40 or 42+ Cat?

[jmondl]

My wife & I are looking at newer cats (2015 & newer) for extended island hopping. The Leopard 40 is particularly appealing. Bumping up from 40' on the Leopard & others (like the FP) gets one a forward cockpit, but at a cost of about $80 for new ones (a little less for used ones). I'm not sure what else an extra couple feet gets a person, but for those who have the forward cockpit, do you use it often? Have you noticed any other significant advantages to the extra couple of feet? Thank you for all advice.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by jmondl

My wife & I are looking at newer cats (2015 & newer) for extended island hopping. The Leopard 40 is particularly appealing. Bumping up from 40' on the Leopard & others (like the FP) gets one a forward cockpit, but at a cost of about $80 for new ones (a little less for used ones). I'm not sure what else an extra couple feet gets a person, but for those who have the forward cockpit, do you use it often? Have you noticed any other significant advantages to the extra couple of feet? Thank you for all advice.

more storage, more stability in waves, faster, more expensive in marinas, cruising fees, haul outs, bottom painting, maintenance, parts, sails, rigging because everything is bigger....

[Tornadosailing]

I don't have a forward cockpit on my FP (2008) but I can tell you that a seemingly insignificant increase in length amounts to a lot more interior room. Boats that grow in length also grow in the other two dimensions as well. 40 feet is no doubt adequate for two, but it's easy to get used to a little extra elbow room.

Here's a pic of my '08 Salina 48 (reality is 47 feet) vs '17 FP 40. I realize jumping from a 40 to my boat is a big jump, but my boat looks small next to the Saba 50 that replaced it. It's crazy the difference it makes.

[CatNewBee]

... and not every 40 is equal ...
check all of them out, there is a huge difference between a Lagoon 400 to a Lagoon 40 to a Leopard 40 to a FP Lucia 40 to a Lipary 41, Nautitech 40, Bali 4.0 etc..

[DockDoc]

After years of looking at boats, finally narrowing in on catamarans, and then going thru 38-45 footers the new Lagoon 42 was the best. Big beam, lots of interior room, and an aft platform that is a great open living/dining/relaxing space.
Yes the 42 cost me more, but I felt I got way more than the increased cost reflected. I almost went with a 2017 39 for 125k less, but after being on both there was no doubt about the 42.
I also think about an exit plan, if something goes wrong in my life, health, job, etc I want to have a boat I can sell. Everyone thinks about the boat they want to buy and have, never how marketable is the boat if they need to sell it.

I will admit I think the leopards are slightly better built and looking, but I did not at all like that front trough area. I looked at lots of leopard 40s and 44s with that design feature. It looks like wasted space to me, and with a big breaking wave over the bow a hazard. I bet they discontinue that design. Just my ignorant opinion on that.
Good luck in the search.

[AZUS]

Our Antares 44 is the perfect size and configuration for us as a cruising couple. The strange things is that at times she feels massive, at times tiny, and at times just right. Valleycat usually feels massive when I look at her from the dock, she can feel tiny after about the 10th day on an ocean crossing, or after 3 days with another couple on board. Most of the rest of the time, she feels just right.

I've never sailed a boat with the fore cockpit design, and I've also wondered about its practicality and usefulness. My suggestion would be - before buying the smaller boat, charter one like it for a week of hard sailing. Unless you're out on the water, it's hard to get a personal sense of what works for you. And if nothing else, longer LOA usually means more storage space, and boy does that free up living space.

[Sand crab]

It has been said here that the L 40 is really just a rebadged L39 and it's actually 38' 6" (11.74m) long so calling it a 40 is a bit of a stretch. However the L42 is actually just about 42' (12.8m). That extra 3'6" (1m) is a big deal.

[SV Bacchus]

As Tornado mentioned, 2' of extra length usually gets you a foot or more beam as well. That means 2 feet is really more than 2 feet!

[joesail]

Lagoon 420 here. Big difference between storage on 40 & 42. In fact the 42 lagoon feels like a 44' of any other cat I've been on. We love chose it over the smaller cats because when we cruise we want to take some comforts and have plenty or room for provisions.

For example just on the foredeck of the 420 there are 6 storage lockers if I count the peeks. I'm carrying extra supplies up front that I couldn't carry if on a 40.

[ShellBack89]

Check out the Bali 4.0 & 4.2. IMHO great use of space and idea. Hoping they'll have a used owners version in 2 years for us to grab.

[jmondl]

Thank you for the advice on boat size. Sounds like most of you would opt for a couple extra feet. For those of you without a forward cockpit, do you find yourselves often sitting on the fore deck with coffee or wine and, if so, what are you sitting on? The deck with cushions, or chairs from inside, or...?

[nextis12]

With a 25 foot beam that 2 feet becomes 50 square feet, plus all that volume you pick up. It’s a lot of space. We opted for a Lagoon 42 over the Leopards. We had charted a Lepoard 40 which does not have the built in forward seating but does have the front door and we thought that was a “really nice” to have, especially on the larger Lepoard with the built in seating. But, to make these cruising cats sail you really need a code 0/spinnaker and I pictured myself wrestling a sail on the foredeck and falling into/ tripping over the forward cockpit. We opted for a clean foredeck and beanbags.

[Tornadosailing]

Originally Posted by jmondl

Thank you for the advice on boat size. Sounds like most of you would opt for a couple extra feet. For those of you without a forward cockpit, do you find yourselves often sitting on the fore deck with coffee or wine and, if so, what are you sitting on? The deck with cushions, or chairs from inside, or...?

I bought a couple of Big Joe Captain's Float bean bag chair pool floats. We use them all over the boat, super comfy, but they are bulky to store. A lot of people use folding stadium seats. I know there are preferred brands that hold up better than others, but I don't know what they are.

[jmondl]

Do you spend any time on the forward deck having coffee or a drink? Or do you wish you had that forward seating area to spend more time there?

[MoorOrLess]

The various manufacturers and layouts give different feel for space, everyone will have their own impression. As someone mentioned earlier, the “marketing length” and reality can be different (sometimes very different). I would look at as many different layouts as possible and see which actually “feels” right. The most spacious may not be the layout that feels right to you. You will adjust to the space available......I have however never heard anyone say “I wish I had less space”.
You mention island hoping.... if the prevailing wind is from the east, it will present the aft cockpit to that afternoon sun. I don’t have the option, but imagine sitting in a forward cockpit away from the afternoon sun, sipping a cold drink would be good.