Equivalent cat for the Admiral?

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by ssmoot

I actually meant Australian designers. I might be wrong, but I think all the boats I mentioned are Australian designed. And I suppose you could toss Farrier in there as well.

Just something that jumped out at me recently.

Now THAT’S an interesting observation. I’d spoken with Jeff & Lorraine about two of their designs back when I’d considered building, and with Ian about a 41 and both kept natural light below in their minds when designing. Interesting.

[danielamartindm]

You've got the "happy wife/happy life" thing down, so I see fair weather ahead . Fair winds.

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by danielamartindm

You've got the "happy wife/happy life" thing down, so I see fair weather ahead . Fair winds.

Yep; at this point in life, you'd better get that part down. Or singlehand forever! Now to figure out what we can afford; should have been a neurosurgeon! ;-)

[SVNeko]

40+ foot, galley up, keeled cat? It's just about all of them.

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

40+ foot, galley up, keeled cat? It's just about all of them.

As I said to start, 40-45', 2010 or newer, sub 500k, just looking for opinions from those who had some limitations, looking for the same.

Looked at FP, Leopard, Voyage, Knysna. Now looking for suggestions about what I've missed.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by ssmoot

I actually meant Australian designers. I might be wrong, but I think all the boats I mentioned are Australian designed. And I suppose you could toss Farrier in there as well.

Just something that jumped out at me recently.

Could be theyre CF readers and see all the sneers/bitching about 'Dark Man Caves'..

[VBsail]

Island Spirit?

[ssmoot]

No used Lightwave 45s out there that I can find. So cats you could actually get today, primarily for two to live aboard, galley up.

I think I remember you were considering a Nautitech Open 40 at some point? The updated saloon is actually really nice in person. The galley as well. Short on refrigeration but with only two on board there's plenty of opportunity to fix that.

Having only two people opens up a lot of options though. A mild saloon refit of an older example to suit your tastes would leave a lot of change leftover in your pocket.

Have you looked at the Catana 41/42? I'm right there with you on daggerboards. But, and this is a question for myself to more experienced sailors as much as for you, is it possible you could just treat them like mini-keels if you're willing to give up tweaking performance and can afford to sacrifice the trunk space?

They seem like a real bargain, and some of them have really outstanding galleys. They're a bit tight on saloon seating for a family, but for two people? Pretty nice. It's a silly thing, but I also really like the fold-open chair backs in the cockpit seating. That's a really neat design detail. And the forward steps seem like they make a nice bench for sundowners.

Some of them look a bit rough, but with coming in at half your budget, that leaves a lot of room for refitting how you see fit.

Here's just one example, but I've seen them with at least four different salon layouts. The central leather sofa, central opposing booth seating, a snakey sofa with a small galley forward, or the same with a nav-station there instead and a linear galley aft.

It seems like a nice retirement boat for two. The cabins are pretty meh. But that's the French style cats in general?

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by VBsail

Island Spirit?

We sailed aboard an I.S. when my wife took her 101/103, etc.... They seem to be seaworthy enough, but cluncky and older design based. If I recall, the largest is the 40. I should have originally said I'm focused on 42-45!

Good idea though. The South African boats are well built. I've looked at the Knysna's for sale. There's always been a lot of discussion about their low bridge deck clearance (Voyage as well), but they have lower windage and have circumnavigated without any more slamming than "most" other cats. Well built, for sure. My wife loves that Leopard 45....

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by ssmoot

No used Lightwave 45s out there that I can find. So cats you could actually get today, primarily for two to live aboard, galley up.

I think I remember you were considering a Nautitech Open 40 at some point? The updated saloon is actually really nice in person. The galley as well. Short on refrigeration but with only two on board there's plenty of opportunity to fix that.

Having only two people opens up a lot of options though. A mild saloon refit of an older example to suit your tastes would leave a lot of change leftover in your pocket.

Have you looked at the Catana 41/42? I'm right there with you on daggerboards. But, and this is a question for myself to more experienced sailors as much as for you, is it possible you could just treat them like mini-keels if you're willing to give up tweaking performance and can afford to sacrifice the trunk space?

They seem like a real bargain, and some of them have really outstanding galleys. They're a bit tight on saloon seating for a family, but for two people? Pretty nice. It's a silly thing, but I also really like the fold-open chair backs in the cockpit seating. That's a really neat design detail. And the forward steps seem like they make a nice bench for sundowners.

Some of them look a bit rough, but with coming in at half your budget, that leaves a lot of room for refitting how you see fit.

Here's just one example, but I've seen them with at least four different salon layouts. The central leather sofa, central opposing booth seating, a snakey sofa with a small galley forward, or the same with a nav-station there instead and a linear galley aft.

