Voyage 440 Plus, anyone know this cat?

[ireaney]

Mustang Sally, I was purely quoting what is generally said in the mags, I am infact interested in your smaller sister a Voyage/Maxim 380 but I am also concerned about their clearance. have you ever sailed the 380, if so I would welcome your views.

[Mustang Sally]

The stainless steel posts were about 1 1/2" maybe 2" and went from the inside cabin roof through the floor and were connected under the floor. The floor would move up and down the posts about 6" when in rough water. I was actually surprised, especially when the paid captain told me this was normal on all cats and i had never seen this before.

[Mustang Sally]

I have been through the 380 but not sailed it. After carefull inspection my main concern was the leg/foot room in the aft cabins when in bed. There is a ledge that makes the bunk very tight and as live aboards i have a concern about a good bed. Other than that i like the boat. We sailed our 42' mono in the caribbean 1500 last november and met 2 Lagoon 41's. Nice boats and we considered one except both owners wished they had a little more waterline, so that may be an issue with the 380.

[ireaney]

When you say Lagoon 41's do you mean the 410, if so did you sail them and again if so what were your impressions as to her performance comparing it to your 44.

[Mustang Sally]

Both boats were friends of ours. We liked the interior but did not sail them. We were considering a 410 but changed our mind after both owners wished they had a little more waterline. Now remember, these are offshore cruisers, not island hopping people.

[TabbyCat]

Our only experience was on a Voyage 430 during a 1 week cruise in the Windwards (Dec 2005). The boat (over 5 years old at the time) was really laid out well for 4 couples - we had a blast!

There were however, a few things that I did not like if I were going to be a liveaboard.

- Pounding. Upwind in 4 - 7 ft seas the pounding was just incredible. We had to stow any items on the saloon table to keep them from slowly working their way to the edge of the table and on to the floor. One of our crew was asleep on the settee and was knocked off (he kept sleeping). Note this was only an issue on the last day.

In similar conditions we have not had anything similar on our MaineCat 41. All cats may pound, but how and when they pound varies greatly. Bridgedeck clearance is one of the top specifications to be aware of.

- Cockpit layout. This is entirely personal and YMMV, but I did not care for the way the cockpit was laid out on the 430. I think there are too many ups and downs (coamings and footwells). I had to be careful to keep from banging my shins or twisting my ankle. I am sure that you would get used to it over time. Also, the 440 may be laid out differently.

- Nav table. The nav table faces backwards. Some people have to be able to hold a chart in the same way the boat is moving.

- Battery placement. On the 430, the batteries are under the rear berths on each side of the boat. On our cruise, we had a little charging issue and a strong smell of sulphuric acid was in the berths. I am sure this was largely a maintenance issue for the charter company, and w/AGM batteries/proper maintenance there is no issue.

[craig boorman]

I really must respond to some of the prior posts about the Voyage 430,440 and 450, all the same boat with minor changes. I am a two time Voyage owner and own the 500 presently.

Voyage yachts is one of many South African cat builders and Voyage has won awards it their industry for their electrical work (The finest I have ever seen on any yacht). Highly unlikely to cause any fire.

The tradgey off the PNW was sad indeed but was not the fault of the maker of Voyage,,,by the way the owner of that cat ordered another new 440 because of the amazing structual condition she was in after that beating when she washed up on shore. It was the only Voyage that has ever flipped. I know of 3 lagoons and 1 catana that has flipped.

Whats all this talk about bridge deck clearance? An inch or two has little effect on pounding, ALL cats POUND or SLAP the underside of the bridgedeck. If you want to minimize slapping get a longer waterline cat.
My new 50' voyage measures exactly the same (from water to the underside of the deck) as the new 50' Privalege.
The less windage design of Voyage more than makes up for a couple of inches in bridge deck clearance.

All cats have features that make them appealing and there isn't a perfect cat made yet, just have to weight pluses and minuses and make your own decision.

Kindly

[toewsrus]

Just moved onto a 430, have lived on it for about 3 weeks and sailed it 4-5 times.

One of our criteria when looking for a cat was bridgedeck clearance. We let it slide a little to get the livability that we have.

It has slammed a few times, the first time realy startled me. But it hasn't been an ongoing thing yet, I'll let you know if it becomes one.

[Saildoggie]

I just LOVE your statement:
The slight variations in spelling and grammar have been added in order to enhance this post's individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.

Too cool, I would love to borrow it, maybe just for my car forum with your permission!

We are so looking forward to chartering the Voyage 440 Plus.
May be a future owner before too long.

[Keegan]

Saildogie:

You may want to look into a Dolphin Cat. I was smitten by the Dolphin and ended up buying one. One of the Dolphin owners that I talked to prior to the purchase had owned a Voyage 440 for a few years prior to owning the Dolphin and he claimed that the Dolphin is a much better boat in many ways and that "it pounds substantaily less than his voyage did"

You can charter a Dolphin at Blue Lagoon on St Vincent in the Grenadines.

I too agree though that there is not a perfect cat out there and that there are more than one good choice.

Keegan

[toewsrus]

Originally Posted by Saildoggie

I just LOVE your statement:
The slight variations in spelling and grammar have been added in order to enhance this post's individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flaws or defects.

Too cool, I would love to borrow it, maybe just for my car forum with your permission!

We are so looking forward to chartering the Voyage 440 Plus.
May be a future owner before too long.

I borrowed it from a friend, with permission, who borrowed it from a friend, with permission. So I guess I don't really own it, but I'll give you permission to go ahead and use it.

Good luck on your charter!

[Badgerman]

Went around anegada in a Lagoon 440 (windancer)......no pounding in good sized seas. Nice ride and quite fast.
Lagoon 420 pounded like crazy in light chop.
Heard the Voyage line are pounders.

The Dolphins look great to me.