For Sale: Aluminum - Lavranos 11.5m Fast Cruiser, $139,000

[svTrance]

Lavranos 11.5m Fast Cruiser (asking price $139,000)

Location: West River, MD
Builder: Jacob Brothers
Designer: Angelo Lavranos

Trance is a custom built design by well-known naval architect Angelo Lavranos, constructed of aluminum (5083-H3 alloy temper). She is a serious, fast offshore cruiser, built for sailing all latitudes. She was professionally and solidly built in Cape Town by the renowned shipyard Jacobs Brothers, up to standards for handling conditions common in the Southern Ocean. She feels strong and tough in pounding waves, yet sails like a lady in light winds. The cockpit is deep and safe with the incredible hard dodger (“doghouse”). The transom opens to a swim platform where the windvane steering system is mounted.
Trance sailed to Annapolis from South Africa (via Brazil), then enjoyed a number of years on the Chesapeake Bay. After major refits in 2012 and 2014, her current owners sailed her as far as the ABC islands and Grenada. She is in excellent condition having been loved and lavished by her current owners, who have invested $100,000+ in making her perfect.

Refits:

Trance underwent a major refit in 2011/2012 to prepare her for an extended cruise. Her bottom paint was removed to the bare metal and many layers of new epoxy barrier coat were applied. The deck and cabin top were completely repainted by professionals with high quality Awlgrip paint and Tuff Coat Marine rubberized non-skid. To minimize maintenance, all paint was removed from the topsides, which gives her an aggressive expedition look. Since all deck hardware had to be removed for a proper paint job, much of it was replaced with brand new hardware such as all opening hatches and clutches. In addition, Trance received many upgrades such as new AGM batteries, a new shaft seal, new Isotherm refrigerator, larger solar panels & regulator, a digital radar, a new chart plotter, a DC watermaker, LED lighting throughout, new digital stereo, and new stateroom cushions. Finally, a shower floor, sump pump and pressurized water system were installed.
In 2014, Trance received additional attention in preparation for a two-year cruise to the Caribbean. Things that make life aboard even more comfortable include new upholstery in the saloon, a larger custom built holding tank, new double stainless steel sinks in the galley, a water filtration system, a new stove, and a water heater that supplies both indoor and outdoor showers with hot water. The owners also improved safety on board by installing new electrical wiring and conduits, a propane alarm, new autopilot linear drive unit, new steering sheaves and bearings, new HT anchor chain, an oversized 55lb Rocna anchor, and a MOB alarm. Finally, the rig received a professional inspection and some of the running rigging was replaced, much of it with high performance material (Spectra).

Additional Specs, Equipment and Information at Home

Dimensions

LOA: 38.5 feet
LWL: 37 feet
Draft: 6’ 9” / fin keel
Beam: 13.58 feet
Displacement: 19,000 pounds
Bridge Clearance: 59 feet
Ballast: 6,600 pounds

Accommodations

This custom sloop is surprisingly spacious below decks. There are two separate staterooms and a roomy salon, large workable galley, nice head and an outboard facing nav station. Trance sleeps five quite comfortably. From the well-sheltered cockpit, one goes below with the galley to starboard and the aft guest cabin and nav station to port. To starboard is a large light oak galley complete with deep galley sinks, propane stove, and large refrigerated ice box. Stepping down one step to the main salon, the dinette is U shaped with a comfortable settee. There is ample setting for six and excellent storage throughout. To port is a straight settee seven feet long which can, with lee cloths, provide additional sleeping accommodations offshore. The interior has an open, airy feeling accomplished by the combination of numerous overhead hatches and the ample use of light woods. The forward cabin has a large "V" berth, good lighting and storage. Between the main salon and forward cabin is the head to starboard and hanging locker and tankage to port.

Engine

The engine room is located amidships under the galley countertop with excellent access on all sides.

