[SOLD] Switch 51 Performance Catamaran

[truckman]

Greetings to all,
We are looking to pass on to new owners our home. To say she is well maintained and cruise ready is an understatement. We have taken pride in ownership from the day we purchased her. She was in fine shape when we bought her, but she is in even better shape now as we have continued to invest in her each season. Most recently in the last 6 months. New Standing Rigging, Spectra Watermaker,Bauer Jr. II Scuba Air Compressor, Northern Lights Kw Genset just to name a few things. We were set to Sail her to the South Pacific this Spring, but health problems with my wife's mom has made us reevaluate our plans. If you don't know about the Switch 51's they are a different breed of Cat that sails extremely well easily logging 200 mile days. Great pointing ability with her Carbon Fiber Daggerboards and long waterline make her a sailors dream to sail with the ability to carry a payload without suffering performance. With her cutter rig and triple reefed main she is easily sailed by a couple. I'm currently single-handing her in the Bahamas on my way north after some great diving in the Turks.
She is loaded with enough spares and toys to take you around the world. We will be sailing her up from the Bahamas back to Maine via New England where she could be delivered to her new owners.
Please PM me if you would like more information and full inventory.



Asking Price: $429,000
Location: The Bahamas

[John Silver]

Hi Truckman
Is your boat listed anywhere?
Thanks, John

[truckman]

Hello, Currently we are listing it on this site and Sailboatlistings.com.


Thanks for your interest and let me know if I can answer any questions for you.

Dave

[John Silver]

Hi Dave
I am looking for a performance dagger board catamaran 45ft or bigger for longer offshore passages / blue water and live aboard. Can you tell me low long you've had the bcat and details of any offshore passages by you or previous owners. I'm interested in performance info for the Switch 51 offshore sailing in various wind and sea conditions and the sail plans. Do you have any polar diagrams?
Many thanks ,John

[truckman]

Originally Posted by John Silver

Hi Dave
I am looking for a performance dagger board catamaran 45ft or bigger for longer offshore passages / blue water and live aboard. Can you tell me low long you've had the bcat and details of any offshore passages by you or previous owners. I'm interested in performance info for the Switch 51 offshore sailing in various wind and sea conditions and the sail plans. Do you have any polar diagrams?
Many thanks ,John

Hello John,

We have owned the boat over 4 years and have done several passages from the Bahamas to Maine and back twice. Also sailed from the Chesapeake to the Caribbean twice. In 2016 we sailed from the Chesapeake to the BVI's over 1400 miles in just under 7 days. We had very nice conditions for most of the trip with winds at 90 to 140 degrees apparent wind speed of 13 to 18 and boat speeds from 11 to 18+ depending on sail configuration. With the Asymmetric and full main in those conditions we were cruising nicely at 14 to 18 knots without pushing the boat. With our long waterline the ride is extremely nice and comfortable. We usually sail as a couple with the Code Zero in winds under 15 knots apparent aft of the beam. In lighter winds and the boards down we can fly it very close to the wind. With the cutter rig and 3 slab reefs in the main the sail configuration is very adaptable and easily handled by a couple. I can reef and do most sail configurations single handed, but when flying the big stuff an extra crew member is always nice.

Let me know if you need some more information or pictures.

Dave

[John Silver]

Hi again Dave

Since my last question I've been researching 50ft dagger board catamarans I'm intetestef to buy in the next few months for long term cruising from late summer. As well as your Switch 51 the other possible models considering age, seem to be Catana 471 and Outremer 50. Others are more expensI've.

Please could you let me know your personal opinion on comparative sailing performance and also how living on board is. From what I've found it seems your Switch 51 has better living accommodations than the Catana and Outremer?

