Frustrated Shopper

[zboss]

I'm incredibly frustrated. My wife and I have been shopping for a used catamaran for over 2 years now. We have made offers on 4 boats that have been accepted and made it to survey on two. We are finding that sellers are either demanding a super premium on their boats, even if they have a well used and stripped base model. Even for boats that are 20 years old. We find sellers that have badly damaged boats - cracked bulkheads with hasty repairs or no repairs at all, hull to deck joint cracks fixed with masking tape, then they pretend like they didn't know it was there.

Then we are frustrated with all the listings that say "Queen sized berths" only to drive 5 hours down to view the boats and find out they have full size berths. (I know, but it's one of our requirements...)

I admit, our pockets are not deep when it comes to a catamaran but we aren't bargain bin buyers either - we have a modest amount we want to spend so a 400K boat really isn't reality if we want to go sailing on it sometime soon.

The other contributor to our frustrations are driven by ourselves... we have a handful of requirements that I think just don't exist in a moderately priced vessel:

1) Decent bridge deck clearance
2) At least one queen sized berth
3) A squared off interior seating area
4) A U-shaped galley
5) Decent but not obscene tankage
6) Two heads (ideally with separate showers but not required)
7) A good sized freezer and fridge
8) 40'+ LWL
9) A decent performer but it doesn't need to be a rocketship.
10) Insurable - so many boats that may work are one-offs or cold molded.
11) Ideally, it would be ICW mast friendly and be florida keys draft friendly (4 feet).

I just don't think such a beast exists. BLAH! I'm just venting...

[sailjumanji]

What's your "modest budget"?

[smj]

We had no problem getting insurance on our cold molded cat, in fact it’s the best rate we’ve ever gotten for a catamaran.

[Kenomac]

Sounds like its time to either lower your expectations, come up with more money or be happy with what you have.

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

What's your "modest budget"?

“I just don't think such a beast exists. BLAH! I'm just venting...”

I think it’s a little bit of both. Especially in today’s market, following the destruction of so many cats, followed by many insurance checks, and the diminished number of used boats, you’ll have a very difficult time finding any cat to fill all your requirements, let alone on a “modest budget,” which you still haven’t shared...

Been there, still there!

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Sounds like its time to either lower your expectations, come up with more money or be happy with what you have.

That is the common theme of a long line of similar threads. There is an unreasonable gap in the triangle (Budget, expectations, market).

I too want to drive a BMW with the payments of a Honda Civic.

[Paul Casey]

Consider a Manta 40 or 42.

[zboss]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Sounds like its time to either lower your expectations, come up with more money or be happy with what you have.

Quite possibly but I don't think this is an impossible ask that owners and brokers don't lie about the size of their bunks. But there are other areas where we can't compromise.

Take the Lagoon 380 for example... zero and I mean ZERO galley space but they have a useless chart table. Then they have a rounded seating area that is a complete waste of space.

They fixed some of these deficits in the 39 by squaring out the seating area and extending the galley counter a bit but they retained that useless chart table. I mean - you have a perfectly large table in the saloon that can do double duty as a chart table if you insist on still using paper charts.

Rip out that chart table, make the saloon a rectangular seating area and where the hull sliding privacy door is, turn that into an extension of the galley so it can do double duty.

Originally Posted by Paul Casey

Consider a Manta 40 or 42.

We looked at the Mantas. They don't have a squared off saloon seating area, we don't like the tear drop table and I REALLY dislike the jib boom. Then they really don't have enough room for 4 around the cockpit table.

Originally Posted by Shrew

That is the common theme of a long line of similar threads. There is an unreasonable gap in the triangle (Budget, expectations, market).

I too want to drive a BMW with the payments of a Honda Civic.

Well that is exactly my point but I disagree that design factors we are asking for compete with price. I've owned a Porsche, a BMW, a Chevy SUV, a MG, a Toyota pickup, and a Chevy Pickup. By far my favorite was the Toyota pickup. Cheap, useful, easy to park, and comfortable. The catamaran business lacks a toyota pickup in the 40 foot range.

[sailorboy1]

If you boat shop for 2 years and can't find a boat, it's you.

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by zboss

The catamaran business lacks a toyota pickup in the 40 foot range.

I think the L380 would qualify as the Toyota pickup. Ain't perfect but good enough.

[JPA Cate]

zboss, please forgive me if this isn't what you want to hear, but going to a larger mono might work better for you in the long run. You can get the interior requirements in some, and at 44-46 ft, a great deal more comfort than your 38 footer. It will be easier to find berths for, too. When you're talking a boat that's 40x20, well, there are just so many end ties.... It would not mean good bye forever to rolly anchorages, but even those would be more comfortable.

It took us 3 yrs. to find this boat. It is frustrating when you pay "lots" of money to go look at a boat, that has been promised to be ready, and find the engine in parts on the cabin sole, or a broken forward bulkhead (and that was only one boat, but it also had a soft spot in the deck, but represented as "as new". Boats do get mis-represented, and I surely wish it weren't so. It's not just the seller, either. In our case, there was one broker who cost us so much money that we didn't go look at another boat she had for sale, because she'd lied to us. I hear your pain.

It may help to let your yachtie friends know what you're looking for. Someone may be able to put you onto a boat not yet on the market. Other than that, just keep looking, and don't let the ******* wear you down.

Ann

[geoleo]

My friend Mike has been looking with about the same requirements for 3 years. A few boats come close but masts are more than 64ft! And most have that damn C-Clamp seating. Best we found was a Switch 51 but its mast was 74!Maybe a older Outremer might work for you.

[Tillsbury]

Is it beyond your ability to square off a seating area? I only suggest it because many boats from a couple of decades ago had this ridiculous curved seating area — monos (like mine) included. Investigation of this boat showed me that the curve was in fact a fibreglass former screwed to the bulkheads. And the cushions, being 15 years old and the wrong colour for us, were on the ‘want to replace’ list anyway. It’ll take me about half an hour to change the saloon seating to square it off, plus the time to make new cushions.

Just a thought. Sometimes you have to choose what to compromise on, if everything else about the boat is right.

[smj]

I agree with jumanji, would be easier if you would tell us your budget.

[smj]

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/200...owse%20listing