Buying a 1989 Lagoon55L is she too old?

[capt.amory]

Ahoy sailors. and catamaran owners
I am on a 34 ft. Monohull, that I been sailing around the Caribbean & looking to upgrade to a catamaran to cross an ocean

I found a 1989 Lagoon 55L; the owner in 2010 has done extensive refit on the hull, reinforcing rotten old core bolsa, removing the dual helm on the transom; extending the transom by 3 feet & moving the engines aft of the cabins, extending the height of the mast and standing rigging. he did all the work in a boatyard in Florida. more reputable. the list of refit goes on and on

The work quality looks good to the eye but am no expert. and the owner had a composite PVC company and worked for Mack Sails for a while, so he seems to be qualified and paid attention to details in refitting her for him and his wife cruising.

here are my concerns
- Is the 1989 hull too old? how about the cross beam age?

- with all the modification he made am worried about the super structure of the boat; it seems it has changed alot from original builder design

- He has not sailed her offshore extensively; only the occasional Bahamas and down the Caribbean to Panama so am worried if with all the modification he made is she still offshore worthy

- the main sail halyard and the slab reefing system requires me to move forward to the mast to reef or raise the halyard on the mast using mast winch! the lines do not run to the cockpit; on my 34 ft monohull, I dont like to go to the mast in over 25knot of wind to put a reef in; i use a harness and i go on a monohull, but i have not sailed a catamaran either

[Sos]

I sail an 1989 catamaran and the thought of is the hull too old never crossed my mind. If it's failing then you/a survey will find it.

Going forward to the mast (we reef at the mast) on a catamaran is a lot safer than on a monohull especially one that large.

I think you need a very good survey done by someone who knows multihulls.

[capt.amory]

Originally Posted by Sos

I sail an 1989 catamaran and the thought of is the hull too old never crossed my mind. If it's failing then you/a survey will find it.

Going forward to the mast (we reef at the mast) on a catamaran is a lot safer than on a monohull especially one that large.

I think you need a very good survey done by someone who knows multihulls.

Thank you for your answer me and the information you provided. Makes sense to me. Perhaps I am overly cautious. I dont know catamarans. (Yet)

What type of 1989 catamaran do you sail on and what size?

[Sos]

Hi,

We sail a 37' Woods Flica.

I think the 55L is one of the best looking Lagoons they built

[barnab]

I wouldn't worry about the age of the boat, I would worry much more about the modifications.


Extending transoms is rather normal on catamarans as they are butt heavy and the extension improves waterflow.


Moving engines is not an easy thing and requires proper calculations to be done. Even more for adding more sail area. If the owner cannot show either approval from Lagoon for those changes or calculations from a reputable naval architect (experienced with catamarans) this would be a no go for me.

[gsuescum]

I looked her up. I love those old Lagoons. Super sexy and supposedly pretty good sailers.

I’d say if she’s sailed to Panama and back, she’s blue water capable. Just get a good survey done. Check out the structural changes and for water in the core.

I’m sure you can easily rig up something so that you can raise/drop the main.
If you’re doing that you do the same for one or two reef points.

Good luck!

[JustMurph]

Ditto the others. The early lagoons aren't too heavy, have a rep to sail fairly well and look pretty good. I wouldn't worry about reefing at the mast, as cats of this size are pretty stable. Regarding the mods, they were done 12 years ago, so the test of time would suggest they are probably sound. Re the larger rig, sail her and make sure she's well balanced.

As always with balsa core boats, make sure she has no more rot. Find out when all of the through hull/deck fittings were last bedded.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by capt.amory

Ahoy sailors. and catamaran owners
I am on a 34 ft. Monohull, that I been sailing around the Caribbean & looking to upgrade to a catamaran to cross an ocean

I found a 1989 Lagoon 55L; the owner in 2010 has done extensive refit on the hull, reinforcing rotten old core bolsa, removing the dual helm on the transom; extending the transom by 3 feet & moving the engines aft of the cabins, extending the height of the mast and standing rigging. he did all the work in a boatyard in Florida. more reputable. the list of refit goes on and on

The work quality looks good to the eye but am no expert. and the owner had a composite PVC company and worked for Mack Sails for a while, so he seems to be qualified and paid attention to details in refitting her for him and his wife cruising.

here are my concerns
- Is the 1989 hull too old? how about the cross beam age?

