Blue Sky is a 2008
Lagoon 420 hull #57 which we moved aboard 2.5 years ago and have been cruising the
east coast of the US and the
eastern Caribbean ever since with 11,000 sea miles under our belts. Have owned both monohulls and this cat and they are both great choices.
Since I own a 420, I am a bit partial to it. Here is why. It is a heavy boat and when the going gets tough, it is a very stable platform out there, and that is important. It has seen us through a couple of challenging storms. Since 98+% of the time we are happily anchored, we love the 360 vista of the world a cat offers while you go through your daily chores or are relaxing. This was a huge reason we picked a cat over our previous mono and it has been well worth it when you are on the boat 24x7.
As for payload, I don't think you have to worry. Lagoon's own info shows almost 10,000 lbs. Look at the download Rapuni sent. It is very detailed. Remember it is in kilos and that first column shows a crew weight of 825 kilos, far more than you and your
kids, because it is tied to the max allowed at Class A. You would have to do something harsh to overload a 420. It was designed to handle a whack of batteries aft for the
electric version RIP.
But, you can easily poorly balance a 420 because of all the seemingly wonderful hatches and spaces for
storage up forward. We have found that the boat is much faster and seakindly as you move weight aft. Big difference. So all the lightweight stuff goes forward, extra life vest, empty jerry cans, and yes, the TP as well. The extra
fuel fits nicely aft in the
cockpit during a
passage.
Since we are double handers, we love the
communications with the 420 design between the
helm and
cockpit and kitchen. Great! Don't particularly like the newer sleeker design because there is much less of an open airy feel in the cockpit with the lower
bimini.
Sailing performance is what it is. Suffice it to say that with my loaded boat I can keep up with or surpass most chartered monos or cats. The boat is slower by maybe a tenth of a
knot or two, but knowing how to sail it more than makes up for the difference. On anything but a close reach, can usually beat most boats my size, not that I ever get competitive. Of course having the right
sails makes a huge difference on this boat -
gennaker for lighter winds and an Asail,
spinnaker or parasailor for downwind. We fly the parasailor. The only time I cry in my
beer is close hauled. Getting a by the
GPS tacking angle of less than 110 degrees in a 5 foot swell with
wind chop, just isn't in the cards, often is really 120 degrees. So if you are driving upwind under sail, about the best you can do is half boat speed. So if you are barreling along in a 20
knot wind, you might have a VMG of 4 to 4.5 knots tops. But like any cruiser I avoid upwind at any cost because it is simply not very comfortable in a cat or mono. If you want a cat to go well upwind, you need ones with
dagger boards. Not worth the fuss to us.
Yes, a 65' mono will get you there faster, mainly due to the difference in
hull speed or in very light winds. The 420 maxes out at
hull speeds pretty easy in winds over 20 knots so you will be tearing along at 8.5 to 9 knots, but getting much over that is edgy sailing, possible, but not a stress I put on my rig. I must add that one night the parasailor was up as the wind sneaked up to 25 knots and we found our speeds in the 13-14 knot range - but we were not
racing, so down it came.
So load it up, keep the heavy stuff aft, buy
sails as you learn the boat, learn how to trim the sails for speed (added almost .75 knots over what I first got out of the boat just
learning to trim) get a great
anchor, sail by the numbers (420 really doesn't tell you if it is over-canvassed like a mono would), and most of all have fun with any boat you choose.
Oh, and learn to get good exercise
diving your bottom to keep it clean (pleasure in the Caribbean). It will make a bigger difference than the boat you bought - and you will be more fit!
- Paul
sv Blue Sky
Lagoon 420 hull #57
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