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Old 19-12-2010, 15:10   #1
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Pro Kennex / Liveaboard Catamarans

Hi Guys,

Could anyone tell me anything about "Pro Kennex" catamarans? In particular the 44.5? I've read what little there is on them in threads from a couple of years ago but I'd love to here from someone who currently or has owned one on the past. The one I'm considering is a 1991 model and the age is probably the major issue I have with it.

Any info on good and bad points would be much appreciated.

I'm looking for a liveaboard bridgedeck cat in the 38' to 46' range, owners version as opposed to charter version with good headroom and underwing clearance. At the moment I'm considering an Admiral 38, Seawind 1200, Grainger 40 and a Lagoon around 38 to 42'.

Any comments on any of these boats or suggestions on other possible candidates would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Les
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Old 19-12-2010, 16:41   #2
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We did our circumnavigation in a Privilege 39 catamaran, and we have seen just about every design of catamaran out there doing the same thing.

My highest priority would not be a particular model or design. I would look at them all, and choose the one with the highest bridge deck clearance and the strongest construction and most robust rigging.
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Old 20-12-2010, 07:08   #3
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Please see Silver Blue´s website for more details of a Kennex 445.
Feel free to contact me, if you like to know more about her.

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Old 29-12-2010, 20:27   #4
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Thanks Tom

Quote:
Originally Posted by silverblue View Post
Please see Silver Blue´s website for more details of a Kennex 445.
Feel free to contact me, if you like to know more about her.

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Many thanks Tom. I live in Australia and there is a Kennex 445 Legend for sale here and I am interested in her but are marginally concerned about age as she is a 1991 model. That been said, she is considerably less expensive than 'Silver Blue' however this would be mainly due to the fact that the import duty of 5% and GST (like VAT) of 10% has already been paid. These taxes would make 'Silver Blue' approximately $395k to $400k Australian.

'Silver Blue' looks to be in excellent condition and I'm sure you'll find someone, perhaps in Europe, who would be happy to buy her. If it wasn't for our Aussie taxes, I would be more than interested.

Kind Regards,
Les
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Old 05-01-2011, 02:56   #5
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Hi Les,
thanks for your message. Yes, taxes is all the time a topic, but i think it should be possible to bring Silver Blue on the australian market for approximately $350k australian ( including taxes ).
But of course, it will be more as for the 1991 modell.

However, you will love to sail a Kennex 445,
i wish you all the best.

TOM
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Old 05-01-2011, 06:55   #6
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Geminiguy,

Together with my wife and kids I currently live in 36 foot monohull that we have now decided to upgrade to a catamaran. Being 199 cm (6'6") standing headroom is always an issue. At the same time my wife is an architect so for her a simple design both externally and internally is important.

Living in Norway not many catamarans fit these criteria. Even the biggest Fountain Pajot are miniscule when it comes to headroom and although I quite like the vertical windows of the Lagoons my wife certainly doesn't.

We have therefore decided to buy a Spirited 380. It is certainly smaller than the designs you are looking at but for us it appears huge compared to the monohull we live in now.

Sailing with young children also means that most of the time we will be sailing in light winds. To me it is important to be able to sail as opposed to motor in such conditions.

Good luck with your purchase, whatever you decide!
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Old 05-01-2011, 13:11   #7
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Hi apneseth,

Have you checked out the Admiral 40 catamaran - I think the headroom in the saloon would suit you, I actually thought it was too high!
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Old 06-01-2011, 14:57   #8
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I would seriously consider anything Seawind these days. Not just because they are obviously good boats. But because of the local manufacturing and support. I dont know of any other yacht builder in Aus that supports its clients like Seawind. They have regular social regattas etc, which obviously leads to a great comradery between owners as well as a great social network.



They even have seawind seminars . Seawind Catamarans This seems to be quite a unique thing amoung aussie boat builders.

Of course the boat has to be the right one. But these addons are invaluable.

Cheers
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Old 06-01-2011, 20:47   #9
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Hi Guys,

Many thanks for all your help and suggestions. I'm hoping to get down south (I'm in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia) towards the Gold Coast in the next month or two via the Whitsundays to look at and more importantly get aboard a few different cats.

We have a bit of a cat 'drought' in our area at the moment so it's a bit hard to check out different boats. I've been on a Seawind 1160 which was very nice and the owner said the support from Seawind was fantastic. I'm also trying to organise a look at an Admiral / Leopard 38 which look like a nice cat as far as one can tell just from photos on the net.

I'm limiting myself to a maximum of $350k Aud and really need to get on a few different cats to put some perspective into my choice. Dragon lady said to me a while back to keep an eye on boats in Australia as they seem to be coming down in price and I would have to agree after initially looking exclusively overseas because of the strong Aussie dollar.

I'm not sure about marinas down south but it seems that there is a trend starting up here where pens are being charged by the square metre rather than just by the LOA. This obviously means that renting a berth for a cat is going to become a whole lot more expensive for cat / tri owners. Thanks god I'm not planning on living in a marina...

Cheers,
Les
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Old 06-01-2011, 21:19   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by apneseth View Post
Geminiguy,

Together with my wife and kids I currently live in 36 foot monohull that we have now decided to upgrade to a catamaran. Being 199 cm (6'6") standing headroom is always an issue. At the same time my wife is an architect so for her a simple design both externally and internally is important.

Living in Norway not many catamarans fit these criteria. Even the biggest Fountain Pajot are miniscule when it comes to headroom and although I quite like the vertical windows of the Lagoons my wife certainly doesn't.