- with all the modification he made am worried about the super structure of the boat; it seems it has changed alot from original builder design

- He has not sailed her offshore extensively; only the occasional Bahamas and down the Caribbean to Panama so am worried if with all the modification he made is she still offshore worthy

- the main sail halyard and the slab reefing system requires me to move forward to the mast to reef or raise the halyard on the mast using mast winch! the lines do not run to the cockpit; on my 34 ft monohull, I dont like to go to the mast in over 25knot of wind to put a reef in; i use a harness and i go on a monohull, but i have not sailed a catamaran either

that Lagoon 55L is around for some time now, i looked at the add and docs around 6 month ago when helping a friend to look for a boat.

sure not easy to sell as more expensice then an normal well maintained Lagoon but all he done looked very fortunate to me and that has a lot of value for the right person.

like moving the engines from under the bed aft in a sealed seperate engine room (so reduce noise in cabins, much safer as if eg saildrive diafragma leaks you don't have water in the hulls etc.) and he added 3ft transtom to cope with engine more far aft.

The work he done seems professionally, from his comapny he has te right tools and machinery to do this and all mods are for sure well tought through.
As others said a lot modifications are 12 years old and that shows that work was done right.

As others said you need a very good surveyor,best if he/she is naval architect or aboat builder that is capable of judging the mods techinical and from an engineer perspective and not only looking visual and during seatrial that everyting fits right. i know a very capable survyor who is a naval engineer (and has a very good boat builder as support if needed) i wouldn't think twice to hire. if you move forward send me PM but that survey wil cost you 6000-8000Euro+ travel costs.

[GordMay]

Q: What do you call an antique canoe?
A: A ca-old.

Speaking of old age:

A short nap, once in awhile*, can prevent old age.
* Especially, while driving.

Q: What's the best part of old age?
A: It doesn't last very long.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Q: What do you call an antique canoe?
A: A ca-old.

Speaking of old age:

A short nap, once in awhile*, can prevent old age.
* Especially, while driving.

Q: What's the best part of old age?
A: It doesn't last very long.

🙄🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[MVDarlin]

You nay not be able to get financing or hull insurance on a boat older than 20 yrs. And cost will be high for hull insurance.

[aerocanard]

I'm the owner of that L55sport model. Just so everyone is on the same page if we are questioning structure on older vessels... For one, the main reason I purchased this x-charter boat was because of its build. Jeanneau built the first set of Lagoons. The 55's were built using epoxy resin. The sport models built were carbon reinforced and Kevlar hulls under the water. The construction was just like the kit aircraft I manufactured for almost 20 years. I was using PVC core and vacuum bagged E-glass Carbon and Kevlar and all epoxy in the structure. The only difference was the use of Balsa core. Epoxy cures unlike Polyester resin that thermally hardens. Over time, Poly gets harder and harder and cracking starts showing up. There can also be issues with Poly with blisters. Epoxy has different issues on its curing if it had been post cured to give it a higher temperature range. That can also be controlled with using light color on were the sun will hit. Black gets really hot and we never used that on our all epoxy airplanes. All in all, Epoxy is the best resin out on the market but the cost is way more then the Polyester or Vinylester sisters that are out there. That is why the higher end boats are using epoxy to get the lightest and strongest hulls out on the market.

Hope that helps

[aerocanard]

I forgot to add that the mast is original height and the boom was moved up 8" for better viability at the driving station and the hardtop height. Added a boom rail to be able to walk the boom to pack the main easier.

Jeff

[capt.amory]

Originally Posted by barnab

I wouldn't worry about the age of the boat, I would worry much more about the modifications.


Extending transoms is rather normal on catamarans as they are butt heavy and the extension improves waterflow.


Moving engines is not an easy thing and requires proper calculations to be done. Even more for adding more sail area. If the owner cannot show either approval from Lagoon for those changes or calculations from a reputable naval architect (experienced with catamarans) this would be a no go for me.

is true, am finding out if the had increased the length of the boom or mast or modified the sail area from the original design & will revert back with info

[capt.amory]

Originally Posted by aerocanard

I forgot to add that the mast is original height and the boom was moved up 8" for better viability at the driving station and the hardtop height. Added a boom rail to be able to walk the boom to pack the main easier.

Jeff