Someone Should Buy this Boat

[Jeannius]

Originally Posted by kevingy

Hmm. That's the way I thought they were supposed to work. The Lagoon 410 I was aboard last July worked the same way. If that's the wrong way, what's the right way?

Most boats have that type of shower drain switch arrangement. The only time they drain slowly is if the strainer hasn't been cleaned (they need doing every week or two on a charter boat) or if the secondary filter hasn't been cleaned(every 6 months or so).

[SeaKing]

Our first catamaran was an original PDQ 34 (hull #2) like the 36 footer. Now we have the Voyage and that has spoiled us for the room, also we have real mattresses on the boat. While in the BVI's we saw and anchored near many boats like ours and it was tough looking at them knowing what it was like on board and being on the Athena.

As far as the shower, that is the first time I saw a setup like that. On our previous boat and current boat there is a small sump with a regular mini bilge pump with auto float switch that pumps as you shower. Maybe it is a little more maintenance but it is a much more "at home" experience than the push button. I assumed it was set up like that for the Heavy use of a charter setup.

[yeloya]

The system that was used on Athena (I believe also in Belize) has now changed in new generation FP's like Orana and Salina to automatic pump with a sensor and works perfectly well. I don't think this has got to do anything with chartering or so. Meanwhile, I have seen many FP's starting from Fidji 39 up to new Salina and I give all the credit to FP for evolving their boats in each and every model. Every modele is significantly better than the one going in (almost) every aspect..It may be true for every manufacturer but probably more for FP than others.


Cheers

Yeloya

[TwoTry]

Originally Posted by yeloya

If anyone is interested, we have one 2005 or 2006 in our marina @ 200.000 € (sorry not USD), fully treated after osmosis, beatifully kept and with everything immaginable in it. (A/C, genset, inverter, heating, teak everywhere, radar, genneaker, etc..) The price was reduced recently from 250.000 to 199.000 € as the owner bought a new Orana..

Cheers

Yeloya

Hello Yeloya,
we are interested to purchase a used lavezzi, pls. can you give more infos or contact adresses.
Cheers TwoTry

[av8av8r]

Hi all, first post here.

Assuming everything is in good working order on this boat, what sort of budget should one plan for to get her ready to go? Looking at the specs I would think I would want a bigger battery bank, some solar panels, GPS/chartplotter, possibly RADAR, and few other odds and ends. $15K? 20K? What sort of repairs would I be looking at in the near term?

It's all sort of hypothetical since she'll probably be sold by the time I can buy (another 12 months).

My other choice I'm thinking about is getting a new Jaguar, probably 42'. If the exchange rate stays the same I think I could get it decked out for around $300K. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[cruisingkrol]

We did. She's already in her new home on the Chesapeake. Made the offer on April 1... date significant. The closing process was excruciatingly painful.

[teneicm]

Congrats cruisingkrol! So, after all the discussion we had on what she would go for, do you mind telling us the sale price? What happened at closing? Did she have lots of issues that complicated the price negotiations?

[cruisingkrol]

You're going to be sorry you asked about the closing. It's a long story. What follows is the short version. The really short version is "Buyer beware."

Baloo turned out to be in pretty good shape, especially for an ex-charter vessel. We did not get her for as little as 160K, but we did get her for a chunk less than the asking price. That came down a bit more after Survey and Personal Inspection because some inventory items, like the outboard, were missing. There are no blister issues. The ocean passage to The Bay proved her to be water tight, very sea-worthy, and fast. My husband (1st pasage), a professional skipper, and another crewman, a Lagoon owner along for the experience, sailed her back over 11 days. That included a day off on Cape Fear and a horrendous beat against a 15 -20 kt north wind all the way up The Bay.

The closing was postponed 3 times because the seller paperwork was so bloody complicated. Nobody from the company representing both buyer and seller (mistake #1) offered to show us the boat papers; we didn't think to ask (mistake #2). Well, gee, isn't that what a good reputable broker is for? ...making sure paperwork is in order (mistake #3). The seller broker did not prepare the boat for the Survey or PI, and did not turn up for either, as expected, with documents. Should've bolted then but by that time we were mentally set to BUY THAT BOAT, so we pressed on. Day of 1st closing, Lisa of ASAP (a brilliant and determined woman without whom the sale would've failed) calls to tell us the problem. The 'seller', a good honorable Brit, couldn't sell the boat even tho' he signed a contract because he didn't own the boat outright. Horrors!! That was April 22, I think. The seller, who had Baloo built, was actually leasing the boat back from a Dutch company, possibly somehow to avoid the VAT but I'm not sure about that. Annnd, there was a mortgage with a UK bank. Somehow this chain of involvement made the deal much more complicated than buying a US house that has a mortgage. It took three extensions for the closing before the UK folks could get all their stuff right. We finally emailed/Skyped with the seller; talking directly really helped keep the ball rolling; the brokers had a fit. Last Friday was the final closing; no extensions. The UK bank continues to make paperwork errors so we still don't have all the required documents that give us clear title, but they are on the way. Maybe, today???? The paperwork ladies at the broker company and, as I mentioned, ASAP are super heroes.

Now, all this paper problem cost us and the seller a bit in cancelled plane tickets, extended stay at Nanny Cay, multiple couriers to move useless paper, FOREX changes, etc. Our money was in escrow all this time. Part of the problem with sequence in the sale was to guarantee that our money was not in the wrong hands if the boat or contracted seller departed the planet.

We brought the vessel home as an open-ended charter. My husband, I, and our 110 lb Rottie/Shepherd are happy as can be with Baloo. Yep, needs a bunch of expensive stuff like a new power cord and outboard; needs a bunch of minor cosmetic work; needs a ton of gunk (pounded loose on the way home) cleaned out of the fuel tanks, etc. But, she's a lovely girl with good sails, including a gennaker (and bowsprit, neither on the inventory) and solid engines. As I said, we're happy. Poor, but happy.

If anybody wants more info, send us a private message.

[DtM]

congratulations on your new boat. Enjoy.

[First Mate]

she looks like a wonderful boat. sorry you had to trespass through Hell Central to buy her tho.

best wishes

[cruisingkrol]

Thanks for the good wishes, First Mate. She is a very nice looking boat and very comfortable for long stays. So far we've mostly been doing repairs/tweaks and not much else, but we're sailing this coming weekend. Our Rottie/Shep cross is now able to jump on and off the cat without ten minutes of drama; he is not a water dog. Having room enough for him is the reason my husband was able to convince me, an old half-boater, to buy a cat We have done the proper rituals to change her name. As my husband is Australian and she is a cat, she's now named Platypuss. Well, that is an exotic species of Australian cat, isn't it? Joking.

By the way, thanks to all those experienced cruisers who have taken the time to write brilliant posts in response to Newbie questions. They have answered many of mine and taught me about tons of stuff I didn't even know I didn't know.