It seems like a nice retirement boat for two. The cabins are pretty meh. But that's the French style cats in general?

All great comments!

1. I love all the Nauti cats, and we both love the Open 40. My only reservation (other than the price, which means we have to buy used) are the two outside helm stations - esp offshore. I spent some time with Gregor Tarjan (McConaghy Multihulls, Sunreef Yachts and Nautitech Catamarans | Luxury Yacht Dealer NY), who's the N.England dealer and owned an O40 and now an O46. He suggested that all nav/steering goes on inside when the weather kicks up, so that's the solution for that, and for all boats with open helms. I was just not sure 40' would be enough room for a year or two aboard, and for offshore runs.

2. The Catanas are great boats and I've looked at several. The 220V models I dismiss as I don't want to get involved in a conversion. The main reason I left them is laziness. I've had 3 boats with daggerboards and one with dagger board and dagger rudder. I'm tired of tweaking and messing with the extra lines, etc....; it become cluttered after a time. Repairing a board and/or the board case is a ^%$# as well. It's about me, not the boat.

Good choice though; maybe I'll go peek again ;-)

[thinwater]

I like galley down better. Takes it out of the flow of traffic. Also, if you are cooking in a seaway, galley up can toss you all over the place. Can you brace yourself in place? Do you really want the heat of cooking in the middle of the salon?



What matters is having an easy way to pass things up.


----


There are far more important features. Good traffic flow in the salon. Good access to winches while at the helm. Good ventilation in the cabins for sleeping. Many more important things.


(And yes, I did much of the cooking, pretty much all of the cooking underway.)

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I like galley down better. Takes it out of the flow of traffic. Also, if you are cooking in a seaway, galley up can toss you all over the place. Can you brace yourself in place? Do you really want the heat of cooking in the middle of the salon?



What matters is having an easy way to pass things up.


----


There are far more important features. Good traffic flow in the salon. Good access to winches while at the helm. Good ventilation in the cabins for sleeping. Many more important things.


(And yes, I did much of the cooking, pretty much all of the cooking underway.)

"What matters is having an easy way to pass things up.
There are far more important features."

What matters is what matters most to you/yours, and I'm a firm believer in that.

[ssmoot]

Fusion 40?

This one is just under $290,000 USD. Has mini-keels and a self-tacking jib with dual headsails. Nice saloon seating if it's only two people most of the time. A pretty nice galley up design with lots of refrigeration. Dual helm and an aft facing galley so you could be practically face to face preparing meals under sail. Not sure if that's a good thing or bad.

Small ports in the hulls, but it's all gelcoat with hulls open to the saloon (is there shorthand/a name for that?) so still very bright. Owner's version. Built in washing machine.

Far as I can tell about the only thing it's missing is generator/air-conditioning, but at that price if you want those then as long as you have space to fit them?

If you want a galley-up Seawind, I think besides a Lightwave 45 this is about the closest thing I've seen to it. Tiny ports in the hulls, and smaller hatches in the saloon (but has overhead hatches as well), with a bit higher freeboard. Other than that it seems like it's kinda exactly that (galley up Seawind), but a couple hundred thousand dollars cheaper?

[VJT]

Originally Posted by LeeV

Been here a long time and relying on my fellow cruisers for some empathy, understanding, and patience. I’ve researched most, owned 3 trimarans, sailed a few different cats and gone offshore a bit.

BUT, I didn’t have an answer for the Admiral when she just said to me, “no, I won’t compromise and have a galley down. If you like the Seawind 1260 so much, find something like it with the galley up!”

This will be our retirement cat for cruising the east coast and the Bahamas; I don’t need dboards or to chase speed any more, but I do like several things about the Seawind. We’ll most likely have to buy a 2-4 yr old as we’ve been saving, but will finance the rest. I’ve looked at 40-45 footers out there, but struggle to find a safe, seaworthy, comfortable, fun cat to show her that is a cleverly designed boat.

Having looked at FP, Leopard, Lagoon, Voyage, Catana am I missing any?

Thx for letting me ramble!

Best regards,

Hi
Have you had a look at the Admiral 38 or 40 for the "Admiral"
They are also custom built in Cape Town South Africa, very spacious and easy to sail.

Best Regards, V

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by LeeV

"What matters is having an easy way to pass things up.
There are far more important features."

What matters is what matters most to you/yours, and I'm a firm believer in that.

Well... yes, obviously. I was offering counterpoint that my "other" happens to agree with. We seen "up" galleys that did not appeal to us.


In the and, the best boat is the one that makes you both smile.