Voyage cats

[boneboy]

Just got back from 10 days in BVI on voyage 520. Great time and seemed to be a great boat. Sailed well despite blown out main. Haven't seen much on these forums about voyage not much on a a cursory search of reviews? Seem like nice
boats Nicely equipped and seemingly well built. Kinda low bridge deck clearance but didn't experience much slapping. (Albeit never in any kinda big seas). What is the consensus on these boats?


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[bvimatelot]

I've sailed a lot of them and always liked them. The interior finish is a bit clinical (stipple white painted fibreglass) but that happens on most South African boats apart from Leopards. Tony

[Sailingcouple13]

We have had ours for 10 years great quality, I like the lack of wood, now after 10 years still looks fresh.

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[SeaKing]

Watch the new 480 coming out now from the factory. It is a stretched and widened in the hulls 44 and will have a higher bridge deck clearance. I think the first one will be at the show in Annapolis this year. I am very interested in seeing one.

[caradow]

This is my 5th year in my Voyage 440.
We sail with good sails including a screecher and 2 kites.
Also have folding props which make a lot of difference.
I love my boat but there is only one reason I don't have an Outremer 5X.
IMHO to get anything better it would cost a lot more money.
The boats are solidly built with very strong rigs. You can actually feel the helm which to me is important. I cannot say enough about the quality of the factory systems.
I really don't know why they are not talked about more on this forum. When they are people are quick to point out their low BD clearance and slapping. To me it is no big deal but I have only sailed my boat to Venezuela and back to the NE. As I gain more experience maybe I will change my mind but I come from a racing monohull background and have had way too many experiencies thinking the boat was going to fall apart if we fall off just one more wave.
Good Luck and I do agree with the previous post regarding the new 48. It should be quite a boat.

[Catalysis]

We chartered Merlyn a Voyage 52 the last week in June and she sailed great and was comfortable in the 40+ knt squalls of 6/22 !
The Voyage 48 layout looks good but we would specify larger engines than the 27hp yanmars that are standard spec.
Paul



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[boneboy]

Catalysis

Funny, we were there at the same time. We were on Windscape, another 520.
It was our 5th time with Voyage. Really like the company, and this time really paid attention to the boat. We only had 6 adults and two kids and did quite a bit of "sailing". Boat did quite well. 8 knts with apparent wind at 45 degrees, best I could hope for with a blown out main..
I have always been impressed with the systems. Last year we went with Dream Boat and got the Catana 55 (Carbon Infused?), but despite being a 1 year old boat, many things were "worn" and broken. Not sure there was a huge perfmance difference (though tacking up the narrows with a self tacking solent was nice). The Voyage boats seem well laid out and despite being beat by the charter burden everything works! I imagine with a good set of sails, and perhaps an owner's configuration, they would be really good boats outside of the charter grind. I am surprised to see the standard "Prout", "FP","Lagoon" forums dominate without any mention of these boats. There sure seem to be alot of the Voyage boat down in the BVI? Perhaps it is because the boats are only in the BVI, but they sure seem to be good boats that are well built and sail well, that they aren't mentioned in the general " cruising forums"? Just surprised I don't see more mention.

[belizesailor]

Have run a number of Voyages, and their variants, as a charter captain. Good boats. I like those versions with a more "industrial" interior finish out...much more practical than all the maintenance-waiting-to-happen wood interior finishes.

Cockpit ingress/egress can be a bit awkward.

I've tried to like the boom crane dingy lift because it is clever and different, but find it much less convenient than davits.

[Sailingcouple13]

The advantage of the boom crane is it makes pulling the engine a breeze. We have pulled ours at the dock, also while on the hard, I make sure the halyard is long enough to reach the ground. No crane rentals...sailing now 12 knots apparent 75 degrees, 8 knot speed.

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[Sailingcouple13]

Not bad for a 2004 voyage 45

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[caradow]

you can also pull your engine with the boom crane.
I have never personally done it but the boys at Voyage in Sopers Hole do it.
kinda nice to know.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Sailingcouple13

The advantage of the boom crane is it makes pulling the engine a breeze. We have pulled ours at the dock, also while on the hard, I make sure the halyard is long enough to reach the ground. ...

Just not so handy for a dinghy. ;-)

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Sailingcouple13

The advantage of the boom crane is it makes pulling the engine a breeze. We have pulled ours at the dock, also while on the hard, I make sure the halyard is long enough to reach the ground. No crane rentals...sailing now 12 knots apparent 75 degrees, 8 knot speed.

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How often do you need to pull your engines?????

I can't imagine having that as a criteria for choosing it over davits.

Mark

[monte]

Originally Posted by Sailingcouple13

Not bad for a 2004 voyage 45

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Yep that's impressive. I've only seen the voyages around BVIs. I assumed it's because the charter company there has an interest in the production company. They seem like well laid out sensible designs. I didn't notice the bridgedeck clearance being low but I guess you could have 200mm clearance around the BVIs and not have any problems

[caradow]

Hi Mark
I agree a boom crane should not be a criteria for choosing a Voyage.
I just stated another use for the boom crane but having your dingy sitting on a swim platform instead of swinging in the breeze is a nice feature.
I personally do not find it problematic to drop and retrieve my dingy which is 12 foot with a 15 HP OB but everyone has their preferences.
It is very wide (25 ft.) for a 44 ft cat and that makes finding a suitable travel lift a bit more difficult.
Also I have owned boats with a lot of interior wood and sometimes do miss that look of nautical beauty. However for the tropics with the humidity and potential of mold under any trim it is not unreasonable to appreciate the practical design of the Voyage.