420: Lagoon 420 Pro/Con

[chriadel]

Over Christmas/New Years of 2019/2020, I was bareboating a Lagoon 42 out of Rhode Town. It was an owners version and our intent was to see if that was the boat we wanted. It was.

COVID thru a wrench in those plans!

Now, we're considering a Lagoon 420, (owners version). I have two questions.

What are the pros/cons of a 420 (other than age)?

How does the 420 compare to the 42?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

[Jim Woodall]

I own a 2019, Lagoon 42. I chartered the 420 for 10 days many years ago and briefly considered the 420 early in my catamaran search..

People get emotional about their choice of boats so I will not try to list the cons of the 420. It's fair to say it has a reputation as a poor sailing boat. The 420 has had a tortured history because of the failure of the electric motors when initially introduced. If you're a master at sail trim she may perform for you, but if you aren't you will be challenged by her.

The Lagoon 420 and the Lagoon 42 are COMPLETELY different boats.

The various issues with the 420 caused Lagoon to make minor changes and rebrand her as the 421 a few years after she was first introduced. Many 420s and 421s were sold primarily into charter fleets and the sales numbers were eventually pretty good. Due to the perceived deficiencies in the 420 and 421, Lagoon stopped manufacturing a 42 foot boat for several years. The Lagoon 42 was introduced in 2017 and was a totally redesigned 42 footer. Lagoon intentionally moved far away from the 420 and 421 designs.

Although still a heavy boat with an underpowered sail plan, the 42 is a much easier boat to sail and her performance is better than either the 420 or 421. When the 42 was introduced a Lagoon executive acknowledged in a Cruising World article that the 42's predecessors had been poorly designed - that was a big admission by Lagoon. With the addition of a screecher/code-0 and an appropriate spinnaker the 42's sailing performance is greatly enhanced. The 4-cabin 42 lacks a bit for storage, the 3-cabin version has ample storage.

The most successful cruising catamaran in history by far is the Lagoon 380. There have been more than 1000 hulls, that is amazing. It took the 380 almost 15 - 16 years to hit that mark. The Lagoon 42 will hit that mark in less than 7 years from the time the first hull came out of the factory. The Lagoon 42 is well on its way to becoming the most successful cruising catamaran in history. Sales numbers do not mean a boat is great in all respects, the 42 has many compromises and shortcomings. However, the sales numbers do tell you that hundreds of owners have chosen the boat over other boats. Many 42s have been sold into charter fleets but her sales numbers to private owners are much, much stronger than the 420 or 421. The private sales are better than those for virtually any other cruising catamaran - period. Lagoon got it right with the 42, in fact they knocked it out of the park. The same cannot be said of the 420.

Again, the Lagoon 420 and the Lagoon 42 are COMPLETELY different boats.

[chriadel]

Jim,

Since you sailed both, I have a question.

When shiftng the drives from forwad to neutral then reverse, did you notice a distinct difference in the shifting between the 42 and 420.

It's an odd question but, we just bought a 421.