Why. Used Seawind is so much Higher Price than Lagoon

[Lagoon4us]

OK .
I met some West Australians that chartered a 450 they were in HVAR at quayside, i'm sure they said it cost around $8,000 for the week at peak season.... The difference between here and the Wet-sundays for charter is you have to radio in to confirm your anchored every 12 hours whereas in Croatia they give you the keys and say ' see you in a week'........

[dirkdig]

Having to wait around to radio in before you go anywhere in the mornings and then be at anchor by 4.30 would be a pain.

Still its nice having beaches to ourselves when the bareboats have gone and tucked themselves in.

[monte]

whats the best time of year to cruise around the whitsundays? and is that the best cruising area in Australia?

[Lagoon4us]

How did you ever get past Port Clinton, Dukes, Duck and Percies i'll never know i could spend two lifetimes there.......

[Lagoon4us]

Winter is traditional sailing the trades north then heading south on the northerlies BUT i don't mind all year round yes it's hot yes there'slot's of boats and yes cyclones develop BUT theres lot's of good mangrove creeks (don't go to a flood plain creek) where you can tie off to the trees.

Whitsundays are good to visit and pass through the islands south to Brisbane are all good in their own way and then there's the gorgeous reef......

[Factor]

Originally Posted by monte

whats the best time of year to cruise around the whitsundays? and is that the best cruising area in Australia?

Winter - and No.

Its good but there are plenty of other great spots. Tassie is fantastic, the Kimberly coast but even more accessible, the Curtis Coast. There is a massive amount of great cruising in Australian waters, a lifetime of it. And close by is Lord Howe and Un Zed and Louisiades and New Cal etc etc.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by monte

whats the best time of year to cruise around the whitsundays? and is that the best cruising area in Australia?

g'Day Monte,

I Agree with Factor here. The Whitsundays are over crowded with charter boats and tourist rides, the water (so lovingly described as "crystal clear" in the guide books and glossy brochures) is generally pretty murky, it is overfished, and there are potential cyclones and always stingers in the summer months. There are a couple of decent cyclone anchorages, but they become way too crowded when a storm lurks about the area.

Pretty islands, some decent anchorages (but often very crowded) and decent facilities for provisioning in Cannonvale, so it has its attractions, but we tend to just slide through when transiting the area.

For us, the best areas are Tassie in summer and the coast , reefs and islands north of Cairns in winter. The Kimberlies would be interesting, but the combination of extreme heat and crocks and stingers in the water make us leery... we like to swim and snorkel wherever we go, especially if it is hot.

Cheers,

Jim

[monte]

Yeah Im with you Jim, FNQ to me is like water water everywhere, but risk your life when you swim in stinger season. I would only want to cruise there May till October really. And yep it does look like perfect in the brochures, white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. Tassie sounds nice but even mid summer I guess the water is pretty cool for swimming and the weather is a lot less consistent than QLD. Either way its good to see some sense in this thread for a change

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

They dont come apart, i have tried plenty of times.

Fair enough, but the fact is this one WAS coming apart. The hull/deck join aft of the chainplates had opened up over a length of about 2 metres. I SAW this : we were tied side by side in Port Bundaberg marina.

At sea, they had been in real danger of losing the boat. The port hull had been taking on water, to the extent that the port motor was inoperable. They had to turn North West, taking the seas on the starboard quarter, protecting the port hull and run to Lady Musgrave island.

It's easy for some, (who quite possibly don't even own a boat) to criticize the seamanship. But from listening to the radio scheds, I actually thought he was handling the situation reasonably well.

[dirkdig]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

Fair enough, but the fact is this one WAS coming apart. The hull/deck join aft of the chainplates had opened up over a length of about 2 metres. I SAW this : we were tied side by side in Port Bundaberg marina.

At sea, they had been in real danger of losing the boat. The port hull had been taking on water, to the extent that the port motor was inoperable. They had to turn North West, taking the seas on the starboard quarter, protecting the port hull and run to Lady Musgrave island.

