Privilege 39; goods and bads?

[simio47]

Calling out to all those with experience and knowledge of Privilege 39's; are they good, bad or indifferent? Anything to look out for as a prospective buyer, particularly with high mileage or ex charter boats? Any history of damp hulls, are they cored or solid hulls? All info gratefully received.....

[Nerfherder]

Im new to forums but I would do a search on privilege 39. Alot of info and this guy ---> Welcome to Maxing Out knows ALOT about privilege cats...

[Sand crab]

They say solid hulls here.
Privilege 39 catamaran: stongly built cruiser with a high quality finish

[PattyHamilton]

We have a Privilege 39. The reason we purchased a privilege was it's representation. It is a strong boat, very solid and I feel safe in it. Ours is a 1991 and I have done a lot of cosmetic updates on the boat in the 3 years we have owned her, but the hulls are solid with very little blistering. It is comfortable, of course newer boat designs have better living arrangements. The privilege by far has the largest cockpit and that is where you spend most of your time. Please feel free to PM me with any questions.

[simio47]

Thanks for that, I agree completely. What I am particularly keen to know are things to be aware of as a buyer with particular reference to this model..

[PattyHamilton]

I think with all boats getting a good survey is essential before buying a boat. The windows in the older privileges can leak. We have planned to replace our but have not found anyone to do them yet. I expect the cost to be close to 5K. The wiring is a nightmare if it is original. What were the french thinking? I expect that if you are looking at a 39 then you are looking at 20 year old boats. The rigging should be replaced every 10 years so in theory a 20 year old boat is due. We had our rigging redone with the boat in the water and it cost $5500 ( including installation). We also replaced all the running rigging. That's about all I can think of right now. We have had pretty good luck with our boat.

Being a pilot, the one thing that makes me crazy about boats is the lack of maintenance documentation. I had a 1940 airplane with logbooks from day one. I have no idea what maintenance was done on this book and often feel like a detective trying to figure out when items were replaced. I am now treating it like I treated all my airplanes and documenting everything I do to the boat. If you could found a boat with good records it would help you in the long run.