sun shades falling off, vhf loud speaker not working, chafing of the diamond stays, a side window starting to come off, etc. As I said, in the end Nautitech paid for replacing and repairing of everything.
It was difficult becuase for the outsider the contractual agreement between Nautitech and the Dealer is not clear. For some of the claims it seems the dealer has to pay. For others it is Nautitech (and then of course for some it will be the OEM of the part that fails). Since Nautitech always wants you to raise your claims with the dealer first and exclusively, it can take same time and things can and will get lost in translation (sometimes literally). The dealer prefers to look at the damage themselves first and would like to repair it themselves. Which is fine if you keep the boat close to where the dealer has his workshop/shipyard. If you are not close to the dealer or if you even are a moving target because you are circumnavigating then the whole process can take a long time and can be frustrating

[chrisspeth]

Hi,
I have sailed some hundred miles on my friend's open 46, and we spend a winter in the marina together where we were lying only a few boats apart in the same marina in italy.
He had continious problems with his boat, from loose parts in the rig when leaving La Rochelle (a sheave falling off the masttop, not properly installed) over leaking cabin top windows thst had to be reinstalled over a ruined cabin ceuling and wall covering due to the stanchion mounts which were screwed onto the deck dry without Sika so they were leaking, but only very little so that you only notice it when the interior is already rotten.....
The deckplan layout caused problems, as the traveller btoke and the msin sheeting had to be replaced with a stronger design etc etc etc
Finally, after years of repairing and correcting the yards mistakes nd investing tons of cash, he ended up with a good boat....but for a price he could have gone for something better....

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by Wpg3ut

Thanks Tin tin. Not so concerned with "winning" regattas more so just the ability to sail @ speeds higher than the prescribed 7 knots that I have seen so many specs on other heavier, bulkier cats. Just looking for a cat that performs better than the floating condos that's all. Other than the Outremers any suggestions please?

Freydis 46