Leopard Catamarans from South Africa

[mavasu]

I have been a trimaran sailor for 18 years now and am considering a switch to catamarans for cruising.Do any of you have experience with Leopard catamarans specifically the Leopard 40?
mavasu

[Nordic cat]

Hi
Have a look at the multihull forum here, plenty of threads on Leopards, or else use the search button ..

Regards

Alan

[Keegan]

You should charter one from the Moorings to gain first hand knowlege of them. They do have balsa core below the waterline and that is a concern for me.

Keegan

[Portiate]

Hi Mavasu,

I just wrote a small note on the Leopard 4600. I do feel these older cats are a bit heavier and stronger built than the newer ones, namely the 384's, 444's and 4800's.

Philip Taveira,
Portiate - Yacht Charter Portugal

[henryk]

Two of my friends have them and they are better than the rest of the mass production cats. They also come with the traditional shaft drives, not sail drives which to me is way safer system. If i ever will be shopping for one, leopard would me my first choice. You can also read the blog of Bulgarian family cruising on the 38 foot Leopard 'The Life Nomadic'

[rancher44]

I have a leopard 40. Incredible boat handles heavy seas .a little loud on deck slap but over all great boat for the price . I up grade to a gen set , solar panel and Electric winch. The major draw back are the davit supports . We braced them to the hard top and no trouble since. I have the charter version but my friend has the owner version.
Any other questions just ask and I will be happy to respond.

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by Keegan

You should charter one from the Moorings to gain first hand knowlege of them.

This is an excellent suggestion.

Better yet - do three charters, one each on a Leopard, Lagoon, and FP. (But save some money and select one of the Moorings' competitors. ) This will give you a good sense of the differences between the top three (most built) mass production builders. I did this, thinking I knew which one I preferred, ruled that one out, and ended up not choosing any of them. Your mileage may differ.......

2 Hulls Dave

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by henryk

Two of my friends have them and they are better than the rest of the mass production cats. They also come with the traditional shaft drives, not sail drives which to me is way safer system. If i ever will be shopping for one, leopard would me my first choice. You can also read the blog of Bulgarian family cruising on the 38 foot Leopard 'The Life Nomadic'

The Leopard 40, as queried by the OP, has sail drives and not shafts. The production started with them engined with Volvo and then changed to Yanmar. Good boats that are solidly built with the exception of the original davits, which needed some extra support. They were designed by M&M. There is the new Leopard 40 being introduced early next year, designed by Simonis, the designer of the original leopard series (38's, 42's, 43's 45's and 47's).

[Dulcesuenos]

Leopard 38s have shaft drives, and are built very strong, they sail well. We hit 8 knots plus regularly.

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[Overlord]

Get over the balsa core man !!!! Built over 1200 leopards so far and you can count the total balsa issues on one flaming hand.

[maytrix]

Just thought I'd point out that the original post was from 2008!

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Overlord

Get over the balsa core man !!!! Built over 1200 leopards so far and you can count the total balsa issues on one flaming hand.

You know this how?

1) You are the warranty claims admin for Leopard?

2) A Leopard salesman told you such?

[Dulcesuenos]

My understanding is they dont have a history of osmosis, blisters, or sinking from structural failures (on delivery or otherwise)or creaking and flexing like mad under a nasty seaway,


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[downunder]

Originally Posted by DotDun

You know this how?

1) You are the warranty claims admin for Leopard?

2) A Leopard salesman told you such?

Certainly we know FP has a history of osmosis/blisters that is well known but I have never heard of balsa issues with Leopard. Have you??

Australian builders have built most Schonnings, Spirited catamarans and Oram's using all balsa construction. I have not heard of any issues with them also.

Clearly there are issues with balsa in quite a number of USA built vessels but mostly it seems to be poor construction and improperly fitted fittings. All well known issues.

[impi]

Leopard Catamarans ... Great boat, great people and generally willing to provide back up service is what we have heard. Many happy cruisers out there on Leopard Catamarans! If it had a fly bridge .. I may be be looking more seriously at one!