420: Lagoon 420s Used on the Rise ?

[Garold]

I have recently sold a 2 year old Lagoon 380 S2. The boat was surveyed thoroughly by a marine surveyor chosen by the purchaser. He found nothing of significance that would hold up the sale.

He did however find a couple of areas where he felt the boat could have been better built. He recommended that there was more 'tabbing' between the hull and a bulkhead. Since more than 500 of these boats cross the oceans and stand up to the weekly challenge of charter work, neither we nor the new owner were too concerned about this. But obviously the surveyor had ideas about an improvement in the build quality. He also found a small area (3 inch square) of hollowness in the gel coat on the deck near the bow. The second item was immediately attended to by the UK Lagoon dealer.

As for the stark plastic interior ......... looks fine to me. And my wife says that she really likes the unfussy minimalistic interior. Sort of cheap but also very modern, and certainly easy to maintain. Again, given the performance of these boats in the charter market, they can't be so fragile.

We recently had a good look at a 421. It was bloody huge after coming off the 380. I would happily move out of the house and live onboard one. The UK agent tells me that the 421 has achieved some of the improvements demanded by the market. But he says that if you wanted to sail off far away for a long time with a family, the old 420 had to be a contender because of its size, price, and gentle motion.

We are soon to receive a new 400 and this will be our 4th Beneteau group yacht,so I guess that we are comfortable with the compromises that one has to make in order to enjoy a production yacht. Anyone who wants something a bit more bespoke that is lined out with expensive hardwood, would probably have to pay a lot more.

And as for that ARC result? No proof of anything except that some people use their 420s for serious sailing, and the boat clearly does the job, and however leisurely they cruise, they don't always come in last.

So there we are. Horses for courses, as my dad used to say.