Leopard Owners Group

[Bill6878]

We own a 43' Leopard. Looking for cures about batteries not maintaining a charge. Have talked with one othe owner with same problem. Has anyone had this problem and found a cure? Not the batteries, find no discharging amperage. We draw 5-7amps and have 3- 184AH Gels that don't last 24 hrs.

[ratcatcher]

Originally Posted by Bill6878

We own a 43' Leopard. Looking for cures about batteries not maintaining a charge. Have talked with one othe owner with same problem. Has anyone had this problem and found a cure? Not the batteries, find no discharging amperage. We draw 5-7amps and have 3- 184AH Gels that don't last 24 hrs.

Have you had a load test done on the batteries. If the one batt or both are in bad shape they will show on a load test. Had the same problem a while ago.

[Sparky45]

Hi everyone I am the owner of a 1997 leopard 45. She has been an interesting adventure but have ran into some problems in getting info. Am looking for a new tramp or at least the material to build one. I need some help locating a vender who can sell me the material. The tramps are about 8 feet square, have found materials smaller but would like to not splice the material. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sparky45

[Four Coconuts]

Silverfox and Tim, re: comments on the L45, the L45 is the same boat as the L47 without the hardtop. When R&C added the hardtop they extended the transforms 2" to handle the weight. I purchased a L45 about a year ago, went through a full refit to make her a cruising boat, and subsequently sailed from Annapolis down through the Caribbean to Grenada for hurricane season. I have now sailed her back up to Antigua. We'll see where things lead to next. Observations: 1) a tough boat. I didn't fully appreciate this when I first began, but I have come to appreciate it the more I find myself going out in weather that others aren't comfortable with, and the L45 tales in stride. 2) arguably overpowered-or maybe I'm too conservative. The boat carry's a lot of sail. We always go put with a reef in the mainsail. Today we came up from Guadaloupe to Antigua, 64 miles. Winds never went above 15kts, usually around 11, yet we averaged 7.5kts SOG. 3) monster standing rigging. Our boat is a 2000. I directed Atlantic Rigging of Annapolis to replace all the standing rigging based on age. They came back to me a after reviewing the rig to say that they would be happy to do it, but it didn't need it. Apparently the rigging was "XXX" brand, oversized, and they didn't see the need. I had them do it anyway (with new XXX). 4) the boat lives like 50'. 5) I initially shied away from Leopards because I believed the bridge deck clearence to be an issue from what I had read here on the forum. After all we've traveled it hasn't been an issue. 6) it is a bitch changing the oil. Hot & sweaty. I think I lose 2lbs every time I do it. All in all I have been extremely happy with our purchase. We did undertake a major refit totaling $120k including new engines, but I wouldn't trade her for anything else I've seen in her size. With a family of four she just lives BIG and sails FAST.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Sparky45

Hi everyone I am the owner of a 1997 leopard 45. She has been an interesting adventure but have ran into some problems in getting info. Am looking for a new tramp or at least the material to build one. I need some help locating a vender who can sell me the material. The tramps are about 8 feet square, have found materials smaller but would like to not splice the material. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Sparky45

There are answers to almost all your questions on the Leopard Catamarans Owners' blog. In answer to this one, contact Ullman Sails in South Africa. They used to be Quantum Sails and made the originals. It's still a great place to get the tramps, "off the shelf" almost, and at a very reasonable price.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by Four Coconuts

Silverfox and Tim, re: comments on the L45, the L45 is the same boat as the L47 without the hardtop. When R&C added the hardtop they extended the transforms 2" to handle the weight. I purchased a L45 about a year ago, went through a full refit to make her a cruising boat, and subsequently sailed from Annapolis down through the Caribbean to Grenada for hurricane season. I have now sailed her back up to Antigua. We'll see where things lead to next. Observations: 1) a tough boat. I didn't fully appreciate this when I first began, but I have come to appreciate it the more I find myself going out in weather that others aren't comfortable with, and the L45 tales in stride. 2) arguably overpowered-or maybe I'm too conservative. The boat carry's a lot of sail. We always go put with a reef in the mainsail. Today we came up from Guadaloupe to Antigua, 64 miles. Winds never went above 15kts, usually around 11, yet we averaged 7.5kts SOG. 3) monster standing rigging. Our boat is a 2000. I directed Atlantic Rigging of Annapolis to replace all the standing rigging based on age. They came back to me a after reviewing the rig to say that they would be happy to do it, but it didn't need it. Apparently the rigging was "XXX" brand, oversized, and they didn't see the need. I had them do it anyway (with new XXX). 4) the boat lives like 50'. 5) I initially shied away from Leopards because I believed the bridge deck clearence to be an issue from what I had read here on the forum. After all we've traveled it hasn't been an issue. 6) it is a bitch changing the oil. Hot & sweaty. I think I lose 2lbs every time I do it. All in all I have been extremely happy with our purchase. We did undertake a major refit totaling $120k including new engines, but I wouldn't trade her for anything else I've seen in her size. With a family of four she just lives BIG and sails FAST.

Glad you are enjoying your Leopard. They are great boats. In the interest of accuracy, however, the L47 was not made longer in order to accommodate the hard top, and, indeed, only a handful of the L47's came so equipped from the factory. None went to the Moorings, for example. However, there is a good aftermarket copy of the factory hard top available, and that is what almost all the L45 or L47's who have hard tops are fitted with. Many have done this. Some L45 owners have added the two feet to the sterns. There are a few more differences between the L45 and L47 than just the two feet added to the transoms, most obviously the salon/galley/freezer, but the extensions are the ones that catch the eye.

Cheers,
Tim

[swellride12]

good morning all! our leopard 39 is equipped with standard 2 blade props. my question is that we wish we could get from point a to point b quicker sometimes. if we were to upgrade to a 3 or 4 blade prop with more aggressive pitch, how much speed could we improve to from our current 7 knots

[Candyman]

Hello Everyone

Looking for as much info on the 2014-newer 44 leopard. Anyone with real life owner or experience, I would love to hear from you!

Cheers and Happy Sailing!

Paul & Sandy

[Nelsons]

Hi everybody,
I am a yet to became Leopard owner waiting for delivery.

However as the last post of this forum is two years old I am wondering if it’s still alive. Would be great to have an exchange with other Leopard owner.

[Bean Counter]

Try Robertson & Caine - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

[Spear06]

There are several leopard pages on Facebook that are very active. Just do a search in Facebook. There’s a general owners page, a 45 page, and a 50 page that I’ve seen.

[Nelsons]

Thanks Spear, but I do not use Facebook and will never do.

[LeeV]

I'm not a fan of FB either, but I do find the owner's groups to be the one thing I enjoy; it's the only reason I have an account.

[Cknox]

Are there Leopard years and or models that people would recommend Avoiding? I'm looking to find out what years/models are prone to major issues.

My wife and I are looking to buy a Leopard between 35-45' in two years. I'm able to spend 1-2 months of solid work and $150k all in before sailing with my family in the Caribbean and if all goes well a circumnavigation. We have moderate boat experience but this would be a leap.

[Four Coconuts]

CKnox, a suggestion for you once you have your boat and you’re ready to set off- hire a delivery captain to join you for a week, or two, or three until you feel confident in the vessel and your skills. It’s relatively inexpensive and the right person will also assess your boat and comment on changes or additions you might make for safety, improvements, etc.