We have therefore decided to buy a Spirited 380. It is certainly smaller than the designs you are looking at but for us it appears huge compared to the monohull we live in now.

Sailing with young children also means that most of the time we will be sailing in light winds. To me it is important to be able to sail as opposed to motor in such conditions.

Good luck with your purchase, whatever you decide!
Hi Apneseth,

Thanks for your comments. I've too have been very aware of headroom in both the saloon and the hulls not to mention the bunk sizes but I'm only 6'0" so have little to worry about compared to yourself.

It's interesting to note how something which is considered a blessing when using a boat in one area can be a curse in another. I only mention this because you mentioned the windows on the Lagoon cats. I must admit I'm not too fussed on them myself however a mate (and another guy who is a Seawind owner) both said to me the other day that the large sloping windows which seem to be fairly common these days are actually a liability where we live in the tropics because of the amount of light they let in which really heats the interior up, particularly in summer.

Since hearing this I've looked at the Lagoons in an entirely different light (excuse the pun) and am now trying to balance form with function.

As far as space/volume goes, I was reading one of the o/s multihull magazines that are available online the other day and the author was trying to do some "Mythbusting" about multi vs mono's and he claimed that a 40' bridgedeck cat has near enough to the same interior space as a 60' mono and (if I recall correctly) about 50% more usable deck space.

Personally, I prefer the "feel" of sailing a nice mono, particularly when she gets 'in the groove' but I'm addicted to the stability, room and shallow draught of a bridgedeck cat which is perfect for where I live with lots of islands and shallow reefs (Great Barrier Reef).

I'm sure you will be very happy with the Spirited 380. Just out of curiousity,are you buying a completed boat, or the kit?

Let us all know how she goes, Apneseth.

Cheers,
Les
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Old 07-01-2011, 07:20   #11
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Les,

I am buying a complete boat built by Esprit Marine down in Tunisia. In fact I am buying the prototype that they have used to gain CE certification.

I like to consider my self as a half decent sailor and I have a Phd in naval architecture but when it comes to building stuff I am completely useless. Consequently I have to pay the experts to do it for me.

I plan to do a separate thread when I sail the boat back from Tunisia.

I must say I envy your location though. Heat is the least of your problems when you live on a boat in Oslo. We have therefore asked the builder to fit double glazing and central heating on the boat.

Claus
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Old 07-01-2011, 13:20   #12
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I must say I envy your location though. Heat is the least of your problems when you live on a boat in Oslo. We have therefore asked the builder to fit double glazing and central heating on the boat.

Claus[/QUOTE]

Hi Claus,

I must admit to being somewhat like yourself in that I've thought many times about building a boat but realise after lots of soul searching that I neither have the tenacity nor the attention to detail to build one myself.

I was just checking out the weather in Oslo Current local time in Norway – Oslo
and now understand why you've ordered the double glazing and heater. I'm actually looking for the opposite in that I'm being drawn to boats with airconditioning. I'm planning on living aboard at Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island which is about 10nm from Townsville and when the wind drops out in summer it can become very uncomfortable because of the humidity and heat.

Despite the cold, I'm sure there must be many spectacular places to visit in Norway. I remember a few years ago an Australian multihull designer Robin Chamberlin and another chap sailed Robins catamaran down to the Antarctic. I was amazed by their 'daring' and also the spectacular beauty of the place.

In Townsville at the moment (0708hrs) we're already in the high 20's with humidity around 80%+. Our winters are beautiful tho. I guess it doesn't matter where you live, as long as it's near water it can't be too bad!

Please keep in touch as it'd be great to hear not only about your new boat but also the process you went through to choose her.

Cheers,
Les
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Old 07-09-2011, 16:00   #13
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Re: Pro Kennex / Liveaboard Catamarans

I own a 445 and love it - We have been in Mexico for the past 2 years and are going to the South Pacific this year. Mine is 1992, and is repowered with 2 Volvo 40 hp engines. The boat is strong and stable, although not as fast as some of the newer designs...or we have filled her up with too much stuff. I know of at least 7 hulls that have gone around the world and no major mishaps.

If you want more info my email is WDE9577@sailmail.

Craig
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Old 31-12-2011, 11:45   #14
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Re: Pro Kennex / Liveaboard Catamarans

We have been cruising Mexico on our 445 for the past 2 years and love the boat. As with all boats, there are some challenges, but I wouldn't trade her for most other boats out there unless there were a huge price jump.

Strength is important and there has never been a situation where we questioned it. We have done considerable rewiring on the boat to upgrade things but that is expected on a 20 year old boat. We added a bow sprit and screecher, as well as a cockpit cover and cat walks to provide access and sun protection. The four staterooms are great, but we have relagated one of them to storage as there is mot a lot of it for tools, sewing machines, spares etc. My biggest complaint that i have not been able to sort out is the refrigeration - I cant get enough insulation to make up for the front loading fridges, hence power consumption is high. Oh well, I like cold things and we live with it. We are laeving for the South Pacific in March and if you want to see our blog which has more of the boat in action, go to Travelpod.com/members/gatogo.

We have the boat overloaded, so performance is impared - but toys are fun... We are still a 7-8 knot boat and have done very well in 35+ winds and short seas. Ther is some bridge deck slap in certain conditions - mainly short period waves, but it is not freightening.

Please write if you have more guestions.

Craig
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Old 02-01-2012, 06:00   #15
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Re: Pro Kennex / Liveaboard Catamarans

Hi,
Why not PRIVILEGE 12 Jeantot Marine Alliaura? JP
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