Nautitech 44, any comments or owners??

[shadow]

Hi,

I was curious if anyone here on this board or know of anyone that has owned or will own the Nautitech 44?? I saw it at the Sydney Boat show and I really liked what I saw. I'm still seriously debating between this one and the Leopard 43. Any and all comments and real world experiences with both would be greatly appreciated!!

Cheers

[Adaero]

The following are my opinions on the Nautitech 44 These are not based on personal experience of sailing one but purely on viewing at boat shows and technical data gathered during my search for a similar cat.

Probably one of the best internal layout available, finished to a good standard (not quite Privilege but comparable with Lagoon). Compeditively priced.
Why I haven't ordered one yet, (please note YET as it is still on my shortlist) Helms, great visibilty but do I want to be stuck out at there in either really bad weather or on boiling hot days with no protection. Beam, for it's length of waterline the beam is quite narrow, if you compare it with the Lagoon 440 it has nearly 13m sq less deck space (Length x Beam) and 5m sq less than the Orana 44.
Performance, although it is lighter than the Lagoon and FP when you look at the Sail area/displacement figures it is 10% down on the Lagoon and 20% on the FP, this could be improved with a larger rig?

I am off to La Rochelle next month to hopefully finalise my decision which will be 60% gut feel with the other 40% being backed up by technical data. I have made a spreadsheet with all the different boats data plus our personal rating of every feature that is important to us. This gives us a total score for each boat on our shortlist which will hopefully help us in our final decision. There are currently 9 boats on our list which will be cut down to a maximum of 3 in the next month or so.

[shadow]

Great reply Adaero and much appreciated!! I do agree with the locations of the Helms and was planning to perhaps have a custom made bimini for both if I was going to do the purchase. Again, I really appreciate your input and time with it!!

It really helps me further my research for a more informed purchase. Cheers.

[colemj]

Small biminis over the helms will offer some shade at noon, but not much more during the rest of the day. They don't offer any protection from rain. I guess if your usage was passage making with long periods at anchor, then the autopilot would handle the steering. But if you plan on coastal sailing or bopping about in an area for a time, helm protection becomes important.

Disclosure: We own a catamaran with a bulkhead mounted helm under a substantial hardtop/plastic window covering.

Having sailed our boat for the past four years in boiling sun and driving rain, I would now never have a catamaran with an exposed helm. It is just too comfortable sailing in cold rain while dry and not wearing foulies. Same for boiling sun. I didn't buy the boat with this factor high on my list (actually, I didn't consider it at all), but it would now be the top consideration if I buy another boat.

Mark

[ireaney]

Hi Adaero, I agree with your replies about the aft helm positions not good in UK climate or any other come to that. I looked at the Nautitech 40 but I felt the inside linings felt a bit plasticky, other than that a nice cat and having relatively narrow hulls would think the performance would be reasonable. I would be interested in what your shortlist is, my shortlist is based around the 40ft mark, but not quite ready to make the jump.
Also based in Devon with mooring on the Exe, where do you intend to keep yours (if you want to tell me that is)?
Cheers
Ian

[shadow]

Thanks for the replies colemj and ireaney. That was the last remaining possible concern about the helms on the nautitech and now hearing from someone with hardcore cruising and passage making, I am now realising my concerns are true.

I thank you again for your input and sharing your experiences!! Cheers

[Jeannius]

I don't believe you can really live with helms exposed like that on offshore passages. The thought of being that exposed when the going gets tough makes my blood run cold. Like Colemj, I prefer to be tucked up behind my nice solid bulkhead with a plastic windscreen in front and a good bimini overhead.

I don't like the horrible raised helm that the Lagoon 440 has (and some South African cats) either. They have the added disadvantage of raising the centre of gravity considerably as the boom and the rest of the rig needs to be higher.

I went aboard a Nautitech 40 at last years Southampton boat show and was not impressed by the quality.

I'm biased here, of course, but you can't beat a Privilege for build quality.

[shadow]

Hi Jeannius, thanks for the input, I see that you have a privilege 435, can you give me your honest opinion about that cat and what the going rate is?? Thanks again for your time and response. Cheers

[Jeannius]

After 4.5 years as a charter boat Jeannius is still in good shape, even the wonderful wood interior has stood up well. The only things I would change would be to have a bigger generator and upgraded shore power supply. Sails and trampolines are now due for replacement but with over 30 weeks charter a year I can't complain about that.

A new 435 or 445 as they now call them comes to around $600k but that includes everything you want except air conditioning. The 395 is maybe $150k less.

[Saildoggie]

I can back up the interior being beautiful!!
We just chartered Jeannius in June and can say the interior is over the top in quality and finish.
The finish really shows no wear at all, you would think she was brand new.
Keeping the shades drawn has probably made a huge difference in the interior looking so nice, having AC and not having hatches open all the time probably also makes a big difference in salty air and humidity exposure on the wood.
The overall condition of Jeannius is excellent, I would say the structure is superior to any cat we have chartered, she is very stiff and solid.

[Jeannius]

Hi Mark
You can see Jeannius right now on the Saba Rock webcam

[Saildoggie]

Sure enough, 2 kayaks on deck, just saw the crew dink to shore.

Looks like the have a young'n aboard, they were checking out the aquairium too.

The webcam is super clear today and framing so fast it's almost like a movie!!!