US quality boats

[outbound_308]

Once again guys not trying to start fights here. Just that I would ask a more knowledgeable group and see if their were brands I were missing. Not saying you need any of these brands to cruise. This is just what I am looking at and what I prefer. I like that something has had a little more attention to detail and work put into it. Yes this costs more, no it is not needed as proven by many many sailors.

Sounds like I just need to increase my travel budget for boat shopping.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by outbound_308

Once again guys not trying to start fights here. Just that I would ask a more knowledgeable group and see if their were brands I were missing. Not saying you need any of these brands to cruise. This is just what I am looking at and what I prefer. I like that something has had a little more attention to detail and work put into it. Yes this costs more, no it is not needed as proven by many many sailors.

Sounds like I just need to increase my travel budget for boat shopping.

In no order

Oyster
Discovery
Rustler
HR
Naiad
Malo
Sunbeam
Trintella
Regina
Ovni
Amel
CNB
Garcia
Contest
Nautor Swan
pogo yachts

[outbound_308]

If moody is now out of that group I apologize I was not aware, I was under the impression that when Hanse took them over, they kept it separate almost like it’s own yard?

I would like to hear your comparison between tartan and amel??

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by outbound_308

If moody is now out of that group I apologize I was not aware, I was under the impression that when Hanse took them over, they kept it separate almost like it’s own yard?



I would like to hear your comparison between tartan and amel??

Moody is definitely worth considering depends what you want.

[outbound_308]

Great list
Goboatingnow

I love the swan 40, as a sub 45’ choice, I’ve never seen one with a solar arch and very few with a a Bimini I kinda think that’s just something you don’t do to a Swan. Kinda a downside for me, would like like a little more protection from the weather and a good amount of solar.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by outbound_308

Illusion ,
I think a lot of the most important parts of a build are the parts you can’t see. .

I agree completely.

My wife bases her car choice on color and sheet metal form. I’ve learned not to argue things like trunk size, reliability, braking distance, rear visibility,…. Considerations lost to the superficial.

[outbound_308]

Yeah luckily I’m not in the position where I have to contend with that.

[SV-Viento]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In no order

Oyster
Discovery
Rustler
HR
Naiad
Malo
Sunbeam
Trintella
Regina
Ovni
Amel
CNB
Garcia
Contest
Nautor Swan
pogo yachts

I like this list good sir. When you really begin to explore many of these builders you will discover the Quality gap between most of these and what is more easily available in NA.

And for the love of all that is good in contemporary yacht design you included an amazing range of esthetic and sailing characteristics. Pogo to HR to Ovni. This is the list to help. Not a NA list but a little something for everyone. Well played.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In no order

Oyster
Discovery
Rustler
HR
Naiad
Malo
Sunbeam
Trintella
Regina
Ovni
Amel
CNB
Garcia
Contest
Nautor Swan
pogo yachts

If Pogo is on that list, shouldn't JPK, RM and Django be on that as well?

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

If Pogo is on that list, shouldn't JPK, RM and Django be on that as well?

The big pogo would be approaching the size the OP indicates given his original list , RM and Jpk , haven’t anything that big , Django could be considered

[Pizzazz]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

As for what’s suitable for what. The fact is, and this is demonstrated in cruising crossroads around the globe, that any decent modern yacht, from 40 feet up can cross oceans in relative comfort. Production yachts will get fitted out with solar, water makers etc , and can therefore do extended voyaging.

This is the key point. Any modern boat from 35-40 ft up can do anything you want it to do, cross oceans safely, entertain, go fast or go slow. They are all computer designed and optimized for the prospective customer. Most people use the boats in fair weather for brief trips. And they want to entertain their families and friends. Therefore the market moved to bright and spacious interiors, lots of light, bigger heads and galleys. There is nothing wrong with this. The days of a few lone guys roughing it up across the Atlantic in a kitted out Swan are long gone. It can be easily just as well a Beneteau that would be a lot more family friendly once you cross the ocean (have a look at the ARC boats).

So, when you speak of quality, if by that you mean a HR type of a boat that is designed to take offshore beating for years and years... well, that is a niche market and all new buyers are looking at catamarans, not monohulls, the reason being is that if you are cruising the world you are less concerned about docking fees which is the biggest drawback for catamarans.