Yanmar 4JHE (44hp), fresh water cooled
Cruising Speed: 6 knots, Maximum Speed: 7.5 knots
Shaft 1 3/8" SS
Max Prop two blade 16.9" with 10.4" pitch
Standard Yanmar 55 Ah alternator
110 Ah high output alternator (2016) with regulator
1 AGM starter battery (2016)
Teleflex TFXTREME 3300 Control Cables (2014)
New stop cable (2014)
DSS Manecraft shaft seal (2012)

Tankage

Fuel: 85 gallon
Water: 97 gallon
Holding: 30 gallon (2014)

Electronics & Navigation

Raymarine E7 chart plotter with Scanstrut adjustable rail mount (2012)
Navionics Gold charts of North America, the Caribbean and Central & South America
Raymarine ST6002 Linear 1 Autopilot (2007), new linear drive unit (2014)
Windpilot Pacific Plus rugged, ocean proven windvane steering system
Raymarine ST50 depth sounder, speed and distance log
Raymarine 18” digital radome radar scanner mounted on mast (2012)
Backup Garmin GPS chart plotter, model 176
ICOM VHF IC-M422 with full function cockpit Mic
ICOM 800 SSB radio
Compass with light
Digital marine stereo w/ Yamaha speakers (2011)
Wilson 4G cell phone booster kit with marine antenna (2014)
Bitstorm Bad Boy wifi antenna with interior wireless router (2015)

Electrical Systems

12V DC System
2x 140w Kyocera solar panels (mounted on arch) with Bluesky 2512i regulator (2012)
LED navigation, anchor, deck flood and interior lights (2012 - 2014)
12 volt AGM house bank of 460 Ah (2012)
Link 10 battery monitor
Automatic battery charger
ElectroGuard cathodic protection system
Zincsaver galvanic isolator

Rig and Sails Inventory

All lines except outhaul, boom vang, spinnaker halyard and genoa halyard controlled from the cockpit

Quantum fully battened Dacron/Mylar composite mainsail (2006)
Quantum Dacron/Mylar composite 155% genoa (2008)
Quantum 110% jib
Storm jib and staysail (Doyle)
Spare main and jib (Doyle)
Asymmetric spinnaker with sock (Doyle), new spectra halyard with high load snap shackle (2016)
Genoa track with new Genoa cars (2014) controlled from the cockpit
Roller furling - Schaeffer
Deck stepped 54' high mast outfitted with mast steps and Fredericksen ball bearing slides and double spreaders.
8mm stainless steel ocean rig with twin backstays
Removable inner forestay for staysail
Running backstays, T900 (2014)
Boom Vang - manual
Lewmar traveler located on aluminum coachroof
New mainsail cover (2012)
All Lewmar winches:

Primary Sheet Winches #46 ST

Secondary Sheet Winches #44 ST

Plus a #30 ST

Halyard winch on the mast #30

Ground Tackle

Primary 55lbs Rocna anchor (2014)
Secondary 44lbs Delta and CQR 24 anchor
165 feet of 3/8” HT chain with 135 feet rode (2014)
Ultra flip swivel (2014)
Lewmar electrical windlass (new gypsy in 2014)
Stainless steel bow roller

Hull and Deck

Marine grade 5083 aluminum
10 mm thick plating around keel
5 mm below waterline
4.5 mm above waterline and deck
Thick layer of foam insulation from waterline up
Handrails, chain plates, stanchion bases, pul/pushpit bases, etc. are welded to the hull
Additional deck fittings bolted with nylon fittings and Tef-gel
Hard/aluminum dodger/doghouse incorporated into the deck is rock solid
Swim platform
5 fixed ports are half inch Lexan

Galley

Cooking is done in a well-lit, ventilated space just at the companionway.
Very well insulated top loading refrigerator with Isotherm air cooled compressor (2012)
Very deep stainless steel double sinks (2014)
The Purest One under counter water purifier system (2012)
Whale Gusher Mk3 Manual Galley Pump (2012)
Force 10 gimballing 2 burner stove and oven (2014)
Two 17lbs Viking composite propane tanks (2014) with custom built SS brackets