Thanks John

[rockerdar]

Hi John,

I just came across this post and thought I would pipe in. My husband and I owned this Switch 51 for almost ten years and then sold it to Dave. I think we owned a Switch 51 longer than anyone that ever had one! That said, we did extensive cruising and live-aboard on the boat. We originally purchased it in Maryland and sailed it down and into the Gulf of Mexico for final work and provisioning before leaving the country. Then it was off to the Caribbean. We raced the boat -- and won -- at Antigua Sailing Week. We then sailed up to the Azores and over to the Mediterranean, where we cruised for about 1-1/2 years. Then we sailed out and down to the Canary Islands and on to the Cape Verde Islands before crossing back over to the Caribbean. For the next few years, we spent our time between the Caribbean and the Bahamas.

The boat is fabulous and very well built. While a Catana 471 is quite similar, the Switch 51 is a better built boat. And if you are wanting to spend much time on the boat for live-aboard, you definitely wouldn't want, I don't believe, an Outremer. The hulls are extremely narrow, making for a not so great living environment.

This boat is the Grand Cruiser model, which at the time of build back 20 years ago was about a $150,000 option. We had a custom built top with enclosure built for the boat by the Doyle loft in Tortola prior to our first trans-Atlantic crossing. It kept us dry, and we loved it. The owner's version gives you a huge (and I do mean huge) shower on the owners side which every woman will adore! The bed on the owner's side is longer than standard, providing a very comfortable sleep. You've got a great pantry on that side also (starboard), with lots of room to load up for long term live-aboard. That said, one thing you need to be careful with is putting too muchstuff on the boat! She has storage everywhere!!! But cats are very sensitive to weight, much more so than a monohull. Each year, it seems we would take things off of her as opposed to adding them to her.

The saloon is super, as it's a wrap-around settee, but the angles are right angles. This means it makes for very comfortable sleeping/napping arrangements should you choose. It's much preferred to a curved couch design.

We had a custom built frame added to the stern for solar panels and holding the tender. The solar panels with inverter allowed us to live 'green' for the majority of the time, even while running the watermaker. About the only time we needed to use the generator was when we wanted to use the clothes washer or if we had several cloudy days. But for the bulk of the time, we were able to live strictly off of solar power.

One of the best features on the Switch 51 is the cockpit. It is huge, and it is where you will spend the bulk of your time. There is room to have massive parties! It also gives you plenty of room if you are doing a crossing and two people want to both stay in the cockpit resting. We did this numerous times during rough weather.

I'm not sure what sails Dave has on the boat and if he's purchased any since we sold her to him. We had a lot of sails on her, as my husband was a sailmaker and we built some specifically for the boat. We also had Dave Calvert design a new main for us about a year before we sold the boat. It was a Hydranet sail and terrific. But I know nothing of the condition of the sails at present.


We absolutely loved the boat and would recommend her over other boats in a heartbeat. She is fast (we topped out at 23.8 with her, although Rex Conn had her over 25!) well built, safe for blue water cruising, and wonderfully spacious for live-aboard. I always knew the boat would perform regardless of what Mother Nature tossed at us. Feel free to drop me a PM if you have any other questions.

Darlene

[John Silver]

Dear Darlene

Many thanks for your really excellent detailed info on the Switch 51 that Dave is listing. You make a really convincing case for this particular boat!.

John

[Sand crab]

What is the difference between Grand Cruiser model and the standard version.
Nice boat btw.

[truckman]

Hello Sand Crab, thanks for the compliments. The grand cruiser model has dual helms and a larger owners side stateroom and separate shower room and it is quite a large shower room and separate head and pantry area. I know the options added were priced out at $150,000 dollars more than the base model, but I’m not sure of all the other added options. Let me know if you have any more questions. Also we are from Fox Island I see your from Gig Harbor?

Cheers

[Sand crab]

Thanks Dave. Nice boat, really nice. Yes, I am a Giggler.

[FlyingArrow]

New here and wondering if you’ve sold your boat? Been looking at Outremer’s but wasn’t familiar with Switch till google sent me to this thread. Interested in exploring these as an option.

Thanks

Mark