Look to spend $150,000 on a catamaran

[otoole]

Look to spend $150,000 on a catamaran to live aboard and cruise the Caribbean. I am super interested in this one:

https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/88164

I would love to hear all thoughts!

[jdazey]

Immaculately maintained?
Turnkey condition?


It's a 1995 build (not necessarily bad) used in the tropics. The old Raymarine electronics will likely need updating. The 2007 genoa may have to go. Pumps, wiring, everything will need a close look. It has dinghy davits, but does it have a dinghy and motor?


I don't mean to be too negative. It may well be a nice boat and fairly priced, but I'd budget another $50,000 over the next year or so to get it up to snuff.


Cheers,

[LLCoolDave]

Pretty sure that boat is at my marina here in Rio Dulce, Guatemala. I don't know much about it but from the outside it looks well maintained. I've seen a few Athenas and Antiguas for sale and this is probably the nicest one. A common asking price is around $130k. I have no idea what the poster above is on about spending $50k. All boats will have projects but it looks upgraded and well taken care of. A new electronics package if needed would only be $5k plus install.

[Seman]

Looking very good, but pics don't always tell the truth! If it is what it looks like, allow $15k for Genoa and maybe some electronics, when needed.

[smj]

Looks like a better price through a brokerage.

https://bviyachtsales.com/yacht/38-f...-pajot-athena/

[jdazey]

Originally Posted by LLCoolDave

I have no idea what the poster above is on about spending $50k. All boats will have projects but it looks upgraded and well taken care of. A new electronics package if needed would only be $5k plus install.

OK, the boat is turnkey. It can be used "as is". Budget nothing. I said I'd budget $50,000 over the next couple of years. I was being generous because everything costs twice as much and takes twice as long.


Electronics "+ install". There's a wide range of electronic packages someone could get. Install costs additional unless a fairly handy person does it himself. Our ST60 stuff was working but the displays were going out. I could repair bits at a time never knowing when something would go out or I could buy a complete new setup. Our new B&G H5000 Hercules ran close to $20,000 including dropping the mast to run a new MHU cable. And I did the install. That includes taking out the old stuff, filling the holes, cutting new holes, and getting someone to do a decent job of painting. There are certainly less expensive systems available depending on how you need it to perform. Being "mature" sailors spending time on the ocean, we went for the best AP we could get



Genoa - used in the tropics, partially furled a fair bit of the time. It's gonna be tired. Well you can get a used genoa from Bacon or someone or you can get a nice Hydranet sail for bigger bucks. Our new jib (not genoa) was over $5,000.



Watermaker - not installed and needs service? Boat bucks going out here. A membrane for our Ventura 150 runs $500. A rebuild was $1000.


The current owner spend $10,000 on new vinyl floors. That's $10,000 on new floors! That's interesting to me because my boat is going to need new floors.



Dinghy and motor. Well an AB 10'er will run $5,000 or so. Motors?


I don't see a life raft on the list. We don't want one, but if you do, plan accordingly.



Refrigeration - the tropics will put a load on the refrigeration. Our boat is the same vintage and came with TOTL Sunfrost reefer and freezer. After 20 years the plumbing developed a leak. Installing a cold plate to keep it working was $1000 and the labor was essentially free.


So those are examples of how quickly money can go out. The boat is 25 years old, and over the next few years it's going to need some help despite all that's already been done to it. I'd rather budget too much and have some left over than budget too little and come up short. When we bought Presto, we budgeted $60,000 for a "turnkey" boat. The owner was shocked, but that was pretty close to what it took over two years. Now if this boat has some of these items checked off but not listed, that's all to the better.



Boats are full of surprises.



Cheers,

[Tin Tin]

Some FP's of that era tended to have soft spots in the deck where the foam has de-laminated from the fiberglass, hull might have osmosis, there may be worn rudder bearings, these issues should show up on survey, not the end of the earth but need to be dealt with. Finding an independent, qualified surveyor in its home port may be a challenge. No data on engine hours, but at this age if not well serviced, may have issues like clogged/corroded heat exchangers, worn bearings etc, other issues may be through hulls. The Electronics may be near death, things like autopilots are expensive.


Overall it seems not a bad boat subject to survey.


Athena owners we have known as long term cruisers would prefer a better load capacity and were looking to add hull stern extensions to improve this area plus better performance.

[Alistair242]

Looks nice and within your budget. Go check it out.
Good luck!

[vpbarkley]

The thing that jumps out at me is the color. It will be an oven in the Caribbean.

[contrail]

Originally Posted by vpbarkley

The thing that jumps out at me is the color. It will be an oven in the Caribbean.

Yep, the boat looks well taken care of and re-fitted, but that color will be a killer, and it will fade and not look so good in not too many years. Beautiful boat for temperate climes, if that's your goal.

[Klm2]

I have seen that boat in Rio Dulce, she looks beautiful and well maintained. I’m not a huge fan of the colour but she is a head turner. There is also a very detailed and trustworthy boat surveyor in Rio Dulce so it probably wouldn’t cost much to have a survey done and then you would have a great second opinion on the boat. The surveyor’s name is John Brandes.

[Bargain Bill]

Check our the PDQ ychts (sail and power). A lot newer, built in Canada with excellent workmanship. They hold their value very well.

[Sailorman Ed]

I think you will want to replace the 451 gram anchor though...

[SVPP]

My guess is it’s an ex charter boat, but has had one owner before passing it on to you

I couldn’t see Engine details - but may have missed it. Be war of super high hours as confirms charter boat. Super low hours means they have replaced it and you then need to look at the line shaft bearings etc

Dark blue - hard to keep looking that way. I think the paint it trying to hide an old worn boat that is being propped up by the brokers bs description

Looks pretty ordinary on the inside and the electronics are dated. But the generation ray marine and Garmin is still very functional so that wouldn’t be the first place

I don’t like it. Sorry

[mikedefieslife]

The OP doesn't say how long he wants to cruise for.

It could be he could buy the boat, and cruise for a few years without doing anything other than basic maintenance.

ST60 electronics whilst old are generally good. Lol at the mention of an AB dinghy, when for all we known the OP could be happy with cheap 2.6m Chinese inflatable that will do 17knts with old 8hp 2 stroke that is also picked up cheaply.

Not saying that there won't be anything to do or look at, just that people here seem to go way over the top, especially for the Caribbean. Look around your anchorage and see the state of some of the boats people are sailing around here.