Where to find a suitable catamaran? We need advice!

[Steffen26]

My Family would like to buy a catamaran soon. That s why we were to the boat show">Miami boat show 2009. Unfortunately we don' t have too much experience with sailboats. Could you help us? Which are the most famous and reliable boats and not too expensive? How could I make sure not to be tricked?
Thanks for your help!

[Hudson Force]

Your question could only be answered well with information about your expectations for cruising range and accomodations.

[Steffen26]

we would like to travel in europe first, like in the south of france, greece and turkey...we need space in the boat so that we could stay 10days or longer...is it important to buy a diesel? we are 4persons...we liked the lagoon 420 but what do you think?

[sandy daugherty]

The money you would spend chartering a catamaran once or twice will be paid back many times by helping you decide what features are important to you, and (more importantly) what you do NOT want in a catamaran. It will teach you to sail, and show your family how much fun it can be. Charter with a major company first, like Sun Sail or the Moorings, and go with a Captain who can help you learn all about it.

You can spend a lot of time reading about sailing on the internet, but remember that you are reading someone else's opinion, and they may not be as experienced as they sound!

Just go out and try it for yourself!

Don't buy too big a boat. You don't want to have to pay a captain to help you play with your own toy....

[Steffen26]

We are more interested in buying a catamaran not chartering.

I was searching on google "catamarans for sale" and I found the "Catamaran Company" top ranked.
Moreover a user send me a video which was placed on this page. The page of this company looks very serious and is number one on google, but do you have any experiences? Or would you recommend me another? But normally you can rely on google or not?

[farotherside]

cosign what Sandy said. by all means, buy your boat, but charter first. Spending $2000 to charter the wrong boat for a week instead of $200,000 buying the wrong boat and having to live with a poor decision is money *very* well spent, and you get to try out a boat first. I'd go so far as to say that you should spend time on at *least* two different boats before making your decision. no one boat is perfect for everyone.

No website, broker or google search will be able to tell you what you personally like or dislike about a boat, especially the little things which aren't apparent for a while.

[Steffen26]

Yes I think you re right, it might be better to charter a catamaran first. I ll talk to my parents in the evening, but it ll be difficult. My dad was fond of the Lagoon 420 at the Miami Boat Show. Could I charter a boat like this? Where? What would be the price? I found this offer LAGOON 42' WINDANCE VI Used Catamaran For Sale Is it expensive? No or? It is very new for a boat isn t it?
Thanks already a lot for your great help

[Ram]

The boat your looking at is $550K and you think your Dad will not spend $3-4k for a week charter to see if he does or does not like it????????????????????????????????? Sounds Fishy to me

[Steffen26]

but he visited it and he s the kind of person who is difficult to persuade of waiting and trying...but believe me i ll try my best...

[snort]

Your dad sounds like a hard one to please and needs to have his way. Here's what I've prepared for you to say: "OK, Dad, you win! I'm going to let you buy one of them there catamarans for me, AND!, if you like, you can pick one up for my old buddy, Snort!"
Send me a message as soon as you get the OK. OK?

[Steffen26]

answer, save your energy and try to help people seriously or leave them their peace...this stupid answer doesn t help me at all

[sandy daugherty]

Down, boys! This site is for boats, not egos.
The Lagoon you asked about is a case in point. It's an electric boat, and so new that we can guess the owner is terribly disappointed with it. We can only guess why, (which we will, of course, do!)

Unless there is some tragic reason for selling the boat, it's probably safe to assume that the owner was expecting something different from his half million dollars. Chartering a similar boat should have educated that expectation! He is probably taking a loss that would more than pay for a lot of chartering experience.

If someone doesn't have the time or money to charter a few times, what is going to change to give him the time and money to buy and use the boat?

[snort]

Sorry! I thought this thread was a joke and I was just playing along.