Swiss Cat S2C45

[JoFi]

In 2014 we had the pleasure to visit the boat shows in La Grand Motte and Cannes. We are a sailing couple and planning for a world cruise in 3-4 years down the road. We'd like to enjoy some good level of comfort but put a focus on sailing performance as well. We had on our short list:
- Catana 47
- Outremer 51

But here comes the Swiss Cat 45. We were just blown away by the high standards of the construction & finish. We could hardly find any weak points (beside the relatively high price). A few highlights:
- Carbon/Epoxy build
- Southern Spars carbon mast with Kevlar standing rigging
- Huge salon & excellent galley
- Great owner's cabin
- Ingenious dingy launching system
- and many more

The open question for us is related to it's sailing performance. The video and report in the "Multihulls World" with a Mistral blowing up to 45 knots is pretty impressive. But what's about the light wind performance? Anybody having any experience?
What is the reason why nobody seems to be interested in this boat? We couldn't find any discussion about it on the web. Are we the only guys falling in love with the S2C45 or is something wrong with it?
Jo

[yeloya]

55ft #1 was which was manufactured in Turkey was brought to our marina and I had a chance to look at her closely. As you mentioned they are over priced. I couldn't sail her and talked to the skipper; I am sure they sail pretty well.
Beside the price, you should check the load carrying capability of the boat which is the common issue for all fast and slim hull cats.
Cheers
Yeloya

[nimblemotors]

What is the Ingenious dingy launching system?

[JoFi]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

What is the Ingenious dingy launching system?

Unfortunately my English is not good enough to explain it myself. This is from the "Multihulls World" test: "Lifting the dinghy with the swinging gantry, and its stowage on a stern platform guarantee both security and aesthetics, by doing away with the questionable davits. Nothing is simpler than launching and recovering the dinghy with this system ..."

I agree with what they say.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by nimblemotors

What is the Ingenious dingy launching system?

Looks like a standard boom extension to me. Maybe they figured out a way to ingeniously run the lines. Voyage has used the extension for years.
Interesting that their website is down. Not good.

[nimblemotors]

I looked at the boat pics and it showed a platform to set the dinghy on.
This seems like a good idea, question is how to get it up their easily which
is what the innovation must be. If the platform would elevate up on down,
would be sweet way to do it, and have a nice big swim platform when the dinghy wasn't on.

Originally Posted by JoFi

"Lifting the dinghy with the swinging gantry, and its stowage on a stern platform guarantee both security and aesthetics, by doing away with the questionable davits. Nothing is simpler than launching and recovering the dinghy with this system ..."

[Factor]

Why are davits questionable?

[Katiusha]

From our experience we can say that the boom gantry is a pain to use compared to davits. We use it to stow the dinghy for long or stormy passages, but I think I'd consider quitting if we had to use it every evening to stow the dinghy and then launch it in the morning.

Also, boom gantry's weak point is side loads. If there's any type of sea running when stowing the dinghy using a boom gantry, you're risking collapsing it (check southern spars fine print for the gantry )


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[JoFi]

Originally Posted by Katiusha

From our experience we can say that the boom gantry is a pain to use compared to davits. We use it to stow the dinghy for long or stormy passages, but I think I'd consider quitting if we had to use it every evening to stow the dinghy and then launch it in the morning.

Also, boom gantry's weak point is side loads. If there's any type of sea running when stowing the dinghy using a boom gantry, you're risking collapsing it (check southern spars fine print for the gantry )

The S2C45 comes with two redundant dinghy lifting systems:
#1: The "swinging gantry" = A SwissCat exclusive easy-to-use system
#2: A standard boom extension (from Southern Spars?)

Katiusha,
are your comments with reference to #2 only or for both systems?
You sound pretty negative about the SwissCat. Any other critics/comments? Can you comment on load carrying capability and light wind sailing performance?
Thanks
Jo

[JoFi]

Originally Posted by Factor

Why are davits questionable?

I think what they mean: The stowage of a dinghy on a stern platform for a long voyage and in heavy seas is a much safer solution.

[Factor]

Yeah? I don't necessarily agree with them. A stern platform adds weight to the rear of the boat, never a great thing for multis. And on offshore voyages I can get the dinghy much higher on the davits than a stern platform would.

Not saying its a bad idea, just that its definitely no better than well engineered davits

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by JoFi

The S2C45 comes with two redundant dinghy lifting systems:
#1: The "swinging gantry" = A SwissCat exclusive easy-to-use system
#2: A standard boom extension (from Southern Spars?)

Katiusha,
are your comments with reference to #2 only or for both systems?
You sound pretty negative about the SwissCat. Any other critics/comments? Can you comment on load carrying capability and light wind sailing performance?
Thanks
Jo

I was talking about boom gantry from Southern Spars. What is a swinging gantry? A crane similar to ones power boats use?

Not sure where you got the negativity about the Swiss Cat from my post. I was talking strictly about a boom gantry concept. Imho, a boom gantry is great, but only for specific uses and imho it being a single system for lifting the dinghy out of the water is not ideal. However, if the cat also has a crane, that's different.

I'd never seen or indeed heard of a Swiss Cat 45 before your post, so can't really comment on it. For what it's worth, we saw an SC 55 at a boat show and thought that it was overpriced for what was being offered. But value is always in the eye of beholder in pleasure boating.

All the best with your boat search.


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[JoFi]

Originally Posted by Katiusha

...

For what it's worth, we saw an SC 55 at a boat show and thought that it was overpriced for what was being offered. But value is always in the eye of beholder in pleasure boating.

Not sure why many people think it is "overpriced". The delta to a Catana 47 is ~100k € but you get carbon/epoxy build, Southern Spars carbon mast with Kevlar rigging, plus full carbon: bulkhead (mast), roof, bimini, boom, transom and other spars. But you could argue that a Catana is also overpriced.

From my point of view it is the more interesting question: How good is a boat holding it's value over the years. -> Epoxy vs. Polyester/Vinylester ?!

[Sand crab]

What is the price? FWIW I watched that youTube vid and when he was talking about the ingenious dingy lift they didn't show it at all, just the base of the swing gantry.

[JoFi]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

What is the price? FWIW I watched that youTube vid and when he was talking about the ingenious dingy lift they didn't show it at all, just the base of the swing gantry.

Catana 47: ~850k€
S2C45: ~950k€
Both "all inclusive": Carbon mast, Hydranet sails, spinnaker, AC & Gen Set, Solar, dinghy, life raft ...