Leopard or Lagoon

[Okanui]

Time to get serious
I would appreciate some constructive feedback and advice regarding the choice between a 40' Leopard or Lagoon with a $300K budget to purchase in Europe. Ideally owners version or ex charter with 2 heads. We are a more than middle aged couple with 2 medium sized dogs. Intend to cruise the Med, maybe transat to Caribbean if we are still keen and if still up for it maybe Pacific and home to Australia. We have previously chartered 404/444 Leopards and a 50' Lagoon but only a week at a time. Many thanks in advance for your suggestions and advice.

[KC375]

Why just Leopard or Lagoon, why not others like Fountaine Pajot?

[cjenkins]

We were in almost the exact same situation last year. Looking for 40-ish ft cat in the Med, preferably a Leopard or Lagoon. We previously owned a Lagoon 420 and looked at a lot of boats in that size range. We liked the build quality of Leopards and particularly liked the layout of a Leopard 38 owners version that we saw. When it came time to shop seriously, we found many more Lagoons available.

The Leopard 38s and 40s have the winch for the main halyard up at the mast. That means that someone has to go forward to raise or reef the main. We did not like that so we eliminated boats with that configuration. We liked the Leopard 44s that have the "front porch" seating area in front of the salon. We bid on a couple coming out of charter and just missed out. They were not owners versions.

We wound up finding a Lagoon 400 owners version that fit our needs. There are a lot of 400s out there cruising and so there is a wealth of information about potential problem areas and a lot of good suggestions for customizing a 400 for long term liveaboard.

We used a buyer's broker here in the US and that made the process easier. I recommend it, particularly if you are going to buy something outside the US.

Charlie

[Okanui]

Initial research is that there are less FP's on the market and would be looking at an older boat for our budget

[Okanui]

Hi Charlie, many thanks for your comment well appreciated. I have to say that we are leaning towards the Leopard as we are more familiar over the Lagoon. That said there seems to be a shortage of Leopards in our price range in Europe but plenty of Lagoons

[Red Sky]

My exposure to a Leopard is limited to a 48’ on charter in Croatia, but I loved the “Front porch”. It was a nice place to sit when you didn’t feel like people watching while Med moored and while someone else was driving. Also, being able to open the front door and tie it to all the other space in the boat made for all the room you could want, we had 4 couples aboard and never felt cramped. A 40’ for a couple would feel palatial, and the pups would love it.

[Barra]

Having done what you are planning Ill give you the answer - neither.

For the med alone monos are a far better option. Hands down easier and cheaper to find a berth and haul out.

We did it in a cat and it was a real pain after awhile having to plan ahead for a berth for a cat. End of season haul outs had to be planned way ahead as the cat friendly yards fill fast. But friends on monos as long as you stay under 40 to 45 feet feet always found a place be it last minute berths or yards in interesting places for haul outs.

Not a fun feeling pulling into a town quay and finding no suitable spots and a storm on your tail either. Or sailing past a quaint little town you would love to pull into and explore but often cant. Meanwhile the mono mantra is "theres always room for one more".

If you are going beyond the med then different story so make sure of your plans first.

[Okanui]

@ Red Sky, Thank you for your comment, yes I agree we chartered a brand new 404 out of Palma last year and loved it for a week with no dogs. However living aboard long term with the fur babies is a different story I am sure and my eyes are wide open and hope to receive further comments and advice via the forum.

[Okanui]

Hi Barra, Thank you for your comment, extremely constructive and something I had not considered. Next question is can anyone suggest a dog friendly Mono about 40'?

[Barra]

You might want to search the forum on the dog issue. Certainly plenty in the med travel with their dogs while sailing. Having dogs would mean anchoring off is more of a hassle I suppose so its another tick for the mono in the med I reckon.

We had friends that trained their dog to use the tramp as a toilet but I reckon thats less than ideal personally. It was a big dog...

[Steamer]

Originally Posted by Okanui

@ my eyes are wide open and hope to receive further comments and advice via the forum.

AFAIK Moorings has some 39-ft 2014-15 blt R&C blt ladies available for sale in Europe.

As to "monohull alternative" I personally can only propose larger 60 ft custom aluminum 2004 blt boat. Should her sweet price of Eur 180k be a reason to switch over to mono feel free to PM.

[MikeFergie]

I am a Leopard 40 owner and have owner my boat for 5 years and done over 10 000nm on the boat. I enjoy sailing the boat. We are starting to live full time on the boat as soon as I have finished some upgrades I’m busy with.

I helped a friend and his family sail their Lagoon 400S2 last year from Portugal to the Canaries.

My opinion is the following
The S2 is a wider boat about 0,5m. This adds a lot to the saloon area.
The S2 is a much heavier boat , at least 3 tons metric heavier than the leopard.
In light is winds up to 15 knots the Leopard will always outsail the Lagoon.
The lagoon does not like light winds and tight to the wind sailing and you will need to run one motor to assist.
In strong winds the lagoon will move very well and be more stable unless you reef the leopard a lot. The sail area on a leopard is larger than the Lagoon S2 so it makes sense.
The Leopard runs 2 x yanmar 30 Hp engines. The Lagoon S2 runs yanmar 40 Hp engines so more fuel burn.

In Europe Lagoons are common and easily available.

I prefer my Leopard 40

Rgards

[Okanui]

Thanks Mike I appreciate your feedback