The Passage Maker Cruising Catamaran

[ogalili]

My wife and I are planning a long (very long) blue water cruising.
I am looking for opinions on which catamaran (for two people to handle) will work well for long stay in true blue water cruising. My thoughts are on length of 38' - 46'. I am looking for a good cruising, cat.
Any thoughts or recommendations?

[Therapy]

How much money ya got?

That is the deciding factor to begin with.

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Therapy

How much money ya got?

That is the deciding factor to begin with.

That's about it! There's so many cats that can do the job that you really have to start with your budget.

[ogalili]

Good question on the budget - I was not planning to spend more than $250k. Thus I understand it "probably" not going to be a new cat.

[Vasco]

Is that 250K all in? Ready to head out?

[Sand crab]

Mantas were designed for shorthanded sailing. Might have to go a bit higher than $250,000. Very well done which means they hold their value which means you have to pay more.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...tas-38418.html

[Palarran]

Ogalili,
Welcome to the Cruisers Forum. Good luck with finding your cat. My suggestion is to go to the Multihull section of this forum and start paging backwards. Your exact question has been brought up maybe 100 times. There are some excellent posts that can help you narrow down the choices. Then, when you want really specific info, you can get it.

Also, I would suggest chartering some cats and spending about 200 hours looking at all the listings on yachtworld.com. You can do an advanced search for multihull, with a max price of $250k.

[maxingout]

My bias is in favor of a strong/robust catamaran, and I am willing to sacrifice some speed for a catamaran that can take a beating and still keep going.

My highest priority is having one or two back up autopilots. Then I don't need to worry about how many people are on board as crew.

[imagine2frolic]

I type this often, so one more time won't hurt. For the amount of money you're spending. Don't be afraid to look at cold molded, and one off boats that are custom built. You can find poor workmanship, and you can find artwork in craftsmanship. You need a good surveyor that understand the materials to look at the boat for you. Not every surveyor does, so ask

I was lucky to find my boat. She has a unique layout, and stands apart from production boats. Nothing wrong with production boats, but most likely you will get less boat for the money. Keep an openn mind whenn searching, and BEST WISHES on finding a vessel to serve you well........i2f

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, ogalili.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by ogalili

Good question on the budget - I was not planning to spend more than $250k. Thus I understand it "probably" not going to be a new cat.

The boat market being what it is, $250K will be fine. There's a few boats for sale by owner that would work very well for you. One is a relatively new Prout 38 that's currently cruising. Click the link in my signature to have a look.

[zumsel]

Originally Posted by imagine2frolic

........ Don't be afraid to look at cold molded, and one off boats that are custom built. You can find poor workmanship, and you can find artwork in craftsmanship. You need a good surveyor that understand the materials to look at the boat for you. Not every surveyor does, so ask........

I have to second imagine2frolics thoughts about cold molded or wood epoxy boats in general. I found my 42' cat in July 2010 in Europe and sailed it this year from May to June accross the Atlantic to Canada. I paid last year 80,000 Euros for mine. That got me a two new yanmar engines and saildrives, new 2 pack paint job, new electronics and an otherwise very well maintained boat. I was fortunate enough that the previous owner was upgrading the boat for blue water cruising but had then to change his personal plans.

Lucia may not be the fastest cat, but we always felt more then save and comfortable during our crossing.
Good luck with your search

[ogalili]

Thank you - nice website

[SuenosAzules]

Hi lived and cruised on board a 2001 34' Gemini 105MC Catamaran for many years. I highly recommend them for many reasons. Affordability, single mold, built safetly, excellent for couples, can single hand them, etc.. I wrote an article on my website about living aboard this vessel. It is at:

Living Aboard my 2001 Gemini 105 MC

I hope the article helps with at least some pointers based on my own experience.

[ogalili]

Thank you.
A quick question - did you use it for costal cruising or "true" blue water?