Dean 365 - Suitable for a Novice / Shorthanded ?

[simonmd]

In my hunt for a sailboat, i've been mainly looking at monohulls, mainly due to cost and ease of handling. However, i've recently seen a 1991 Dean 365 advertised here in Europe thats in my budget and that I like the look of.

Now, I understand that a cat' will come with extra costs for mooring, etc. but once i'm off I'll spend more time on the hook so a more stable and spacious cat' is looking attractive.

However, as i'm still relatively new to the sailing side of boat ownership, do you think a cat' is a good idea or would I be better getting some more experience on a monohull first?

Also, if anyone has an opinion on this model of cat', i'd be interested to hear. There is a thread on here from about 2 years ago about the same model but they seemed to contradict wildly! A couple said they were awfull and others saying they were a great craft.

[multihullsailor6]

Hi simonmd,

I have a 10.2m cat which I sail single-handed most of the time without any problem. If you know the basics of sailing and boat handling (as I presume) and you like cats there no need to go the monohull route first.

Questions come to mind like
- why do you like a catamarans?
- where are you planning to you sail?
- with or without crew?

Regarding the Dean 365 please be aware that that is a very old design (based on the early Prouts) with corresponding aspects regarding performance and handling. However the interior space offered for a cat of that size is very good. In what condition is that Dean - an "attractive" price might also result in a lot of work and part replacements before she becomes seaworthy or up to your spec.

Personally I feel that you should be looking at a more modern design.

[simonmd]

Questions come to mind like
- why do you like a catamarans?
Has to be the space they offer. I'll be useing whatever I get as a liveaboard so that is a factor. Seems to be a good cross between what i'm used to (a motoryacht) and a narrow monohull. The other thing that crosses my mind is stability, especialy on the hook.

- where are you planning to you sail?
Anywhere and everywhere! I'm in the Western Med' at the moment and plan to explore that for most of 2011 before venturing into a proper ocean.

- with or without crew?
Does a small dog count?

As for the Dean itself, it seems to be in very good order. My budget is around £60k and this comes in just under that. The main reason i've not taken them too seriously before is that most decent ones tend to be way over that, here in Europe at least.

For the same money, maybe less, I know I can easily get a Hunter/Bendytoy/Baveria, etc, etc, that is 10 years newer but any cats of that age are well into 6 figures here. So i'd be trading age for space basically, do you think it's worth it or just stick with a newer monohull?

[lawdawg]

Mind you this is just one person's opinion, but I also originally looked at cats, and if you have the money, I think they are great, but my budget was a little over 100k and for that amount of money, you are going to get a much higher quality monohull, in my opinion, than you will a cat. If it is just you and a small dog, you are going to be paying a whole lot more money for that extra space on the cat, and also paying all of the additional cost of marinas, repairs, etc. Again, yes they are nice, but I'd be worried about what you would find in a cat for that kind of money and then what you would spend to get it ready for your longer trips. When you talk about heading out, I'm assuming you're talking about crossing the Atlantic, and personally, I would certainly feel more comfortable in the quality of mono I would get for that kind of trip for the same money that I would get in a cat. Best of luck with your search.

[multihullsailor6]

Stick to your idea of a catamaran!

This is still a buyer's market at the moment, there are a lot of cats on the market with inflated prices bearing little resemblance to actual market prices but waiting for / accepting a cash offer.

Why are you limiting your search to Europe - the difference is only two tickets, one return ticket to look at a boat you really like and a second single ticket, if so, to take delivery, peanuts in comparison to the purchase price. Sometimes the seller will even refund the flight ticket. OK, doggy's immigration might be an issue?!

Coming from your Jaguar 57 (had a look at your videos, nice boat! - wish I had that space) you will have to adjust space-wise a lot. If this means something to you, have a look at
www.cat-sale.de
and search for Ocean Ranger, an older 13m catamaran with a lot more space than the Dean and in your price bracket. She belongs to one of the two partners of cat-sale and himself also a boat surveyor, so I would expect her to be in good condition.

[simonmd]

Thanks for the replies so far. Roger, I can't find that Cat you mentioned on their site, do you have a link?

Two interesting and compelling arguements from both sides. I know that the price issue would be helped by travelling to the US and or the Carribean but it's just not practical for me to do so. Yes, it's my 'number 1', ie my dog that is holding me back, to arrange for him to fly out somewhere would be very expensive and trumatic so i'm restricting my search to mainland Europe. Also, to be honest, I dont want to start in the Carribean, I want to end up there! I've still got so much of the Med' to explore before I venture over the pond.

It's still looking like i'll end up with a monohull, there is just simply so much more choice out there and relatively new as well. I've seen a 38ft Baveria built in 2007 for under 80k Euros for heavens sake! Any cat that is big enough to live on will be 120k+ and they'll be older too.

However, i'm not n 'age snob', my present vessel was built in 1976 and yet shes better than most of the stuff round here that is a quarter of her age, so i'll be keeping an eye out and an open mind.

[lawdawg]

you can find that listing on yachtworldhttp://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1968/Prout-Ocean-Ranger-2072275/Bremen/Germany

[Greenzilla]

I have a friend who single hands his Dean 36 foot catamaran from the same era and has sailed from Florida to the Bahamas and to Europe a number of times - about half singlehanded. The boat is set up to single hand quite easily as the mast is at the front of the cockpit and so all lines are right there and easily accessible. Not sure if that is the same design you are looking at. The size was ok for three adults on a recent trip to the Bahamas, but the aft cabins are only suitable for an individual. A few words of caution - the boat is slow. There is not a lot of bridge deck clearence on this design so wave slapping is an issue. His Dean also had a fiberglass arch in back that was recently replaced due to severe cracking and fatigue of the metal at the mounting point. Not sure if that was from the factory or not since I have not seen another Dean of this type in person. Also, not sure how easy engine replacement would be as there is not much room to work on the engines under the rear bunks it looks like it would be very tight once the rigging was set up for engine R&R so well maintained engines are a must.

[boatman61]

PBM | Patrick Boyd Multihulls

http://www.multihulls.co.uk/brokerage/detail.aspx?id=109

[multihullsailor6]

simonmd,

Don't forget to check out the French multihull market which is quite big. You could start here:

Annonces Nautisme catamaran Toute la France - leboncoin.fr

Have you seen this spacious cat:

www.tarquilla.com

Space and room for improvements and money left over!