New EXCESS 11

[watergirl_2018]

Hello

We are in the market for a new boat and the very new Excess 11 looks just perfect for us. We are not experienced sailors so we will need to sail from zero

This means we would adapt to the two wheels with no judgment to compare with better options.

We want to live on board so the layout is a plus for us and the price range is perfect. But we see that the boat is so new we can't read any real user reviews so we would be early adaptors.

If anyone here knows a boat owner or has any experience please share your views.

We will appreciate it

[mglonnro]

Originally Posted by watergirl_2018

Hello

We are in the market for a new boat and the very new Excess 11 looks just perfect for us. We are not experienced sailors so we will need to sail from zero

This means we would adapt to the two wheels with no judgment to compare with better options.

We want to live on board so the layout is a plus for us and the price range is perfect. But we see that the boat is so new we can't read any real user reviews so we would be early adaptors.

If anyone here knows a boat owner or has any experience please share your views.

We will appreciate it

No sailing experience here, but the speed polars looked decent (if I remember correctly) AND when we were inside one, the layout seemed really smart and fresh!

[SV-Viento]

We saw the 12 in Annapolis last fall and thought it was interesting. We liked the esthetics and layout but two thoughts gave us pause. 1 build quality and materials were average 2. Aft helms leave you exposed to elements. The 11 and 12 are similar so I would think these points may apply. But price and smaller size are big pluses. Have fun with the search and sail as much as you can before spending the $ - sure to inform your decisions.

[Tupaia]

I would worry about the helm positions.

Imagine it is night and one of you is on watch, where would you be? Inside or at the helm? Which one?

You notice a lobster pot. Can you get to the helm quick enough to avoid it?

Actually you are in the middle of a field of pots, can you comfortably navigate through them? Your partner is still asleep.

Can you stand at a helm and communicate with your partner who is sitting on the boom telling you where the coral heads are?

[marcok]

Hi @Watergirl_2018
You may have already decided on your boat. But in case you haven't here's a bit of my feedback. We were lucky enough actually sail the Excess 11 twice now in the Netherlands. Once with the dealer on board, once just by the two of us. We're planning to take her on a 1 year trip from the Med to the Carib next year (2021). I have sailed (and owned) several boats (J22/J92/Dufour45e Performance/Dehler 36SQ/Dehler39/Nacra4.7) and still race in the Laser. Over the last years I've chartered a FP Lucia 40 / FP Saona / Lagoon 42 / Nautitech 40 Open and some others. I'm not trying to brag here, but I personally find it valuable if some has actually sailed the boat they're commenting on comes from first hand experience or not.

Overall experience was very good with the Excess 11; clearly a newly designed boat. Very large from the inside (for its size ofc) but compact from the outside. In other words; efficient. The two helms station give a completely different feeling that the FP or Lagoon raised helmstations. We found the sound (noise is not the right word here) from the water leaving the sugar scoops pretty nice; it really feeling like sailing compared to the other cats I've been on.

Furthermore the boat performed much better in light winds than the other cats but I must admit the charter boats didn't have nice Code0's nor A-syms.

In the end we placed an order for the Excess 11 (with the Pulse Line package) and hope to pick it up in April 2021. If you would like a more indepth review or if you specific questions, let me know.

All the best in finding you perfect boat!

[joopdjumbo]

Dear Marco,

Hoe does the boat compare to the nautitech?

Regards Chris

[Yihang]

Still heavy and balsa cored like a lagoon, heavier than a 12m 40 foot nautitech, 2.5 tons heavier than a similar sized seawind, 2.5 tons is a lot in a small cat like this one. The flimsy folding helm seats are right over the back, you need to fold them to exist the boat, just bad design, also doesn't feel that safe . Paid reviews mention views through the saloon is good but that is two layers of glass and you are sitting 1/3 of a boat length away from the first set of glass. visibility will be horrible especially given some people complain about the seawind setup which is lightyears better. Winches are not within easy reach of the helms man and it looks like you need to behalf kneeling on the stairs to get good leverage, nautitech has better winch positions.

Rely on high performance laminate sails to get the decent polars.

Can't see any reason to get it over the nautitech 40open which is foam cored.

