Quote:
Originally Posted by lexxyahoy
We found out one thing that caused us to suspect Calibers...knew someone with a 3 uear old 40 that got a crack in the fuel tank...was going to be outrageous to repair....was unusable. He used a 5 gallon portable tank around NYC for short trips and lived aboard.
We like IP a lot better...that are close to the same shape boat with much higher quality. I'd rather have anolder IP than a newer Caliber from everyone I have talked to.
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I am very surprised, no, actually shocked that the owner was not able to get Caliber to repair the tank under warranty. A three year old boat? Are you sure it was that new, and that the defect was not caused by someone's negligence, other than the boat
builder?
I was seriously considering the Calibers, both the 38/40 and the 33/35 for a bit 7 or 8 years ago. They are very nice looking boats and I actually spoke with the McCreary's about several issues.... they are very good guys who build a quality boat, which is why I'm surprised about the
fuel tank issue.
The big problem I had with the 38/40 is the
interior layout. The owner's SR forward with the
head in the bow is great when not underway. I also like the
salon and
galley. But IMO a 40 sailboat should not have 2 heads. There is just not enough space and more important things are sacrificed elsewhere. In the case of the Caliber 38/40 the second
head (which is actually required when you have the first head all the way up in the bow) detracts from the nav station (which is jammed in aft of the galley) and from overall
storage.
I actually like the Caliber 33/35 much better from an
interior layout point of view. It's a terrific coastal cruiser, although kind of expensive relative to a lot of other designs.
The other issue that I have with Calibers is their reputed lack of speed to
weather. I understand the IP's are even slower.
Frankly, it's hard to justify a
new boat of this type. If you're spending well over $200k for a properly equipped sailboat (probably more like $300k for a Caliber 40 LRC), it had better meet your needs perfectly. I have not seen a
new boat design anywhere that does not have some significant flaw, so my $$ are better spent on an older boat that meets most of my needs.