Which Power Catamaran ?

[downunder]

Koum,

As you are in Melbourne why don't you fly to Brisbane/Gold Coast where there are more cats around. Organise to talk to a couple of designers resident in the area and if possible try and catch up with CATMANDO.

I suspect he knows where all the vessels and designers are and would be as knowledegable on efficient power catamarans as anyone around. Would be invaluable for you if Catmando had some time for you.

Peter Brady Welcome to the Frontpage

Yacht design & boat plans by Lidgard Yacht Design Monohull and Multihull

Contact Us Based IN VICTORIA

[Koum]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

Sailing is easy and sailing a cat is easier yet. You do know that they rent these charter cats to anyone with a pulse? Try it and you'll be hooked. See Bumfuzzles.

Well I will go out ona friends boat in SIngapore in MAy and see how easy/difficult it is.

However one useful thing on my side is that I have another friend who is a sailing nut who is prepared to spend 4-6 weeks with me on a boat showing me the ropes.

BTW I am asronished that some people will charter out boats to people like me who havent a clue about piloting boats but i am not dumb enough to even contemplate it

[Koum]

Originally Posted by downunder

Koum,

As you are in Melbourne why don't you fly to Brisbane/Gold Coast where there are more cats around. Organise to talk to a couple of designers resident in the area and if possible try and catch up with CATMANDO.

I suspect he knows where all the vessels and designers are and would be as knowledegable on efficient power catamarans as anyone around. Would be invaluable for you if Catmando had some time for you.

Peter Brady Welcome to the Frontpage

Yacht design & boat plans by Lidgard Yacht Design Monohull and Multihull

Contact Us Based IN VICTORIA

I am in Melbourne for at least another 3-4 weeks and here until mid April but I will try and get to The Gold Coast

In the mean time I shall check out a few marinas and places here in Victoria but fully intend to find as many first hand reports from owners as possible in the next few months as after Melbourne I am going to be in Singapore and Thailand for a couple of months

[Sand crab]

Koum, you are dumb enough. Seriously though, they give you a quick couple hour heads up and you are on your way with a quarter million dollar boat. It ain't rocket science.

[Intentional Drifter]

Koum, there's lots of good reasons why the overwhelming majority of ocean crossing private boats are sailboats. Simply a matter that wind is free, takes no space, is (relatively) reliable among the trade wind routes, and doesn't weigh anything (on your boat, that is). Ocean crossing power boats are expensive beasts and must be able to take on lots of fuel. To take on lots of fuel, they must also be big. To move a big boat takes lots of power, which means more fuel -- and so on, and so on. Even "small" sailboats, though, can do it. That 16 year old a few years ago did a nonstop circumnavigation on a 34 footer.

Learning to sail really isn't all that hard. You can learn how to move the boat with sails in 20 minutes. Of course, you'll still be learning 20 years later, but that's a lot of the fun! Your friend who will take you out for 4 to 6 weeks will be able to teach you a lot. Some classes, or just going out with others will teach you, too. Much of the stuff you'd need to learn to run a power cat in such circumstances is just as applicable to sail. So, I agree with one of the others (Sand crab?) who recommended that you just go sailing and see how you like it. You might be very pleasantly surprised. Personally, I'd rather sail, any day. So much more pleasant, in so many ways.

By the way:

1. The Leopard 37 power cat that went from S. Africa to the Caribbean did it in multiple hops and was loaded to the gills with fuel. They had very favorable weather, which certainly helped. And, they only went 7 knots most of the way. (BYM Product and Industry News) Note that they only took 32 gallons of water. Eek! I wouldn't want to head off into the S. Atlantic with only that much water. A sailing cat would very likely have a considerably quicker crossing, with no where near the anxiety, in my humble opinion.
2. While your friend's Lagoon 500 is a very nice, luxurious boat, they are definitely not unsinkable. Search right here at CF and you'll find a story of a new 500 that would have sank had the skipper not intentionally run her aground, first. There is another story of a 440 or 500 that sank after a hurricane, with pictures of just the bows sticking up out of the water. While many cats do have positive buoyancy such that you could cut them in half and both halves would still float, Lagoon isn't one of them. There was another new 500 up here in the PacNW that hit a buoy (first trip, what a bummer) and the hull split open, almost sinking her. Fortunately, they were very close to Port Townsend and got her saved.
3. Getting in touch with Cat Man Do is a very good idea. That guy has spent lots of time researching power cats and knows his stuff like very few others around here. If you're serious about following that course, he can show you the way.
4. Finally, no matter what you do, boats are an exercise in balancing your compromises. Even with the incredible variety, you can't get it all. Figure out what's most important to you, prioritize, learn, re-prioritize, and then make a choice, knowing that there will be times when you wished you had compromised some the other way. Just the way it is.

