Andreas, I agree with your stated preference for a production cat, not only because the 'bugs' will have typically been worked out, but because of the significantly better resale value for established brands/designs. Having said that, I have some concerns over the emphasis you are placing on visibility from the
interior, keels and a 'galley-up' design in a boat that is intended to be sailed offshore.
The
Privilege line of cats have a well-deserved reputation for solid construction and for making safe offshore passages, but seem to have been excluded by you due to the lack of visibility while seated below. Understand that offshore, forward visibility will be greatly limited by large waves/swells; indeed, often you will only be able to see past the next wave when on the crest of the last one. And at
anchor you will generally want to spend the best days on
deck, so even here it will prove much less of an advantage than might at first be expected.
The
PDQ 44 was built by a company with a great reputation for quality and, even though it was only on the market for a short time, has proven to be a solid performer in offshore conditions (aided in part by bridgedeck clearance of 30" while laden). It too would be rejected by yourself because it has a galley-down arrangement. You must understand that for an offshore boat, there are a large number of
significant advantages to placing the
galley down in one of the hulls:
1. as already mentioned, there is less motion.
2. there will be athwartship bracing, making it a much safer
environment in which to cook in a seaway.
3. it places the heaviest part of the accomodation down low in the boat, lowering the center of gravity and increasing the resistance to
capsize.
4. it opens up additional space in the main
saloon for a proper size
navigation station - something which, in an offshore boat, requires not only adequate size for full-size
charts, but proximity to the
cockpit. You may want a
galley up, but you decidely will not want an afterthought for a nav station (or worse still, a nav station down and separated from the cockpit).
5. there is typically more space for
storage.
Catana also produces boats with a great reputation for quality of build and offshore capability. These appear to have been rejected by you because of the use of boards rather than keels. Let me say that my own boat has keels, and I appreciate the added simplicity in both use and
maintenance. However, let me also say that my next boat will definitely have boards: although a cruiser, I am like many also a closet
racer, and there can be no denying the performance advantages to boards. I should also point out that for offshore purposes, there is also significant support for the proposition that they are
safer than keels: raised boards will not provide the lateral resistance of keels and hence, will minimize the tendancy of the boat to 'catch' on the keels if hit abeam by a breaking wave. Keels increase the risk of
capsize over a similar vessel with boards raised.
In sum, if you are truly looking for offshore capability, you may want to re-prioritize your list. All of the boats mentioned above have earned reputations for offshore capability far in excess of either FP and Manta. Indeed, i would expect that even owners of these boats would acknowledge the same. Yes, they tend to be more expensive. But there are sound reasons for that, often directly related to their capabilities offshore. You may wish to consider a
used boat by one of the above builders recognizing that, while it will be used, it will be better suited for offshore sailing. In addition, it will also likely have an
equipment inventory appropriate for cruising (and far better than brand new boats by any manufacturer).
For whatever it is worth, here are some thoughts concerning a few of your questions:
saildrive vs. propshafts - Saildrives have been in use both reliably and efficiently for over 30 years. Yes, they create a slight increase in drag and yes, there can be problems with
corrosion if the attention is not paid to the anodes. On the other hand, they
permit installation of the engines virtually anywhere, they do not require stuffing - box
maintenance, and even prop-shafts will suffer
corrosion due to the dissimilar metals in the shaft and props, particularly if attention is not paid to the anodes. I wouldn't let saildrives deter me from any design.
Engine placement - My boat has diesels beneath the aft berths and therefore, I can speak from some experience in saying that odour will not be a problem any more than it is in a well-designed
monohull (which typically also has interior access to the engine). Although it can be trickier to initially access the
diesel (the cushion and bedding must be removed), there are also some real advantages:
1. they allow the engines to be mounted further inboard; as you have already heard, keeping weight out of the ends of a cat is critical to performance and in order to minimize hobby-horsing.
2. there is amazing access to all sides of the diesels once the cover is off.
3. I can sit inside my boat while performing maintenance. This reduces the risks of losing tools
overboard and also ensures that the
engine will not be swamped if hit by a boarding sea during
emergency repairs (at minimum, it keeps the electricals from being rained on).
4. it places the props between the keels and the rudders, providing some additonal protection and improving the
steering performance under
power.
fractional rig versus masthead rig - the
current trend is towards fractional rigs, with their proven performance advantage in light to moderate winds. However, for an offshore boat I would not write-off a masthead rig, especially one set up as a
cutter rig. Advantages:
1. permits a dedicated staysail stay for heavy
weather sails.
2. the currently popular, huge mainsails in fractional rigs often require a
power winch/windlass in order to raise the main. Reliance upon any piece of
electrical equipment, especially one with such huge
current draw, may be unwise for performing basic functions on an offshore vessel.
3. the currently popular 'flathead' mains are useless when reefed - they have way too much sail area up way to high in the sail.
4. the
cutter rigs used by Prout (and their successor), Solaris and others typically places the
mast aft by the
companionway - this ensures that all lines run to the
cockpit, even without turning blocks etc. Safer in heavy condtions than climbing up on the rather high houses on most modern cats.
Anyway, if you truly want to sail your
new boat offshore, I would suggest that you consider its funcionality for that purpose first and foremost. Galley-up designs are wonderful when under anchor, but.... The flying bridgedeck on the new
Lagoon 44 would also be wonderful under anchor (and in light conditions), but consider the impact on the center of gravity and the center of effort on the
sails: in the wrong conditions, it looks like a capsize just waiting to happen.
Anyway, just a few (actually, more than a few) thoughts.
Brad
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