Under $250k Bluewater Vessel for Two-Year Cruise - Help, Please

[mason_jj]

Lawdawg, just so you know the maxim 380 and voyage 380 are the same.

Have you looked at them online?

Jeff

[Doodles]

Originally Posted by Mustang Sally

We sailed to the Caribbean from Canada on a Catalina 42. We looked and looked at cats and after speaking with many while living on our mono down there we came to the descision that a cat under 42' is to small in terms of sailing in big water. After looking at them all we went with a Voyage 430 do to their sailing speed and wide beam at 25'. Unfortunately we now have the boat for sale, and it's a steal for someone, but if you talk to the crews who live on the charter cats and ask them what boat they would like to one day own, the majority will tell you Voyage.

I've read that the "under 40 foot" guideline for blue water is sort of old school thinking and that a lot of 35-40 footer are fine for crossing oceans. And I know there are a lot out there doing it, so I'm wondering what were the reasons given by those you spoke with? Reason I ask is we want a cat before too long and just under 40' seems best for us.

[Mustang Sally]

Originally Posted by mason_jj

We also looked at a 430. We felt for us that it was a little too big, and a little out of our price range. Beautiful boat though. We also looked at the 440, which I thought was even better than the 430 in terms of bridgedeck clearance. We might have gone for the larger if we had the funds for it. My wife preferred larger while I preferred smaller (easier to handle).
Mustang Sally, do you have the 430 or the 440? And did you register canadian? (I am and it seems to be a slow process)

Just to clarify there is only 1" difference in bridgedeck clearance between the 440 and 430. That and the 1 foot costs you hundreds of thousands more. We own a 430 but sailed extensively on our friends 440 before buying.

[BOATaHOLIC]

Look at some Lagoon 410's...They have been known to sail fast and they are the perfect size for what you want...Privileges sail like snails stuck in molasses. Mantas are just slightly better. FP's finish work has been compared to double-wide trailers and they have no galley storage whatsoever. Check out some Leopards too...Charter versions do trade at a large discount and I'd consider one if it weren't beat up and the engine hours were below 4500..I just would use the extra stateroom to store bikes and all the stuff that piles up ..I've owned two Lagoons and sold/surveyed over 100 cats so I'm somewhat biased and prefer to not varnish my words.

[schoonerdog]

look at a st francis 44. It's in your price range, it has one of the highest sa/d of any production cat, so it will sail well, the MKII have decent bridgedeck clearance, and they are very proven circumnavigators (I'd venture more of this brand circumnavigate than any other make, perhaps 30 to 40 percent of them have done circumnavigations). Their construction is strong, but expect a workman finish, formica, polyurethane paint instead of wood veneer. If that's acceptable (or for us with children preferable), then you could do worse than a SF 44.

[tortola7]

Another boat that has not been mentioned is the Island Spirit 400 - not the 401 model. There were not alot build, but extremely well laid out, designed for live aboard and not charter work. These rarely go on the market, most are sold in private transactions as brokers don't know the boat. I think there is one for charter with VIP in St Thomas and one with Horizon yacht Charters in Antigua. Google Island Spirit 400 and you should find good information.

The 401 was built after the company was sold and the new owners ran the company into the ground. Admiral Yachts now has the 401 moulds and could build a good boat.

I would stay away from the Voyage/maxim 38. It has extra low bridge deck clearance at the galley sink and it really slams there, the cockpit is very tiny also.

[LifePart2]

Lawdawg, we went through exactly the same process last year.

We used a broker, George Coggeshall from the Catamaran Company in Fort Lauderdale. and he was absolutely excellent.

Here's what we did: First we took a trip down to Fort Lauderdale (from BC Canada) for a few days. The goal was to step on as many boats as possible. We ended up looking at at least 50 different catamarans for sale, of various ages and brands.

By doing this we got a good feel of the different makes, their build quality, their layout and so on. For us we decided that we wanted heads of a decent size, not too crowded, but felt that the owners versions were a lot of extra money for just a big shower. The FP's seemed to be rather cheaply built and many of them were rather tatty in condition. The Lagoons were solid. Can't remember too well our impressions of some of the other brands. The 38's looked good, and would no doubt have suited us fine, but we kind of liked having just a little more room.

We also wanted to go for a boat that had already done most of its depreciation, so were happy to go for something a few years old, but wanted to stay on this side of the century divide (just thinking for resale that 2000 sounds way better than 1999)

Based on this, George had a good idea of what we liked and didn't like, and also our price range - looking for something under $250k

He then looked around wider and found us some other prospects. A few weeks later he called us up about a couple of Leopard 42's out in BVI and recommended that we make an offer on one, arrange a surveyor to meet us out there, and fly out for a few days.

So we did.

The boat was exactly what we were looking for. It was ex charter (obviously! since almost all Leopards are ex Moorings), but still in good condition, and surveyed well.

Our offer was accepted after a little bit of haggling - and we had ourselves a boat! $235k for a 2002 model.

The boat was actual purchased by our company, and was put into charter for the coming season at Conch Charters in Tortola (actually where the boat was currently lying). They were excellent, and the charter income paid for all the fixing up and maintenance issues, plus a lot of new gear (like new sails, bimini, etc).

This meant the boat was ready, and almost looking like new, when we took it out of charter in June this year.

So far we have been VERY happy with our choice. My girlfriend and I handle it easily, it is comfortable and roomy, and seems very solidly built (as you would expect from a charter boat). No, we haven't yet done any big crossings in it, but now that we have sailed a few hundred miles and have confidence in the gear, we wouldn't have any concerns about that.

So, a bit of a ramble there - but bottom line was:
a) a broker was very helpful - I don't know how we could have done it otherwise.
b) seeing a LOT of boats was very helpful

You can read our early adventures on board here: http:/lifepart2.info

So I wish you well in your search - and maybe will see you afloat one day! :-)

Noel