Please help! Buying advice for small cat

[grahamb]

……..there is an Australian made 'Fastback 32'...….which is an interesting catamaran.....quite light.....sails easily....indoor/outdoor...….only small number made...well within price range.....easy to alter.....simple boat....but probably unknown outside Australia...…..

[Mike Banks]

Heavenly Twins--smallest useful cat. I think they are 26 feet--could be more or less.

[CaptainRivet]

For ocean, long passage sailing 35ft or longer is preferred as it just sails better in bigger waves. If your cat is smaller bows get buried in every wave and slowing you massively down.

Your budget is 100-200k, as you are a novice get an as young as possible one near your limit. Would look at 140-170k plus 30K for refitting. This should give you a 2010 or younger cat. Also take a production cat which is widely used so you easy get spares and people working on it. No Aventura, not really a reliable ocean crossing boat. Suggest to look at. You should go 36 till 38ft size.
Seawind 1000, FP Mahe 36 2 cabin/2head version, FP Athena 38 and simply one bathroom you use as shower(take out toilet if you want) and one as normal bathroom. The additional cabin is your storage room for long passages and can easily be converted back if you get visitors or crew. But as others mentioned you will hardly use the internal shower. Thought the same as you first but they were right, hardly use the internal one.
You don't need more then 38ft cat, go as young as you can instead.

[Ferrari]

I'm curious about your previous land traveling experiences. You seem young to have seen a lot of the world by yourself.
Were you normally self sufficient, cooking and cleaning and looking after yourself or traveling with land tours, staying in hotels, hostels etc and eating in restaurants. Driving your own or renting vehicles.
Though I can't offer guidance with purchasing a Catamaran and you already have plenty of advice in that regard, I would mention that doing it yourself is one of the essences of sailboat ownership.
Especially if you are alone aboard!
F

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by PermTraveler

Thanks. I have just looked at those you mentioned. It seems they are older models. I would rather opt for a smaller cat with modern design (big window frontage and outside chilling/ lounge area) than an older model, which looks dull and would need upgrading. I would prefer driving a new Abarth Spider over an old Mercedes S- Class. I'm not really the DIY guy, who would buy an old cottage and the turn it around into something modern either.

Then take a serious look at Lagoon 38. Good boat. Prices have come down into very favorable ranges. Friend bought one in very good shape a few years ago for $160K.

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by PermTraveler

Hello community,

I am new to the yacht world. I have traveled the world permanently on land and by air (lots of road-tripping on all continents, except Antarctic) for the past 11 years (since 2008). I have seen most of the countries I'm interested in.

I'm now 41 yo and seriously considering to bring my travelling to the next level by buying a small catamaran, which can be single handed. Maybe have it in the Caribbean/ West Indies for a few years and then ship it to the Mediterranean etc. or vice versa.

I'm just starting my research and have very limited knowledge so far. I mostly travel alone but might occasionally have a friend joining for a few weeks or so.

Hence, I would prefer a small cat with one double cabin and good sized bathroom with separated shower (not wetting the entire bathroom when taking a shower).

However, all cats I have looked at so far seem to be for minimum 4-6 people. Are there any cats which are configured for solo sailors instead of having two / three beds?

As this would be my first boat purchase, I was thinking about €100-200k for the purchase. I would like to keep my average monthly budget to around 5k (can be higher or lower depending on where I'm and what I do).

Here are the options I have explored so far: Aventura 34 (I like the design but shower not separated), Lagoon 380 (lots of beds, which are not needed), Mahe 36 (not a fan of the wooden fit-out). However, I don't usually like to go mainstream.

Are there any "secret models", which are not so commonly known and would suite my requirements better?

Because I'm novice, I would be grateful for any input from you. Also because I'm novice, I lack certain common senses that are shared among the community. Hence, please try not to be sarcastic.

Any help and advice highly appreciated!

Thanks,


@PermanentTraveler

My Mahe is almost entirely fiberglass inside, so not sure if you're confusing it with another boat RE the wooden fit out? As far as the walk-in shower, the Mahe and the Lepord 38 both kind of have it and are both "full size" catamarans (as opposed to something like the Gemini which is a great boat but in a different league internally size wise). You might also want to look at the Jaguar 38, a bit older and an orphan build but also roomy inside with a full shower on the owners version. I went through almost an identical drill as you 3 years ago and made offers on all 3 of the above. I ended up with the Mahe that I either single hand or virtually single hand all the time without any issues, so can highly recommend it although we're all a bit biased toward the boat we own of course!

[Hoohaa]

Pescott cats are by an Australian designer. Might be worth a look.

[CaptainRivet]

Older FP like the Mahe 36ft and 38ft Athena sail much better then the swimming houseboats with sails Lagoon but offer same comfort and livability
If you don't care sailing Lagoon is good too. .
Leopard 38 great cat too.
Fastback is good but 32 again too small.

[PermTraveler]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Consider that in the Caribbean you may prefer to shower on deck or bathe in the ocean and rinse on deck. This keeps the moisture out of the boat where it is otherwise raise the humidity.

Thanks, very useful advice! Will keep that in mind.