Excess is going to have a 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15...........a little excessive?

[Yihang]

Bridge deck clearance looks less than the old lagoon 380. With 5 models, it just seems like they are trying to inundate the market without any real innovation.

Price is cheap though. Seawind 1160 is about the same price but I can see people wanting the lagoon space and galley up. So at this price point they will probably do well. Not much competition in this size.

I just got the Neel 43 price list. You can spec out a pretty good one for 400k euro ex vat including handover costs. Liking it more and more.

[Factor]

You want a sailing boat or an apartment with a mast?

[joopdjumbo]

Thank you,

I also very like the Neel, but....
Looking on the internet it seems
They can't build boats with reasonable quality.

Regards chris

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Yihang

Paid reviews mention views through the saloon is good but that is two layers of glass and you are sitting 1/3 of a boat length away from the first set of glass. visibility will be horrible especially given some people complain about the seawind setup which is lightyears better.

All the reviews I have seen are day time. Doing a night watch on this boat would be very stressful.


Visibility through two layers of glass at night is fraught with problems in the open ocean where approaching lights can be dim, coming into port the reflections would be bordering dangerous. The use of clear rather than tinted windows have been used to mitigate some issues but tinted windows serve a purpose in daytime in limiting the heat within the boat. So there is a conflict between visibility of the helmsman and comfort of crew within the boat.


A good day charter arrangement but far from ideal for long term or live-aboard cruising.

[Nahbrown]

watergirl_2018- Exposed helms, we live with that and it can be horrible. Its not necessarily the rain but the cold wind that gets you

Originally Posted by Factor

You want a sailing boat or an apartment with a mast?

As live aboards, bit of both has made us happy.

[marcok]

I think there quite some similarities tbh. Ofc the helmpositions being the main. What we personally didn't like from the nautitech was the fact the saloon area felt really small. It's on purpose as it's called 'Open' for a reason. Sailing wise; I haven't sailed the Nautitech with proper sails so won't comment on it. Also the Excess 11 felt more spacious in the hulls. I'm not sure if this actually the case or just felt that way. Both boats are production cats with similar finishes I would say so don't think this is such a difference. As said; we preferred the more outspoken, fresh looks of the Excess and sailing performance. However I compared it's sailing performance against the range of FP I sailed.

[Yihang]

Originally Posted by marcok

I think there quite some similarities tbh. Ofc the helmpositions being the main. What we personally didn't like from the nautitech was the fact the saloon area felt really small. It's on purpose as it's called 'Open' for a reason. Sailing wise; I haven't sailed the Nautitech with proper sails so won't comment on it. Also the Excess 11 felt more spacious in the hulls. I'm not sure if this actually the case or just felt that way. Both boats are production cats with similar finishes I would say so don't think this is such a difference. As said; we preferred the more outspoken, fresh looks of the Excess and sailing performance. However I compared it's sailing performance against the range of FP I sailed.

Performance wise the SA/D ratio of the excess 11 is 18. 23.5 for the Nautitech open 40 which is about the same as a seawind 1260. Outremer's are around 30.

As a comparison Lagoon 40 is 16. Seems like they didn't try that hard to make the excess into a real performance cruiser. Instead the excess is a lagoon in a fancier wrapper. Will probably still do well on the market though since there is a size for everyone and the price is good.

Basically for folks who like the performance looks but not the performance compromises. Which is fine, good business probably.

[marcok]

Hi Watergirl_2018,
Not sure if you've pulled the trigger on the Excess (or any other boat). As mentioned we did. As it's a fairly new brand we also created a dedicated Facebook Excess Owners group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/836185033611240 (note the group will become private in 2 days, as Facebook has a 3 day holding period for those kind of group changes)

All the best with searching for your boat!

Marco

Originally Posted by watergirl_2018

Hello

We are in the market for a new boat and the very new Excess 11 looks just perfect for us. We are not experienced sailors so we will need to sail from zero

This means we would adapt to the two wheels with no judgment to compare with better options.

We want to live on board so the layout is a plus for us and the price range is perfect. But we see that the boat is so new we can't read any real user reviews so we would be early adaptors.

If anyone here knows a boat owner or has any experience please share your views.

We will appreciate it