Privilege Signature 510 vs 580

[MyCatLife]

Good morning Forum,

My wife and I are in the early stages of research (Internet, boat shows, and chartering) to find the "perfect" semi-liveaboard catamaran.

This will be used for long term relaxed paced cruising with few deadlines... Med / Bahamas / Caribbean. If the weather forcast is snotty... we are waiting it out.

We have two sons who both love to travel and are both sailors. They will not live aboard,... but hopefully visit often.

I have 50 years of sailing experience... 26 foot sloop in my teens... 40 and 50 mono's in my 20-30's. Race crew on monos up to 81 feet. I have no big cat ownership experience... meaning I have no experience with yard issues.

We love everything about the 510,... however the extra outdoor areas of the 580 (Fly lounge and foredeck cockpit) are really appealing to someone who is frankly going to be at anchor 90-95% of the time.

I am not too concerned about the what if something goes wrong between the 510 and 580,... because both have sails that I am not going to be able to muscle out of trouble.

But how much more difficult will it be finding harbor spots (think Symi Harbor in Greece) for a 50 vs 58 footer? How much more difficult does pull out become going from 50 to 58? Or at this size, are you already over size... so it's not that much different.

Money is always an issue,... but we can make either work. It's more about maximizing enjoyment.

Thoughts? Am I crazy for even considering going over 50 feet?

Simon

[ol1970]

So these were 2 of the boats we considered as well. The 580 is enormous, and although we loved the concept of it, I just kept coming back to it is just going to be my wife and I for the vast majority of the time. The other thing that came to mind was keeping things simple, we are planning to downsize from a 7,000sq/ft home with 7 bathrooms and 3 kitchens, having more boat than we need really played heavily on my mind as we did our research and stepped foot on all of the various options. The 510 is a near perfect boat for a cruising couple, not much to poke holes in other than it’s a heavy gal. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you are caught out in some rough stuff.

I think the 580 is more than is needed and probably slightly more challenging for marinas to accommodate, but that wouldn’t be a deciding factor if it were me. In the end we ended up choosing a Balance 526 over a group of cats including the 510/580/HH50/Outremer 50/55. We compromised a little space for more light air performance, and we just thought the layout works for us. The reality is we spend most of our time in the cockpit or saloon, and just sleep in the cabin. The trick is to actually step foot on all of the great options and see which one “calls to your heart”. Also talk to the different manufacturers about build times and what updates will be in place on a future build that you aren’t seeing on the boats today. Most likely it’s a 2+ year timeframe and likely to get worse, so keep that in the back of your mind as well. Good luck!

[MyCatLife]

Thanks for the input. Your thoughts are spot on with ours.

Congrats on the 526. Spectacular boat. My bother and sister in law have one in construction now.

We're currently leaning toward comfort over performance... But until the check is written...

Glad to hear you think the 580 is only incrementally more challenging at harbors / marinas. That is my instinct as well.

Best regards.

[nialltom]

Checking back in on this…have you made a decision yet? If so what did you go with and why?