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

[lawdawg]

I am preparing to take a 2 year sabbatical and reclaim my sanity
I am planning on buying a boat around December to March and spending the next 7-8 months in the Caribbean then farther south during hurricane season and then just taking my time over the next two years going where my desires take me. I want a solid blue water boat that can do atlantic and pacific crossings. I am going to finance and want to spend under 250k so I have another 40k or so to spend on upgrades before getting into my travel kitty. I am thinking about 4k per month with emergency reserve. I am going to be leaving by myself and so thinking 37-42 is about as big as I could handle safely. On the crossings I will likely pick up some passengers looking for a lift in exchange for their help and my covering their expenses. I have read the reviews here on Privileges, have seen 37s but no 39s for sale and don't know if the 42 would be too big for me to handle solo. I have also thought of FPs and have heard good things about Mantas. I am in Atlanta, Ga and so a great broker that really knows his stuff would be appreciated. It seems like there have been mixed feelings about Lagoons on here, some highly recommending and some bad, as is always the case when asking opinions. I am going to charter for a week at a time 3-4 times in the next five months to try different boats. The financial ability to make this happen has just come up recently and so I don't have years to research, but have been sailing since I was a child on monohulls around 42 ft. Since I will be living aboard I like the cat idea and stability in harbor and at sea. I am hoping that I can benefit from the experience of the people on here in helping to choose the right Cat and am open to other manufacturers than the ones I listed. Thank you for taking a look and hope to get some good input. Best wishes,
Drew

[Doodles]

I can't help you with makes and model, but someone like maxingout will probably give you some feedback on the Privilege 39 since he sails one. My thought was if you plan to sell the boat after the two year sabbatical I would be very careful with the financing. My crystal ball says the economy is going to be even worse shape then and boat prices will have continued to drop, so you could find yourself underwater with the boat. I'm sure the brokers will say differently but that's just my opinion.

[maytrix]

There was a Lagoon posted on here for $300k and from what I read it doesn't seem like it would need any upgrades so perhaps it might still be in your price range.

[Palarran]

2004 Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi 40' Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
2005 Fountaine Pajot Lavezzi 40 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

These are my suggestions.

[gbanker]

I went on Boats for Sale, Yachts for Sale, Used Boats, Power Boats, Motor Yachts and found 124 multihulls in the 170 -250k range located on the east coast and in the Caribbean.
If I were looking I would do a similar search and would be most interested in "owner version" multihulls. There is a 38' Maxim/Voyage 380 "Spanish Angel" that I have been on in St John. She has been lived aboard and is all set up(just an example 2002 Maxim - Voyage 380 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com).
Good Luck in your search and remember that it is not so much the boat but the crew that determines the success of the adventure.

[Palarran]

I'm not sold on the owners versions as much as everyone else. They typically seem heavily used and in my opinion, in much worse shape then 5 year old charter cats. You pay 40% more for a similar boat. Most of the cats I've chartered where in really good shape compared to the boats I see rotting in anchorages.

[Palarran]

Except that Maxim, holy cow that's a nice boat for the price. I'd be flying to St. John to check it out quick.

[mason_jj]

We have recently gone through this process recently. We used a broker (Alexis from the multihull company). He was helpful and patient. We did end up purchasing a 2003 maxim 380 and we could not be happier. If the boat were closer I probably would have gone to see that one. He has a website for his boat as well. Boat looks great.

Jeff

[lawdawg]

Maytrix, thanks for the heads up, just took a look at it and he seems pretty firm, so probably out of the price range. I'd really rather get as close to the bottom end of my range as possible to have more breathing room.
Palarran, both those Lavezzis look pretty well equipped, but I'm trying to stay in the states or Carribean so I don't have to deal with trying to get a boat back here from Europe from the get-go.
gbanker- thanks for taking the time to look, that Maxim certainly looks very impressively setup, just don't know about them, looks like it is time to do a search on here for reviews on the Maxims

I really do appreciate all of the help that people are giving, many thanks

[lawdawg]

Maytrix, thanks for the heads up, just took a look at it and he seems pretty firm, so probably out of the price range. I'd really rather get as close to the bottom end of my range as possible to have more breathing room.

Palarran, both those Lavezzis look pretty well equipped, but I'm trying to stay in the states or Carribean so I don't have to deal with trying to get a boat back here from Europe from the get-go.

gbanker- thanks for taking the time to look, that Maxim certainly looks very impressively setup, just don't know about them, looks like it is time to do a search on here for reviews on the Maxims

I really do appreciate all of the help that people are giving, many thanks

[mason_jj]

Let me know if I can help in anyway with your research. I have my owners manual close by and have recently purchased a 380.
I'm new to the forum and have had few opportunities that I felt I could actually provide useful info!

[lawdawg]

Jeff, I'd really appreciate just your thoughts on why you chose the 380 with all the options out there. What were your requirements? What boats did you narrow down to? I really have tried to research a good bit, but as I am in Atlanta, my ability to just head down to the marina and see things in person is rather limited and so I am doing most of my research online. Having bought boats in the past, what it looks like in pictures vs in person are two very different things. The more you try to learn, the more muddied the waters seem to get and as I'm sure you know from your recent purchase, it can be daunting. By the way, CONGRATULATIONS!

[mason_jj]

lawdawg,
We spent over a year traveling to view different boats. I was very interested in a Catana 411, Venezia 42, Leopard 38 and the Maxim 380. I moved further away from high performance and more towards comfort and safety for my family. Eventually you have to make offers on boats and see where you come to in price. And then you have to look at true condition of the boat. Think survey but don't end at the survey. Test all systems yourself. Allow lots of time to make sure everything works properly. If it doesn't, don't pay for it or have them fix it.
We looked hard at a Venezia 42 and I do think that it is a good boat. But we are really happy to have the boat we have now. It is a great fit for our family. We had a good shakedown cruise this summer and we are looking forward to go extended cruising this winter.

[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.

[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)