Marquises 56: In General

[Morrissey]

I see that one of the two that you were going to look at is still on Yachtworld. Supposedly there have been price reductions from E595k down to E425k, but still unsold after all that time. That is hardly surprising given the pricing for a new Salina 48 Evolution, which would be just about first choice IMO.

David, how much work/money did you put into the boat -ex:charter wasn't it? - to get it to where you wanted?

[Palarran]

Armagh,
Palarran, (ex Alexia) was a private owner boat used very lightly. That light use actually caused quite a bit of problems as almost all the pumps had seized up and needed to be replaced. Here is a list of the major items I've done to her.

Replaced 4 heads with fresh water electric flush
Removed one head and installed stackable washer AND dryer, not combo.
Replaced main refrigeration unit
Replaced small bar refrigeration unit w/ 12v unit
Replaced standing rigging
Install 1 power winch
Replaced stack pack
Replaced trampolines
Converted forward v-compartment to a berth
Installed new 1000 gpd water maker
Replaced one a/c condenser
Installed all new LED lights
Refurbished both motors
Removed many unused electrical/electronic components
Upgraded some of the running rigging
Installed a new huge bbq grill
Installed a deck washdown system
Purchased and rigged new dingy and motor
Buffed and polished all fiberglass and stainless
New lifelines
Service both liferafts

Palarran is now ready to go anywhere. It hasn't been cheap - that is for sure. I would say she is probably the best fitted Marquises out there now. I have an awesome hardtop, FB500, twin Northern Lights generators, ice machine, dive compressor, spinnaker, etc. I purchased the boat at a very good price and even with all the work feel I could sell her and at least be even, including the broker fee.

I have been on two the the other listed Marquises that are in St. Martin so if you want info on them, I'll give you an opinion.

[Palarran]

Also, I wouldn't compare a Salina to a Marquises. Salina's are production built with all the components basically placed in and affixed in some way. The Marquises are semi-pro and almost all the components are piece by piece installed. You should be able to get a 56' Marquises for the same or less then the 48' Salina and it really will be much better - IMO. Slower though, by maybe 2 kts.

I looked hard at the Salina. The one feature that I really don't like is the way the dingy is carried. There is NO way it isn't going to drag in the water when it gets rough out.

[deeebeee]

David,
I saw in your first post ( April 1st ) you were looking for a 56 pajot.. i looked at the 2 links you have there. ( the 2 Pajots for sale ) and was wondering if you went and checked them out ? This is a bit overwhelming for me ( Looking for boats ) Problem is......
they are so far away and in so many different places. NOT LIKE LOOKING FOR A CAR ! IF you looked at those 2 boats ( in your link ) you could let me know what you think ? I was told over and over again Stay away from boats that have been in the charter business ect ect ect. But looking at those 2 boat they are on the lower side of $$$, dont mind fixing the cat up a bit but dont want to buy a trashed boat either.....
Are you over in B.V.I ???
Thanks for any info..................

[Palarran]

I think if you count them, there are only 6 individual boats listed. There's just multiple listings per boat. Three of the six are in my marina. The best of the three is actually the cheapest. It's the Moorings boat.

This boat has been crew chartered from the beginning. My friend was the captain of Victoria for the first two years. I know the current crew also and they are very good and meticulous with keeping her up. It really is in very good shape. Quite honestly, I wouldn't even look at the others. You can almost for certain purchase Victoria right now for $400 to $415k. If you put $50k into her, she would be in excellent condition.

[deeebeee]

Thanks for your info...
how do these boats sail ? and how are the hauls on that boat? i am also looking at the lagoons

[Palarran]

Which Lagoon?

If your looking for a speed demon, keep looking and add about $500k to the price.

In general, I'm happy with the performance. My boat is substantially heavier then what the Moorings boat is going to be. Like by 4000 lbs.

What do you mean by hauls? Hulls? Their good, it's still floating. Solid fiberglass below the waterline and foam core above. I've had no issues.

[Morrissey]

David
Thanks for the detailed responses. Despite a lengthy list that no doubt cost quite a few $$$ it seems that you now have a great boat without too much trouble. I thought one of your early posts was suggesting a huge amount of refitting, which would have taken more of both time and money......

Good point about lightly used boats. One that has been crewed in charter should be in better condition than a bareboat would be, and if still in charter then the maintenance should be right up to date as well. I suspect that once the 'for sale' sign is out, and particularly if it is taking a long time to sell and offers are regarded as low, then maintenance work is minimal.

Very interested reading your views re: Salina. I haven't seen layout of early ones, and not sure if it changed, but I do like the 'island' berth arrangements of the current model. I'm not sure of hull width (or berth width for that matter) and recognize that fatter hulls will give a performance hit. But I've felt that at 48' it should be possible to get wide island berths. I really need to get onboard one to confirm. What is the hull width of the Marquises in the berth areas, do you know? Is an 'island' berth configuration possible?

[Palarran]

Armagh,
You know, I did have quite a few plans. Thanks for reminding me.

But now I'm used to her. I actually like the galley being down below. And the PO had installed bunk beds in both forward berths so I was able to get extra kids in those. And I'm also converting the v-compartments to v-berths.