But, most important of all -- have fun! That is what it's all about.

ID

[Koum]

Originally Posted by Intentional Drifter

Koum, there's lots of good reasons why the overwhelming majority of ocean crossing private boats are sailboats. Simply a matter that wind is free, takes no space, is (relatively) reliable among the trade wind routes, and doesn't weigh anything (on your boat, that is). Ocean crossing power boats are expensive beasts and must be able to take on lots of fuel. To take on lots of fuel, they must also be big. To move a big boat takes lots of power, which means more fuel -- and so on, and so on. Even "small" sailboats, though, can do it. That 16 year old a few years ago did a nonstop circumnavigation on a 34 footer.

Learning to sail really isn't all that hard. You can learn how to move the boat with sails in 20 minutes. Of course, you'll still be learning 20 years later, but that's a lot of the fun! Your friend who will take you out for 4 to 6 weeks will be able to teach you a lot. Some classes, or just going out with others will teach you, too. Much of the stuff you'd need to learn to run a power cat in such circumstances is just as applicable to sail. So, I agree with one of the others (Sand crab?) who recommended that you just go sailing and see how you like it. You might be very pleasantly surprised. Personally, I'd rather sail, any day. So much more pleasant, in so many ways.

By the way:

1. The Leopard 37 power cat that went from S. Africa to the Caribbean did it in multiple hops and was loaded to the gills with fuel. They had very favorable weather, which certainly helped. And, they only went 7 knots most of the way. (BYM Product and Industry News) Note that they only took 32 gallons of water. Eek! I wouldn't want to head off into the S. Atlantic with only that much water. A sailing cat would very likely have a considerably quicker crossing, with no where near the anxiety, in my humble opinion.
2. While your friend's Lagoon 500 is a very nice, luxurious boat, they are definitely not unsinkable. Search right here at CF and you'll find a story of a new 500 that would have sank had the skipper not intentionally run her aground, first. There is another story of a 440 or 500 that sank after a hurricane, with pictures of just the bows sticking up out of the water. While many cats do have positive buoyancy such that you could cut them in half and both halves would still float, Lagoon isn't one of them. There was another new 500 up here in the PacNW that hit a buoy (first trip, what a bummer) and the hull split open, almost sinking her. Fortunately, they were very close to Port Townsend and got her saved.
3. Getting in touch with Cat Man Do is a very good idea. That guy has spent lots of time researching power cats and knows his stuff like very few others around here. If you're serious about following that course, he can show you the way.
4. Finally, no matter what you do, boats are an exercise in balancing your compromises. Even with the incredible variety, you can't get it all. Figure out what's most important to you, prioritize, learn, re-prioritize, and then make a choice, knowing that there will be times when you wished you had compromised some the other way. Just the way it is.

But, most important of all -- have fun! That is what it's all about.

ID

Thanks for the very sound advice. As previously mentioned I am at the stage where I have been thinking about this for around a year or so and now I have reached the stage of researching the type make and model of boat I will need which I believe is a power cat around 40-45' long.

The next stage is to go and see as many different types as possible and find owners who can tell me exactly what they like and dislike about their boats.

Then I guess this will be followed by a long period of searching for a boat in good condition at the right price.

Whilst I have not yet eliminated any make or model I do feel that I would not be suited to sails but will not eliminate that option either even though sailing seems to be a very relaxing way to go from A to B.

As it seems extremely unlikely that I will be making long journeys with infinite hops between Asia and the Med it seems likely that I will be a fair weather boat person (hopefully meaning I am unlikely to come across seriosly bad weather) and as such dont need to worry much about dual helms and such as I can just island hop in relatiely short periods of time.

Taking this into account it means it would be pointless for me to exclude the Leopard as that will obviously serve my needs in either the Med or in Asia.