In terms of power boats, I think it has more to do with the Med culture vs. the Florida culture. If you want to show up at the cool marinas in France, Italy, Croatia, etc. you need a, say Riva or Pershing or similar. You can't show up in a Chris Craft or whatever is popular in Florida. And vice-versa.

My point will be, when in Rome, do what the Romans do, do not try to be too cool and pretend that, say a Tartan is a substitute for a HR or a Palmer Johnson is a substitute for a Riva. There are other ways to make your boat look different.

Pizzazz
(owned Hunter in the US, now Riva in the Med)

[outbound_308]

Pizzazz,
I would definitely agree and am not try to slight production boats, or catamarans for that matter. Their quality is fine for their purpose and they do a good job. It's just not what I want. Does anyone need an HR to cruise? Probably not. Does HR sell a good boat for cruising absolutely. I also believe on the used market that the HR will hold up better and look better over time. It's just my opinion but I like the look of a ten year old HR/Oyster etc better than how tired most production boats will look. Solid wood will always look better than laminate in 15 years. Definitely not a necessity to sail.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by outbound_308

Pizzazz,
I would definitely agree and am not try to slight production boats, or catamarans for that matter. Their quality is fine for their purpose and they do a good job. It's just not what I want. Does anyone need an HR to cruise? Probably not. Does HR sell a good boat for cruising absolutely. I also believe on the used market that the HR will hold up better and look better over time. It's just my opinion but I like the look of a ten year old HR/Oyster etc better than how tired most production boats will look. Solid wood will always look better than laminate in 15 years. Definitely not a necessity to sail.

My production boat has loads of solid. I’ve been to HRs plant , they use a lot of veneer and laminate too.

[Rumrace]

I love boats. I saw a fella in a cool modern sculler and admired the mans taste in water craft. I’ve been hanging around architects designers and engineers for 4 decades. They have rubbed off on me. I’m a typical North American effected more by firm than fiction. I’ve tried to cure the NA flaw by driving BMWs and Ducati. It didn’t work looks still count. And my taste has to accobidate the wife’s list.
My list includes the Oyster 495. It’s just damn beautiful. With a base price of 1.2£ with an 900,000£ option list is twice the price of a loaded Hanse 508! So on my wife’s list is ( let’s not be stupid )
I’m sure I bought a Jeanneau cause the couch roof side windows reminded me of my SeaRays. I found out after the fact I’d bought an awesome loaded boat with a great hull and fit for us. The only gripes I hear from folks about my brand choice is rhetoric from couch experts or guys in old boats bitter about evolution or something.
My first two boats were wood. I inherited Dads 28’ Wood sailboat in 1959 when he bought an aluminum boat with a steering wheel. Took me a while to figure out how to sail into the wind.
I have a laminate kitchen table from the 50’s in a barn. Currently it has a 1938 Harley Knucklehead engine on it. Hasn’t delaminated yet. The chrome legs are rusting. I had a 1980 SeaRay Sundancer 260. The entire interior was teak. I hated the interior to be honest. Guess what those teak walls you worship are laminated. The 1/64 teak glued on hunters and tartans to hide the evils of fibreglass are laminates. The laminate argument always seems so unattached with reality. There are good laminates Old ones poor ones but each new generation better than the last.

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

This is the key point. Any modern boat from 35-40 ft up can do anything you want it to do, cross oceans safely, entertain, go fast or go slow. They are all computer designed and optimized for the prospective customer. …

ANY modern boat can do ANYTHING I want safely? Like Cheeki Rafiki sailing the North Atlantic off season? Like going to Antarctica?

The thing with computers is garbage in garbage out. If they are geared for coastal sailing, day racing and dockside entertaining, then the boat will be optimized for that.
And that’s what the prospective customers of most mass produced boats want.

It’s like driving up to and thru Alaska. You can usually get away with doing it in a 20yr old Dodge Neon, or a new low chassis Subaru Forester or a 50yr old high chassis 4wd Jeep. Sometimes things get a little sticky and the Dodge won’t make it. And every once in a great while it gets real sketchy and only the Jeep is going to make it.

Most the time the Dodge Neon and the Beneteau will do just fine. And sometimes they don’t.