I know your in OZ but if you get the urge to do a mini fly-about, head to the Miami boat show. It's usually in February. You can then head to Tortola, then St. Martin. In those three spots you could see about 90% of what's available.

I would love island berths and no, it really isn't practical to convert on my boat. But we again have gotten used to it so it's not a problem. FWIW, a hard top bimini - that's a requirement. Another thing I would really appreciate is an integrated boom crane/gangway. There's a Lagoon power cat next to me in St. Martin that has one and it's pretty slick. He can lift his dingy off the back of his boat easily and store it in chocks. And when it extends he has his passerelle.

The Salina's are nice but if I had the money, I'd look at a Leopard 46 first. That is a really nice boat. Good layout, high bridgedeck, and lots of space. It probably hits all your buttons.

[Morrissey]

David
Those Leopard 46 are pretty nice. There is a 2008 one here for 'just' $736k ! Allowing for the 15% import cost (duty + GST) its probably reasonably priced, but way more than I want to spend. But there are some in the Caribbean a year or two older for more reasonable prices. They sure have utilized space well for the charter market. Not sure where to fit a washer and other liveaboard stuff though.

I probably do need to fly over to look at them. Just need a time window to do that...

[Palarran]

Originally Posted by Armagh

David
Not sure where to fit a washer and other liveaboard stuff though.

That's the real nice thing about the FP 56, you have way more space then you can possibly use. Believe me, I've tried to fill it for a year now. Really, for the price, I don't think you can do better. I'm not just saying that because I own one but because I spent 5 years checking many different cats out first. Good luck.

[beiland]

Originally Posted by Palarran

That's the real nice thing about the FP 56, you have way more space then you can possibly use. Believe me, I've tried to fill it for a year now. Really, for the price, I don't think you can do better. I'm not just saying that because I own one but because I spent 5 years checking many different cats out first. Good luck.

First off, glad you like your boat so well.

When this design first came out I was not excited about its looks at all. They had a strange rolled top to the deck house. Good thing they changed that.

As I posted above I have hardily recommended these vessels for a long time. I came back to this subject tread while searching for some of the latest offerings to recommend to a potential client.

I'm confused about one of your postings. Did you mention that your galley was NOT in the saloon area, but rather down below?

It does appear as though you are carrying quite a load on your vessel, and certainly this would affect the performance somewhat.
1)Do you find much in the way of wave slap under the bridgedeck?
2)At what wind speed do you first reef your mainsail?
3)Would you venture an opinion on an increase in sail area?
4)Would you venture an opinion on an increase in hull length to 60 ft as some have been done?

[Palarran]

Hello Brian,
Since the last post, I have sailed Palarran from St. Maarten to Greece. We did about 7000 miles on her this summer. Just before I left both diesels where replaced with the same 75 hp Yanmars.

1) I didn't have any wave slap's in the Caribbean to speak of. But, we got wrapped up in some nasty weather on the Atlantic crossing and I can say she pounded unmerciful for 72 hours straight. It is somewhat unnerving at first, but after a day or two you get used to it. In the Med we had some pounding due to the steepness of the waves but it was more a slap then a pounding if you know what I mean. I personally believe that absolutely every catamaran is going to slap and pound depending on the sea state and direction you are hitting the waves.

2) 20 knots apparent
3) I really wouldn't change much. I have a asym spinnaker and really liked using it. If anything, I would either get a smaller asym to fly in heaver air or a roller furling gennaker.
4) The Marquises that I have seen with an increase in hull length has been driven from them increasing thier engine size by about 3 times the standard. I personally can't imagine why anyone would want this option. With the 75's, we do 6 knots at 2000 rpm's burning around 1gph, 7 knots at 2400 rpm burning 1.5 gph, and 8 knots at 2800 rpm's burning a little over 2 gph. Having both motors running add's about a 1.5 knots, doubles consumption, and max's at 10.5 knots. We typically motor at about 2200 rpm's. If you put these 150 hp per motor upsize I doubt that they will still push the boat faster then 18 knots.

In regard to the galley down, that is the standard. If you are looking at the Marquises that is in Langawai it was modified. The boat does look sweet though. I wonder if that is what it looks like right now or if the photo's where taken right after the refit. Also, their tender must weight about 800 pounds. The only photo I didn't like was of the generator. No sound sheild and it looks a little tired, at least compared to mine. In any case, I would be really interested in that boat if I was looking right now, it seems to have all the bells and whistles plus some.

[beiland]

Originally Posted by Palarran

Hello Brian,
Since the last post, I have sailed Palarran from St. Maarten to Greece. We did about 7000 miles on her this summer. Just before I left both diesels where replaced with the same 75 hp Yanmars......

Thanks for that reply Palarran,....and so rapid

Why don't you consider adding some photos of your vessel to this discussion? Photos are always appreciated , particularly since it was you who started this thread.

[beiland]

BTW have you ever run into this fellow Stefano who has a 60' FP Salina?? He has owned and built a number of cats over the years.

Boat Design Forums - View Profile: Spiv


Here is one of the videos from Greece he posted to me....great sounds

Greece 2 - YouTube