Somehow I think that the practical reality will be for me to find boats in good condition with the right specification and then to pirchase that boat as and when I come across it as the makes and models being considered will all fill my criteria of island hopping once e longish Asia - Med criteria has been eliminated which I concede I have to drop.

So simplifying matters I would say I have a preference for a power catamaran with a composite hull with a high level of finish/comfort/luxury cabin, fixtures and fitting wise but there dont seem to be too many on the market of the Leopard, Fountaine Pajot and Lagoon type in my price bracket so I will have to widen my net.

[cat man do]

It seems pretty obvious to me that with your budgetary constraints, not wanting sails but wanting something that has range, something that in reality none of the production boats have, that this style of vessel is the only logical choice.


Colin Ayres Imp 55 Power Cat: Power Boats | Boats Online for Sale | Grp | Queensland (Qld) - Sydney

She has smaller diesels than all of the ones you are considering 97hp x 2
She can still sprint to 16 knots if required
At 8 knot cruising speed she has a range of 3500 miles
She has good WLL and restrained accomodation to aid with efficiency, sea-kindliness and load carrying ability
She is well proven having cruised from Perth to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, back to Darwin and around top end to Sydney

You will never get a fully kitted out luxury finish 40-45 ft production boat with
high speed
range
and high load carrying ability and all for $500k.
No such animal



You need to compromise.

[Cotemar]

Koum,

I drive from the inside helm all the time. All you need is a chartplotter and a remote autopilot which are very easy to install yourself.
My boat came from France to Newport Rhode Island USA using both inside and outside controls and chartplotters.

Here are the Stats:
Covered 6,744 miles in 54 days from LaRochelle France. 250 hours added to each engine.
1st leg from France to the Canarie Islands took 18 days and covered 1,637 miles
2nd leg from Canarie Islands to St. Martin took 23 days and covered 3,039 miles
3rd leg from St. Martin to Newport RI. USA took 13 days and covered 1,794 miles

[Multihull]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Koum,

I drive from the inside helm all the time. All you need is a chartplotter and a remote autopilot which are very easy to install yourself.
My boat came from France to Newport Rhode Island USA using both inside and outside controls and chartplotters.

Here are the Stats:
Covered 6,744 miles in 54 days from LaRochelle France. 250 hours added to each engine.
1st leg from France to the Canarie Islands took 18 days and covered 1,637 miles
2nd leg from Canarie Islands to St. Martin took 23 days and covered 3,039 miles
3rd leg from St. Martin to Newport RI. USA took 13 days and covered 1,794 miles

Nothing to do with power cats but:
54 days total, 500 hours on the engines = approx 21 days full time enigine running and 33 days sailing ! Is that normal for an Atlantic crossing? approx 40% engine time.

[gosstyla]

Since you have eliminated long passages from your plans, power cats by Argus in Australia and Buzzard Bay in US possibly could be of interest.

[Cotemar]

Multihull,

The point I wanted to get across is the Inside Helm, which the OP though would be a problem. It was talked about earlier in this thread.

[Multihull]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Multihull,

The point I wanted to get across is the Inside Helm, which the OP though would be a problem. It was talked about earlier in this thread.

OK, understood, I deleted the sentence

What about the 40% motoring ?

[Koum]

OK I am beginning to favour the Fountaine Pajot Cumberland 46 now as it seems to have rave reviews from what I can find on the internet. Undortunately its over my budget but the previous version the 44 is bang in the price range and looks to be super good too.

I am also arranging to charter a 46 in Thailand for a few days around mid to late April to see what it is actually like but it looks superb.

Does anyome know the differences between the 44 and the 46 aside from the marginal increased length?

[Cotemar]

Koum,

Looks like the Cumberland 46 is in your price range. There are a few around 500k
2008 Fountaine Pajot Cumberland 46 Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[Koum]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Koum,

Looks like the Cumberland 46 is in your price range. There are a few around 500k
2008 Fountaine Pajot Cumberland 46 Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Yes I have seen that one but the other two on yachtworld are way more expensive but this one in Turkey has the owners configuration which is the one I am after otherwise I guess I will have to buy a four cabin version and consider converting one side back into an owners cabin

I have asked a friend to contact them along with some of the 44's advertised so he can run through the specifications of the various boats and ask the right questions about whatservicing has been done and engine hours etc etc