[PermTraveler]

Originally Posted by redneckrob

My Mahe is almost entirely fiberglass inside, so not sure if you're confusing it with another boat RE the wooden fit out? As far as the walk-in shower, the Mahe and the Lepord 38 both kind of have it and are both "full size" catamarans (as opposed to something like the Gemini which is a great boat but in a different league internally size wise). You might also want to look at the Jaguar 38, a bit older and an orphan build but also roomy inside with a full shower on the owners version. I went through almost an identical drill as you 3 years ago and made offers on all 3 of the above. I ended up with the Mahe that I either single hand or virtually single hand all the time without any issues, so can highly recommend it although we're all a bit biased toward the boat we own of course!

Thanks again! I watched the official Mahe tour video on YouTube and there the entire interior is brown and definitely not to my taste.
https://youtu.be/JNlqA_1n7PI

But good to hear that there are also other interiors available. Why do almost all boats have this brown / wooden interior? Don't like it at all. They could just keep it all white or something more modern.

Gemini I don't like because it has the unusual bow shape. I prefer netting. Good to know that you are happy with the Mahe 36. Will look into it more.

[PermTraveler]

Thanks for all the advice so far! Great community here!

In addition to my previous search criteria, I can now narrow it down further: 36-38 ft catamaran, model max. 10 years old but preferably newer. Nice outdoor and indoor chill/ lounge area.

It seems to be impossible to find a single or two cabin cat. with separate shower. Might have to compromise here as most recommend showering outside anyway.

Based on the recommendations I have currently shortlisted the following:

Mahe 36
Lagoon 380
Admiral 38
Leopard 38
(Aventura 34)

Anything missing that fits my search criteria?

I just found out yesterday that the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is on this week, apparently the largest in the world. Booked my flight and two day ticket to get some first hand impressions.

If you have any further ideas about my best match or any recommendations, please let me know.

[CaptainRivet]

Originally Posted by PermTraveler

Thanks again! I watched the official Mahe tour video on YouTube and there the entire interior is brown and definitely not to my taste.
https://youtu.be/JNlqA_1n7PI

But good to hear that there are also other interiors available. Why do almost all boats have this brown / wooden interior? Don't like it at all. They could just keep it all white or something more modern.

Gemini I don't like because it has the unusual bow shape. I prefer netting. Good to know that you are happy with the Mahe 36. Will look into it more.

That "brown" wood is already the lighter version in the video. The wooden interior 10-15years ago considered luxery for this upper quality cats so you will find it everywhere, sometimes more, some less.
You will get used to it or if not the wooden panels are fast covered with artificial white leather or painted. The Mahe is the modernst you will find.

[PermTraveler]

Originally Posted by CaptainRivet

For ocean, long passage sailing 35ft or longer is preferred as it just sails better in bigger waves. If your cat is smaller bows get buried in every wave and slowing you massively down.

Your budget is 100-200k, as you are a novice get an as young as possible one near your limit. Would look at 140-170k plus 30K for refitting. This should give you a 2010 or younger cat. Also take a production cat which is widely used so you easy get spares and people working on it. No Aventura, not really a reliable ocean crossing boat. Suggest to look at. You should go 36 till 38ft size.
Seawind 1000, FP Mahe 36 2 cabin/2head version, FP Athena 38 and simply one bathroom you use as shower(take out toilet if you want) and one as normal bathroom. The additional cabin is your storage room for long passages and can easily be converted back if you get visitors or crew. But as others mentioned you will hardly use the internal shower. Thought the same as you first but they were right, hardly use the internal one.
You don't need more then 38ft cat, go as young as you can instead.

Thanks a lot! Very useful advice! The Aventura you would rule out? Because it doesn't have the track record? From a design point of view (and size) I like it most. But I agree that Tunesia build doesn't sound convincing but maybe it's just a prejudice.

Surprised I haven't come across any small Chinese designed & manufactured cats. Some of the big companies seem to manufacture in China, like Leopard 38. But the Chinese haven't come up with their own model(s) yet? I only found the HH Catamarans but they are 50-88 foot and cost over $1.6 m! No small cats?

[PermTraveler]

Originally Posted by Ferrari

I'm curious about your previous land traveling experiences. You seem young to have seen a lot of the world by yourself.
Were you normally self sufficient, cooking and cleaning and looking after yourself or traveling with land tours, staying in hotels, hostels etc and eating in restaurants. Driving your own or renting vehicles.
Though I can't offer guidance with purchasing a Catamaran and you already have plenty of advice in that regard, I would mention that doing it yourself is one of the essences of sailboat ownership.
Especially if you are alone aboard!
F

If you want to know more about me, check out my website, which I created after my 5 Year Travel Anniversary. Now it's the 11th year but with all the travelling I didn't have time to update. Lol
Robert Janke | Globetrotter, Real Estate Professional, Earthling

I don't go on organised tours. Whenever possible I rent a nice car, preferably convertible or SUV, depending where in the world I am and then explore myself.

Currently I'm on a two months road-trip in a Mustang Convertible from Florida to California (East Coast to West Coast) and back. Before that 3 weeks road-trip through Turkey etc. I usually stay in hotels or B&Bs and don't cook. If I make the transition from road to sea, I probably have to start cooking though. Lol

[Popaul]

Have a look also to the Broadblue 34 or 38. There are not many in second hand market, but they are well equipped for single hand sailing