Head

Jabsco manual head with vented loop (2012)
Poly X sanitation hoses with lifetime warranty against odor permeation (2012)
30 gallon, 3/8" polypropylene custom built holding tank with baffles (2014)
Shower with Whale Gray Water IC Pump Kit (2012)
Whale Gusher Mk3 manual galley pump
Whale Mark V Manual Sanitation Pump (2014)
Groco SweetTank Holding Tank Odor Neutralization System (2014)
Big Orange filter (2014)
SCAD Technologies Solo Tank Monitor with External Sensor (2014)

Safety

Fire blanket and extinguishers
Coast Guard required safety equipment
Trident Marine gas control and detection system (2014)
2x Whale Mk5 Universal Manual Bilge Pump (cockpit, aft stateroom)
Rule electric bilge pump with superswitch (2012)
Solo Screamer Autotether Wireless Lanyard Alarm System (2013)
2x jacklines

Comfort

DC watermaker AquaMaax, 12 GPH. (2012)
Aqua King freshwater pump (2012) with accumulator tank (2014)
Water heater (2014)
New upholstery in saloon (2014)
Sunbrella covers for all hatches (2014)
New companion way ladder (2014)
New cockpit awning, Sunbrella (2012)
New cockpit cushions (2012)
Deck shower (hot and cold fresh water)

Ventilation

7x Lewmar Ocean hatches (2012)
2 x dorade vents with screens and covers (2012)
7x opening port lights (4 with port visors).
1x Vetus extraction vent.
3 x 12v Bora fans (2012)

Additional/misc

Tender: 10 ft. Port-a-Bote with 4 HP four-stroke Mercury outboard and paddles
Tools, numerous spares, lines, fenders, buckets and spare sailing hardware/blocks

[svTrance]

Some additional pictures.

[lamadriver]

now thats a real cruiser.... Nice boat.

LD

[svTrance]

Thanks! She took good care of us during our years of cruising.

Cruising

[JPA Cate]

svTrance,

Most Americans are not very familiar with aluminum boat construction, and few have heard of Lavranos. Perhaps detailing what you have done with her to keep pitting away will help stir some interest.

His boats have an excellent reputation in South Africa. We sailed on a friend of ours Lavranos 47, and I was very impressed with its sailing abilities.

Your boat indeed looks like she has been lovingly maintained, and i hope you find a good new home for her soon, folks who know enough to understand her virtues....

Ann

[svTrance]

Hello Ann,

Thanks for your reply. Pitting is indeed a concern, but preventable if you adhere to the rules. For example, we isolate all dissimilar metals with nylon, rubber or tef-gel. It is also important that your anodes make good contact with the hull and we prefer aluminum anodes over zinc. In addition, our boat came with several gadgets such as a meter that warns you if any electricity leaks or stray currents are present, and a zinc saver/galvanic isolator for shore power connection protection. An isolation transformer would be even better, but we never plug into shore power. How about the dreaded “penny in the bilge” tale? As far as I understand, that requires sea water but a properly built aluminum boat has a dry and dusty bilge.

Of course, all of this depends on the builder who should have used the correct aluminum alloy and welding wire. From what I have read, this has not always been the case resulting in catastrophic consequences and perhaps that is why some people are afraid of aluminum boats. However, this should not be an issue at all if the boat has been constructed by professionals who know what they are doing. If so, you end up with a very strong and stiff boat.

Mr. Lavranos did indeed design some wonderful sailboats that are fast and perform very well upwind. Currently, we are looking around for a bigger aluminum boat. We like our Lavranos design so much that basically we are looking for a 46ft version of our beloved Trance.

[Jim Cate]

Were any of the Compass 47/48 built in alloy? the ones that we know of in cold molded timber are very nice boats and terrific sailors. No reason that one could not have been built in other media.

Good luck with the sale and the hunt!

Jim

[Snowpetrel]

Very nice. I like the little pilothouse, whats inside it? Any seats or inside steering, or does it just give extra light and headroom down below. Any pictures of the hatch and layout would be much appreciated.

Edit: I see it looks like a raised galley and chart table? Whats the view like from it. I am planning to add something like this to my 40 foot alloy boat one day. I really like the look of this one.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[svTrance]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Were any of the Compass 47/48 built in alloy? the ones that we know of in cold molded timber are very nice boats and terrific sailors. No reason that one could not have been built in other media.

