Privilige, Broadblue, PDQ, Dolphin, or Kynsna?

[TOM]

Originally Posted by downunder

Re Dolphin 46

Agree that the interior fitout is quite basic, easy maimtaince rather than higest quality. Got impression from the one I haved looked at that the vessel is built as more of a rugged simple vessel rather than flash high end finish.

Sorry , but no this was not a basic fitout ,it was a complicated fitout done on the cheap .

[downunder]

Originally Posted by TOM

Hi, It was a 460. I had read a bit about these cats and was thinking they were a high quality product. I was immediatly impressed with the cockpit layout and use of space and i realy liked the addition of a lower shroud which i have rarely seen on cats. Once inside i was impressed with the design of the saloon ,a very well planed galley to port and clever use of space . But unfortunately thats where it ended .The quality of fitout was sub standard at best and i exspected a step up, cheap door latches and hinges , spongy floorboards etc ..These are exspensive boats and i would have exspected more .

I do not disagree. Fitout was done on the cheap, very basic not high quality for an expensive vessel considering their labour rates in Brazil.

[Jeannius]

gelliott... Here's the link 2002 Privilege 435 Easy Cruise Sail New and Used Boats for Sale Low price ( for a Privilege 435 ) reflects the fact that the boat is not cosmetically perfect and has high engine hours. Both easily fixed with the application of a bit of time and effort. A bit of a bargain for someone who can do the work themselves and still cheaper than any other equivalent Priv 435 Easy Cruise even if you have to pay someone else to do the work.

Therapy... The bow cabins are nice and comfy when you are going downwind but a bit lively going upwind ( no worse than any other cat - or indeed mono - bow cabin ) That's one reason why I like 4 cabin layouts...plenty of spare cabins to move to as conditions dictate. My brother-in-law is 6' 4" and he is fine everywhere in the boat, salon, walkways, heads and all cabins. Has to duck through the doors of course but that's it. Only person I've had aboard who had a problem was a 6'8" friend and he had to duck his head a bit in the saloon.

[Sander]

You may be interested to look at this video about the Knysnas (also vinylester, vacuum bagged airex foam cored).

[Sander]

Sorry , here it is:
Knysna 480 Video - Multihulls4us Forums

[SV.Louna]

For my money, I bought a big ex-charter boat. Spent $100k on it putting on new sails, etc and will go cruising to SE Asia next year. But you could look at a second hand Catana for the money you are looking to spend. Great boat with a good reputation with plenty of clearance. Lots of room inside. If one had come along when I was looking to buy for the right money, this would have to be a strong candidate. For a little more money, you could buy a new 42 Catana. Also Outremer have sharpened their pencil on new boats, which brings late model second hand cats down in price. Try the Seyschelles as there are near new boats with no hours on them for around $250k euro. The pirates have put a bit of a damper on sailing tourism over that way and you would have a broad reach all the way to Australia for example. Best advice is keep looking and talk to people who have done a lot of sailing. No-one persons advice will be right for you, but just get bits and pieces from everybody. Happy hunting. L&N

[Sander]

Yes, I agree.

Keep looking and be aware of what you need and how much time you have. We don't have the time to fix up an ex charter boat for example, unless she were sitting in my back garden, and I didn't like the idea of having work done on a boat while I was 5,000 miles away so we looked for something that was as good as new without the price of new. It's very hard to estimate the cost of a refit and there are always surprises so you need to know what you are doing and have a reliable yard to do the work. Refitting in the US is a lot more expensive than in Asia.
Our boat is as new, very few surprises and besides a few personal touches, ready to go. There are some great bargains out there but in my experience not if you buy through the bigger brokers as they tend to want to keep prices high. I found boats a lot cheaper in Asia and South Africa but then we have to add the cost of getting to where we wanted to start our adventure which is the Caribbean.

[SV.Louna]

Hi Sander,

You mentioned the Caribbean. I have bought 2 boats out of the Caribbean to Australia before getting my cat in Florida and bringing it to Australia. I found a local broker in Tortola BVI by the name of Chris Simpson. A small operator and well connected. If there is anything in the Caribbean you like, he would give you an honest opinion, I know of at least 10 people I know personally who have talked to him with their budget and their dream and he's put it together for them. I think his business is BVI Yacht Sales and I found him honest and will negotiate with the seller with your price. In my case, I got some real late model bargins which got me into a cat. Don't know if this will help you but worth a try.

[Sander]

Thanks for that but we just bought our boat. We looked in the Caribbean and Florida and ended up finding better value in South Africa!

Only now we need to get the boat to the Caribbean... It all adds up!

[Hoofsmit]

Ancasta gave us a quote on a new lagoon 400 last month after we looked at the new 39, decided the 39 was a poor cousin for £20'000 less , both well on your budget with extras, they will talk deals as they want show boats if you can hang around for the boat shows. Good luck hope find what your looking for. My turn in 18months but it looks like dealers are really bringing the prices down aat the moment making a 5 yr old boat look v exspensive so we are planning on new

[gelliott]

just back from a week sailing in Sardinia...on a lagoon 38....i have to say its put me off Lagoon, I saw a Nautitech 441 out there which looked in a different league to the lagoon 440 in terms of quality.....however did see a FP 41, ND A 48 (which doesn't sail well) which made me wonder about an Orana 44, looks like I should add that to my list too...any thoughts anybody?

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by gelliott

just back from a week sailing in Sardinia...on a lagoon 38....i have to say its put me off Lagoon, I saw a Nautitech 441 out there which looked in a different league to the lagoon 440 in terms of quality.....however did see a FP 41, ND A 48 (which doesn't sail well) which made me wonder about an Orana 44, looks like I should add that to my list too...any thoughts anybody?

What put you off?

Sailing ability?

[gelliott]

a couple of things, sailing ability of the 38 I thought was ok, but the interior fit I thought was very poor quality compared to others Ive been looking at, looked at two 410's and another 38, and two 440's and a 450 and pretty much all looked worse than I thought they should in terms of holding up under charter. I know charter boats get battered more, but fit was poor. Didn't like the placement of the winches either, bad design for just two people sailing I thought. I thought the 38 sailed better than the larger models, quite fun to sail and responsive so I can see why they are popular, but I want something that lasts.Just too utilitarian for me. The Nautitech and privelige I looked at whilst out there I thought were a different class. The charterer of the 441 loved it, said it was a great sail.
BTW Sardinia is a truly beautiful sailing ground, I'd recommend it to everybody apart from being a bit expensive. Amazingly clear water for the med.

[Jeannius]

Went aboard a Nautitech 441 a few years back. Didn't sail it but really disliked the helm position. Alright for a week's charter but wouldn't want to be sat there in the middle of an ocean in seriously bad weather.

[gelliott]

Thanks Jeanius, just curious, are you getting confused with the 442 which has the dual exposed helm aft? I don't like that either, but the 441 has a single helm position not that dissimilar to privilege, just slightly higher. I liked that position and the way all the main lines went to it
G