Please Help Me Find The Perfect Catamaran To Live On

[Catamaran Lady]

Initially we focused on the Catana for performance reasons and ended up with a Lagoon 410 s2 due to its great condition and upkeep. We love it. Very comfortable...headroom, motion at sea, storage. We put on a sprit and screecher and my husband is very happy with the performance as well. Not one complaint--except I have to go back to work in January--boat will be available.

[Cheechako]

You want good bridgedeck clearance, Be careful of a few of the brands having severe blister and hull issues... documented on this forum. There is no point in buying a brand that has had problems even if they say they've fixed them. I havent followed these threads too closely, but arent the problems with FP and Orana? I could be wrong. Everytime you get excited about a brand, do a google on problems, issues etc.... it's amazing what pops up. Most Cats are cored hulls and cored hulls are very often a problem..... and it can be a severe ....so you have to get this right. It's a more important issue than how fast the cat is etc.... they are almost all faster than monos!

[Eleven]

Just on what Cheechako says, the issue is that bad construction causes terminal problems. Water leaks into the balsa core seeps all along, weakening the core. This is also caused by holes through either skin of the sandwich, inner or outer. You'll find advise on drilling holes right through, over size and wet glassing in spacer tubes to keep the core dry under all conditions. Sounds simple, but when you're manufacturing, and the problems won't surface for a few years, even several, it's a temptation to the management and the labour employed. Same goes for the quality of equipment, so easy to use cheaper manufacturer or models.

[Fearnow]

Originally Posted by Catamaran Lady

Initially we focused on the Catana for performance reasons and ended up with a Lagoon 410 s2 due to its great condition and upkeep. We love it. Very comfortable...headroom, motion at sea, storage. We put on a sprit and screecher and my husband is very happy with the performance as well. Not one complaint--except I have to go back to work in January--boat will be available.

We are looking for a 420 but may be interested in a 410. Can you send me a little more info? I read some of you posts and thought you would be at sea for ever.

[Fearnow]

Originally Posted by Fearnow

We are looking for a 420 but may be interested in a 410. Can you send me a little more info? I read some of you posts and thought you would be at sea for ever.

Sorry I have you mixed up with Dragon. Still interested in the boat, though.

[Jane.Joy]

For however much cash you have to spend on the boat, you can get a bigger and older boat or a smaller and newer boat. We chartered a 5-year-old 38' Lagoon that was in our price range - but in the end we chose to go bigger and older and we bought a 42', 18-year-old boat.

[JerseyMermaid]

Are there problems with insuring these cored hull types of cats? I'm reading a book on living aboard and am in the midst of the chapters about choosing hull construction. There doesn't seem to be any "perfect" choice....but the author did mention getting insurance was "difficult". Do I take that to mean impossible? Doesn't seem likely what with all the owners of such construction types.

[Sand crab]

Most of the French and South African production cats are balsa cored. Insurance is no problem because any repairs are caused by a manufacturing defect which insurance doesn't cover no matter what it's made of. It can be an issue but don't make it a deciding factor.

[smj]

I agree most of the SA cats are balsa cored but the French? I don't think FP, Lagoon, Privilege, Nautitech or any of the French production cats are balsa. The old Lagoon 37 and 42 were balsa I believe but the rest?

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by smj

I agree most of the SA cats are balsa cored but the French? I don't think FP, Lagoon, Privilege, Nautitech or any of the French production cats are balsa. The old Lagoon 37 and 42 were balsa I believe but the rest?

Privileges - at least those from the 2000s, not sure about before - use Divinycell Divinycell H - The High Performance Core Very light very strong, doesn't absorb moisture.

[MIRELOS]

Fountaine-Pajot uses foam core, no balsa.
Balsa core is used as a standard for a lot of the marine industry monohull and multis. If any water gets inside particularly fresh water from rain you have a major problem. i have seen it in new and old boats, its a big job to repair unless noticed right away.

[bazcatana]

Find me the perfect Cat to live on was the request.

Barry Parkinson is the name sailing a quick Catana 381, if you don't want to buy my boat then look at a 47' Cat in the St Augustine Marine Center, Florida. She was built by the Boatyard that built the Switch 51.

She is up for sale at $199,000US and is one of the best Live aboard Cay=ts on the market. She is safe, not light weight, sail area good but not quick and she grows on you, it grew on me and I'm a fast Cat sailor, Ex Tornado.

Don't get me wrong, she is not a Lagoon thank god, or an FP, Leopard, she is Wood hulls, solid as a rock, will get you there and back safely and you will grow to love her.
Her name is 'Chalca Zulu' and I have all the photos. Brokers name Catamaran Company.
My Email is bazcatana@yahoo.co.uk

Regards

Barry Parkinson