Good luck with the sale and the hunt!

Jim

Thanks Jim. Am not familiar with Compass, but just found out it is a Lavranos design as well. Sleek and fast looking boats. Don’t know if any were constructed of alloy, but too bad it does not have a doghouse. Hope to make it to your area in our new boat soon!

[svTrance]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Very nice. I like the little pilothouse, whats inside it? Any seats or inside steering, or does it just give extra light and headroom down below. Any pictures of the hatch and layout would be much appreciated.

Edit: I see it looks like a raised galley and chart table? Whats the view like from it. I am planning to add something like this to my 40 foot alloy boat one day. I really like the look of this one.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Thanks, Snowpetrel. The little pilothouse (doghouse as the South Africans call it) starts out as a hard dodger. Two people can sit under it in the cockpit and it provides protection from the elements on passage. It keeps you dry and out of the wind, but you are only one step away from the action. It also has a window in the top, so you can see the mainsail. Continuing into the interior, the doghouse flows into the coachroof, providing extra light and headroom. If you sit on top of the companionway steps you can look through the forward and side windows as well, but I usually sit under the doghouse in the cockpit on long passages and just stand up every now and then to peek over for an excellent view of the surroundings. My wife however prefers to sit on the companionway steps.

As you noticed, the inside of the doghouse contains, on a slightly raised platform, a nav station to port, galley to starboard and engine in the center. The engine cover doubles as additional galley counter space or a forward-looking chart table on passage. When you stand in this raised area you can see out to forward, port, starboard and aft. The large windows are 1 inch Lexan and therefore very strong. I would have liked to replace it with tempered glass, but was told it is quite expensive. The windows provide excellent light in the boat and make it a more pleasant place to be in my opinion.

We like our doghouse very much and it is a must have for our next boat, which we plan to take farther. Unfortunately, there are not many builders out there that make aluminum boats in the 46-foot range with sleek looking hard dodgers or small pilothouses.

I will look for photos of our doghouse and post them.

[Snowpetrel]

^^ thanks, excellant information, I like the idea of using the engine box as a chart table and galley space, and it would be nice to be below cooking and still able to see around. The companionway step sounds like a nice place to sit in cold weather.

I really like the verandah over the cockpit that enables you to sit nice and dry. Out of the weather and also protects the companionway from rain and spray. It would also make a nice foyer to leave wet gear when at anchor I guess.


What sort of door/washboatd arangement does she have? It often seems quite hard to integrate some sort of door into this layout without it being in the way.

25mm polycarbonate is going to be indestructible. Ive tried to destroy 6mm stuff without success. I guess it needs to be that thick to stop it flexing to much?

All the best with your boat selling and hunting.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Jim Cate]

Trance, have you looked at any of the Van de Stadt designs? The 47 foot Samoa, often built in alloy, has a very capable hard dodger cum doghouse, and are all around excellent boats. Evans Starzinger's Hawk was one such, and took them on many a high latitude adventure. I believe there are some slightly smaller versions with similar design features as well.

Jim

[svTrance]

Some additional pictures of the doghouse. Some of them I took when moving in or during a refit, so please excuse the clutter.

[svTrance]

Snowpetrel, our companionway door is interesting and something I had never seen before. It consists of two sections. The lower section opens out toward the cockpit and forms a “bridge” that you walk on when entering/exiting. The upper section folds in half and then opens to starboard. It is secured by a fixed elastic cord to prevent slapping when open. You can see it in the pictures above.

[svTrance]

Jim, thanks for the tip. I am familiar with the Van de Stadt designs and the Samoa is definitely on our shortlist, but still have not found the right one. I was aboard Hawk when she was docked in Annapolis and checked out another Samoa as well. Very beautiful and strong boats. There are several other Dutch designs that we really like, but perhaps I am a bit biased since I am Dutch myself. Unfortunately, many of those boats have painted hulls and teak decks, which I want to avoid. In my opinion, an unpainted hull is one of the major benefits of aluminum and to me it looks very nice as well.