It's easy for some, (who quite possibly don't even own a boat) to criticize the seamanship. But from listening to the radio scheds, I actually thought he was handling the situation reasonably well.

Sounds like they handled the situation very well.
Its very different in the heat of battle to the heat of the loungeroom chair in front of the fire!

[D&D]

Originally Posted by dirkdig

They dont come apart, i have tried plenty of times.

Ditto...and another fellow we know whose business it is to deliver vessels all around the world and who, in that business, has accumulated literally hundreds of thousands of sea miles said...

"These boats [Lagoons...he had just delivered an L380 across the Atlantic in what he said was amoung the worst conditions he'd ever experienced at sea] will take anything you can dish out to them...and more..."

Now the Lagoon factory support...well, that's a different story altogether...

...and we still like Seawinds too!

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by monte

wow I think its been answered pretty clearly and repeatedly why? The main points being
- mass production means cheaper component costs
- Australian economy and cost of living means more expensive labor costs as well as increased overheads for factories
I've sailed a seawind 1000 and currently sail a lagoon 380. The difference in performance is negligible, the difference in cruising comfort is huge. I would place a seawind 1000 midway between my hobie 18 and my lagoon 380 for comfort and safety. Sure I could sail around the whitsundays on my hobie and have a lot of fun, but why would I? And regarding price, I paid a little more for a new Lagoon 380 in France than a 10 year old Seawind 1000 is selling for in Australia (and less than a new one sells for)
It's pretty simple to understand really, unless you can't

Interesting.
Thanks.

Not that I could afford a 380 but I do want something larger than the Gemini I owned.

I have looked at a lot of cats and now realize most are simply out of the question for one reason only. I will NOT and the wife will NOT spend a lot of money and have to climb OVER the other person in the bunk in order to leave said bunk.

Sure makes picking a boat a lot easier than I though it would.

Oh, and she won't "climb up" into a bunk that she may "fall from" while attempting to leave if things are bumpy.

[smj]

Lagoon4us, you stated the Seawinds are more fragile? Could you explain as one of the reasons I really like the Seawinds is their stout build compared to most the charter boats.

[casablanca]

Smj,

I had a Seawind 1000XL and now have a Lagoon 420. No comparison as far as build is concerned. The Lagoon is far sturdier, but also much heavier. However, despite popular opinion the Lagoon goes quite well. I have had the opportunity to compare performance recently (downwind) and so far we have kept up or done better than other cats of similar size. Yesterday we had a Seawind 1160 behind us in 15-25 kts, both with spinnaker and I had expected the lighter boat would pass us, but we did better. This was over a period of about 5 hours on the same course.

I'm very satisfied with the Lagoon.

Bob
Casablanca 420.

[Lucky Larry]

Originally Posted by casablanca

Smj,

I had a Seawind 1000XL and now have a Lagoon 420. No comparison as far as build is concerned. The Lagoon is far sturdier, but also much heavier. However, despite popular opinion the Lagoon goes quite well. I have had the opportunity to compare performance recently (downwind) and so far we have kept up or done better than other cats of similar size. Yesterday we had a Seawind 1160 behind us in 15-25 kts, both with spinnaker and I had expected the lighter boat would pass us, but we did better. This was over a period of about 5 hours on the same course.

I'm very satisfied with the Lagoon.

Bob
Casablanca 420.

After sitting back and watching this topic for a few days I think that the OP really wanted to know why he was seeing listed Seawind prices which were much higher than the listing prices of Lagoons of a similar length and age. The first reply to the OP was clearly baiting for an argument, and much of what followed was just that with some sincere attempts to answer the OP's question intermixed.

After reading the latest posts, and specifically the one quoted from Casablanca, it might be accurate to say that the OP's question can't be answered because it makes no seance at all that a Seawind would be listed for more than a Lagoon of similar length and age.


Lucky Larry