Which catamaran ?

[redbreast]

Hi all great site . Lots of very good information .
Next year we are planning to take a year maybe more off from work.
We need a cat 2 people good sea keeping, we plan to sail the med if we buy it in europe or the Carabian if we buy in America . We are based in the channel Islands.
I have sailed the lagoon 380. Fontaine Pajot 38. Broadblue38
there is a FP 38 avaiable locally but its a ex charter 4 cabin version (no soul) down below. ? 1) Recomentaions on where in the world to buy, taking into account our currencie is the pound.
And more impotantly what to buy we can afford about £80,000 at the moment possibly double that next year.? should we wait another year and get a better boat for more money. Resale value is quite important too. But also the layout of it as we have to live on it. Willing to travel to view boats.

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by redbreast

1) Recomentaions on where in the world to buy, taking into account our currencie is the pound.
And more impotantly what to buy we can afford about £80,000 at the moment possibly double that next year.? should we wait another year and get a better boat for more money. Resale value is quite important too. But also the layout of it as we have to live on it. Willing to travel to view boats.

I would wait a year when you have more money and then take your pounds to the USA/Caribbean and buy a boat coming out of charter with the Moorings. If you get a leopard from the Moorings you will get a lot of boat for the money with good resale value and a strong roomy cat. The good news is the pound is 2:1 to the US dollar wich equals buying power.

keegan

[redbreast]

Ok thank you . Which area USA/Caribbean in particular would you look. and at any Leopard model ?

[Tropic Cat]

The problem with buying a boat coming out of charter is that the boat sale price is just the beginning. Usually, a refit is required.

If it's just for two people, I'd look for a Catalac 10M in Europe which is in good condition. Unless the goal is to purchase a boat project, IMHO that would make more sense.

[Lodesman]

Have you considered a Woods Flica? There's a lovely one that will be headed your way - OCEAN.......LINK
Of course it's up to you, but I'd recommend not waiting - go now!

Kevin

[Keegan]

Originally Posted by redbreast

Ok thank you . Which area USA/Caribbean in particular would you look. and at any Leopard model ?

Go to the moorings website and look under DESTINATIONS and any of those destinations would be a good place to start looking for a used cat. If the boat has been well maintained in charter then a complete refit often times will not be needed. Any used boat will need work though. Another cool thing about this idea is that the boat is already located in a great cruising local.

Anytime you buy a used boat the survey will be the most important activitiy which will indicate how much work it needs after you buy it. Dont underestimate these costs and you will be happy after you purchase.

Keegan

[jzk]

The Leopard 38 seems like a really nice value for 2 people. It does seem like too much boat crammed into a 38 foot boat, so don't expect it to be a rocket ship, but it seems like they can be had for $180,000. They have a really nice owners hull.

There are plenty of people that have bought Leopards coming out of charter, so you can get some good advice as to what to expect. All of them need window re-sealing and some things like that. You may need new engines or they may run another 3,000 hours. Some of the moorings repairs for collision surface damage seem to be failing after a bit and need to be redone. Alternators have been put in wrong such that they aren't aligned and they fail early. Stuff like that.

And, of course you will need a really good survey, as they are balsa cored. I have seen some of the surveys, and I have viewed some of the boats coming out of charter, and they have been pretty good overall. Especially considering the value.

[redbreast]

Ok got all that thank you. Will try and find a sutible web site. Hope all this dosnt take too long as im without a boat at the moment . and missing the sea.

[BigCat]

Check out:

(Sail) Multi-hull

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by redbreast

Ok thank you . Which area USA/Caribbean in particular would you look. and at any Leopard model ?

British Virgin Islands is where the biggest charter fleets exist. You won't find many ex-charter cats at £80k though as they'll all be worth more than that at the end of the typical 5 year programme (except maybe an old Lagoon 380/FP Athena neither of which IMHO you want)

For future resale value you want a smaller manufacturer (Privilege, Broadblue etc)rather than one of the big 'charter' names. You might just about get one of the later Prout 38 for around your budget.

[muskoka]

Don't forget to budget for the refit & equipment required to cruise. The charters are set up for people spending a week aboard and you'll want to make modifications for short handed and extended cruises.

[redbreast]

Hi all thanks for the replies, have just returned from a sea trial all be it light winds around Isle de brehat in France the cat performed beautifully I was very surprissed how close to wind we could sail . The boat is in desperate need of a lot of TLC, including new main sail. Not sure how much to offer 1994.

[muskoka]

Which boat did you sea trial? The Catana? Or the FP 38 ex-charter?

[redbreast]

The Catana 411 . fully loaded for blue water cruising 1994 but very tired not loved . Engines apparently have been serviced annually ? they look very scruffy 6" of weed on the boat engines only and top speed 4.5 knots to 5 knots twin blade folding prop. generator on board solar panels water maker etc But what price to offer ??? Its also a big Big Boat ?

[ldrhawke]

Originally Posted by redbreast

Hi all thanks for the replies, have just returned from a sea trial all be it light winds around Isle de brehat in France the cat performed beautifully I was very surprissed how close to wind we could sail . The boat is in desperate need of a lot of TLC, including new main sail. Not sure how much to offer 1994.

Estimate the cost to bring the boat back to life; including new sails, repaint, new engines, etc., double it and deduct it from the asking price. If the owner declines the offer, move on.