How slow and/or pokey are the Lagoon 39 and Leopard 40?

[tripletrouble]

Here is my situation: I for some reason like the looks of the Lagoon 39 and Leopard 40 but from comments elsewhere as well as perusal of the Multihull Dynamics data, they come off as extremely low performance.

Thing is, I want a 40ish footer for use on the lower Chesapeake with occasional forays as far a Annapolis to the north and possibly the NC and Delmarva coastal waters. Most of the time however it will serve as a weekend/holiday getaway in lieu of a shore based vacation home. Both would fill that requirement but having sailed small multi's and high performance mono's I don't want to be embarrassed by being "smoked" by similar sized mono's.

Opinions, please?

[hblask]

For the most part, comfort vs speed is a trade-off. Lagoon and Leopard are marketed to people who want to travel in comfort, RV's of the sea. They are not made for people who are in a hurry.

If you are worried that other people may be able to go faster, you may have to accept sparse accommodations, unless you are rich enough to afford something like a Gunboat.

[Privleoplag]

Getting smoked or smoking someone will probably have more to do with your point of sail.. And if you are loaded up with 200 gal of water and 100 gal. of fuel. Comforts cost you speed.. Weight of the generator and 2 air conditioners for instance.

[MBWhite]

Also life becomes more pleasant when you stop worrying that someone else has more stuff than you, makes more money than you, sails faster than you, etc.

Find what you like, outfit it how you like, and realize you do not need anyones approval.

Good luck and much enjoyment with whatever boat you choose!

[tripletrouble]

I am not worried about others so much as will I be disappointed I either of these two being able to sail well. I realize creature comforts and high performance do not go hand in hand BUT I wonder if these two compromise too much on comfort to satisfy me. Logically I should probably ignore the "looks good" factor and take a hard look at the Open 40 or wait to see and sail the new FP 40.

[jslindner]

Of course, the answer to your question is dependent on which Leopard 40 you are talking about - the new one or the earlier version. While I have no experience with the earlier Leopard 40, I can tell you that we were doing our sea trial with our new Leopard 40 this past weekend off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. With 7.5 knots apparent wind, we achieved 5.3 knots through the water. We were using a single-reefed flat-topped main, with a Code Zero headsail. I was truly impressed.

[tripletrouble]

Originally Posted by jslindner

Of course, the answer to your question is dependent on which Leopard 40 you are talking about - the new one or the earlier version. While I have no experience with the earlier Leopard 40, I can tell you that we were doing our sea trial with our new Leopard 40 this past weekend off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. With 7.5 knots apparent wind, we achieved 5.3 knots through the water. We were using a single-reefed flat-topped main, with a Code Zero headsail. I was truly impressed.

Excellent information, exactly what I am looking for. 5.3kn at 7.5aw is just fine in my book.

I really should have been more specific and said that I was concerned with performance in the 5 - 15kn aw range.

ta, jslinder

[contrail]

Originally Posted by jslindner

Of course, the answer to your question is dependent on which Leopard 40 you are talking about - the new one or the earlier version. While I have no experience with the earlier Leopard 40, I can tell you that we were doing our sea trial with our new Leopard 40 this past weekend off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. With 7.5 knots apparent wind, we achieved 5.3 knots through the water. We were using a single-reefed flat-topped main, with a Code Zero headsail. I was truly impressed.

May I ask why the mainsail was reefed in winds that light?

Cheers,
Tim

[jslindner]

Oh, For sure, Tim.

We were reefed because it was a sea-trial for our new boat and I was giving all the systems the once-over. The new Leopard 40 has a different reefing system than the Leopard 39 that we had sailed before, and I was trying to get a feel for how it works.

Thanks for asking. :-)

[Kreef]

HI Triple and all other readers .I had the privilege of helping to deliver a 40 ft Leopard from Cape Town to Tortola via Fortaleza and Trinidad and we averaged 140 NM for the trip .This included a number of days (I have left out days in ports)motoring with no wind .We covered a distance of 6049 NM in total and our fastest through the water was 17.1 knots while surfing in to Fortaleza .
Slamming was never a problem although we were heavily loaded with extra diesel in plastic drums evenly distributed throughout the vessel.
This trip was on the earlier model built in 2007 .We used the genneker as well on occasion for a total of ten days according to my log book .Wind speed on those occasions was between 8 and 14 knots from the SW and SSW .In winds of 12 to 20 knots from the NE when we sailed under main and genoa we totalled 168 NM for a 24 hour period.
The highest wind speed encountered was 34 knots .We sailed with a 1/3 genoa and two reefs in the main and achieved a top speed of 15.1 knots.As noted in the log book it was an exciting ride.
Motoring at 2600 RPM on both engines in flat calm water we achieved 6 knots off St Helena .
This Catamaran is definitely not a dog in the water and makes for a very comfortable ride in my opinion.Build quality seems good although we did notice a little cracking in the gel coat at the top of the stairs on the port side only .
Are you intending to buy new or second hand ?Whatever you do have a great time!!!

[AZUS]

I'd say it's all about how you intend to use the boat.

We recently bought an Antares 44i, because we'll be long-term live aboard cruising, and crossing oceans. But I would not buy the same boat for weekend bay and coastal cruising near home.

We've chartered the Lagoon and the Leopard many times; both are comfortable and perform well. I would probably have chosen one of those two if we were cruising in home waters. Few cats perform well to windward, so you are only talking about reaching performance, and both are good boats when reaching.

My advice, don't buy for the few hours a month you will be on the same course as some other boat. Buy for all the rest of the time you'll enjoy it, under sail, on the hook (and when looking at your bank account!).

If you were sailing thousands of miles, a slight speed difference could mean days added to the trip. But, on a 20-mile sail, the difference between 6 and 7 knots is only 20-something minutes. And, in the scheme of things, if any of us were all about getting there the fastest, we would probably not be sailors.

[Kreef]

Originally Posted by tripletrouble

Excellent information, exactly what I am looking for. 5.3kn at 7.5aw is just fine in my book.

I really should have been more specific and said that I was concerned with performance in the 5 - 15kn aw range.

ta, jslinder

Triple one other detail for that trip was that the skipper has around ten deliveries or more out of Cape Town to Tortola and is a very very experienced guy so he was pushing it all the way to minimize time spent on the trip.

[Tom and Maje]

We have an older Leopard 40 and we hit speeds in excess of 12 kts with a reef in. This is a boat that likes to sail and she'll frequently do over half her wind speed.


Nothing slow or poky about her.


Maje

[Kreef]

Originally Posted by Tom and Maje

We have an older Leopard 40 and we hit speeds in excess of 12 kts with a reef in. This is a boat that likes to sail and she'll frequently do over half her wind speed.


Nothing slow or poky about her.


Maje

Amen to that it is a great boat !!!

[bensolomon]

I am a die hard monohuller (own a Hunter legend 37.5). I always charter the Leopard 40 or 47 in the BVI for family comfort, etc. Even being conservative and reefing early, I see 8 knots or more with ease.

Ben

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