Lagoon 421

[rajsach]

Just wanted to know if anyone has experience with the Lagoon 421. I'm thinking of buying one and any insight would be appreciated. I've seen a lot of posts on the older 420s but none really on the 421.
Thanks in advance

[2Hulls]

We have very good friends that we have buddy boated with who have one - one of the first ones sold in the US. I have sailed it and helped deliver it down the Ches Bay several years ago as well as helping the owner install his electronics. So I know enough to be dangerous.

2 Hulls Dave

[rajsach]

Hi 2hulls. That sounds like a loaded response- ha!
Give me the good and the ugly.

[2Hulls]

I'll send you a pm. Maybe you should ask your questions on the Lagoon sub-forum.

Dave

[krafthaus]

The L421 is the same as a L420 except is has a different lower hard bimini. We've spent a total of 4 weeks chartering a 420 the last two years and are now looking to buy one. I've seen the 421's but really don't like the bimini style so we would not buy one of those.

So bimini aside, these are great boats. Very roomy and comfortable. Not a high performance cat, but steady & stable. We had a great run from Union Island to Grenada on a broad reach doing a steady 10-12 knots in 20-25 knots true the first charter we were on.

The fly bridge on the 440/450's aren't for us as we prefer to be near the cockpit and salon with the rest of the crew. The 400 has the forward beds in the peak (420 layout has much more room and better layout in the forward cabins) and the 380 is smaller than we'd like.

Good Luck to you.

[BambooSailor]

I'll send you a pm.

Curious, why wouldn't you share your opinions with others?

I like 421 for the same reasons krafthouse does. BTW, there are some other differences between 420 and 421, mainly L421 has very different underwater aft sections of hulls, also hulls have slightly lower profile.

What I like:
- comfortable, spacious, a lot of storage
- well protected cockpit and helm station. We like using cockpit even if it is raining.
- you can actually see all four corners on a boat when docking
- easy access to boom, traveler and mainsail, simple rigging, easy to singlehand
- my wife/children can handle this boat

There are few things I would design differently:
- sinks in all heads are ridiculously small, I mean, borderline unusable. I plan to replace them.
- lockers in aft cabins are really small
- electrical panels in cabinet so low on the floor of salon? What were they thinking, especially when panel is already part of distributed installation.

There are other things, all of them fixable. Every boat is compromise...

[SimonV]

Originally Posted by 2Hulls

I'll send you a pm. Maybe you should ask your questions on the Lagoon sub-forum.

Dave

Please share your experience. The only thing l can openly add is to check the bottom of the bulkheads, especially in and near wet areas for rot and separation, they didn't seal these.

Sent from my GT-N7105T using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by BambooSailor

Curious, why wouldn't you share your opinions with others?

That's a fair question. While writing a response to the OP I thought better of my initial post and concluded I didn't have enough personal experience to be a credible "witness". My friends have been happy with their boat.

Dave

[Ulstue]

The Lagoon 421 has an older design than the 400 or 450, more steps and corners.The newer designs are more open, more comfortable, especially the cockpit. If you like the “trampoline” of catamarans: on 421 they are very small. In my opinion she is clumsier than the 400 which I would prefer for sailing. 421 has only a little bit more space indoor, but the cabins in the bows are larger than in the other cats, with spacious showers.

[rajsach]

Thank you everyone for the responses!
Based on the responses, I guess some info on my intentions may be helpful.
My wife and I are moving to Puerto Rico ( no Kids) and plan to keep the boat and sail her out of Fajardo. The plan is to sail around the Spanish , US & British virgins for now until we feel more comfortable to venture farther. I'm leaning towards Lagoon because there is a dealer in Fajardo and I thought service/ warranty issues would be easier to handle. I also happen to like Lagoons in general but also like FP. Although sailing capabilities are important to us, comfort and safety would probably be higher on the list. I would honestly describe us as good intermediate sailors. We have been sailing for a few years mainly chartering in the virgin islands. Our budget is around US$500k. My schedule will be such that I work two weeks on and two off so we plan to sail 10-14 days a month consecutively. That's not really a live aboard but close. It'll usually be the two of us sailing with family & friends joining us a few times a year.
I'm open to any advise
Thanks
Raj

[2Hulls]

That's a good cruising plan, Raj - it will take you quite a while to wear it out.

With a US$500K budget, I suggest you not limit your choices to Lagoon - and especially not on the perceived worth of service/warranty coverage. You're not going to get a 421 new for that much, which suggests you intend to buy used. Warranty coverage on used boats is non-existent, I propose, no matter the manufacturer. But buying used has been a proven strategy over, and over, and over - again, no matter the manufacturer. Service on boats becomes essentially manufacturer homogeneous after whatever warranty coverage applies because boats at their core are merely assemblies of components built by sub-manufacturers and literally, we're all in it together. A diesel is a Yanmar, Volvo, or other. It is not a Lagoon. The only time you might need the original manufacturer after their warranty is for stuff like rudders. Manufacturer-specific components. In my case, I replaced both rudders with custom built rudders for half the cost of OEM rudders from Catana. And they're better.

Having identified a budget, did you factor in maintenance and operating costs? I bought my boat for less than US$500 in late 2006 and have spent an average of US$30K/year since in maintenance/operating/improvements costs. And I do 99% of the maintenance/improvements myself, avoiding labor costs.

Good luck,
Dave

[rajsach]

Hi Dave
I was planning to buy new. The budget is a little flexible.
I was looking at a 2015 price list in Euro and saw that a basic boat with some additional equip is around Euro 362k
http://www.kiriacoulis.com/sales/lag...management.pdf
Doing the conversion at the present rate that's a little less than $410k. That would leave me about a $100k or so to add some things, delivery etc.
Am I being too optimistic?

[2Hulls]

Originally Posted by rajsach

Am I being too optimistic?

No, not necessarily. I hadn't considered the recent changes in the US$/Euro exchange rate.

If you intend to buy new, I can't help you. All I know about that is that I have heard no happy stories. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero.

With a US$500K buying budget, you have a lot of choices in the pre-owned market. For some easy research, just search on Yachtworld for a Privilege selling for that much. Very fine boats. Compare the hits to a new 421 that will very likely need add-ons to be cruise equivalent. Or search for a Lagoon 470 - a very fine boat. No reasonable person would prefer a 421 over a 470, unless they had specific size constraints and really wanted the new boat smell.

The link you provided to Kiriacoulis was for charter boats, it seems. That's a wholly different form of "new". Are you considering a charter boat? It didn't sound like it from your plan description.

I suggest you do not want a charter version of whatever boat you buy. You likely don't need 4 beds and 4 heads. Have you ever taken care of a head? - and its plumbing?

Dave

[rajsach]

Thanks for the clarification on the pricing.
Good points on looking for used boats. I'll do so research

[rajsach]

any thoughts on the lack of a crossbeam on the 421