Which Catamaran is Right for You, Right for Me?

[SeaKing]

or look at the next size down. The Voyage 44 was a Cruiser of the Year Award winner. The 43's were earlier but great boats. Many have completed circumnavigations.

1998 Voyage Yachts 430 Boat For Sale

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

have a look at this

1996 Mayotte Voyage 4 Cabin / 4 Head, Galley Up Boat For

Dang,

Dive Gear:
2 x Underwater scooters with spare batteries & chargers – new ‘06
8 x SCUBA tanks
8 x sets of gear including BC’s, regulators & weight belts
20 x sets of snorkel gear – new ‘06
Water Toys:
Wake board
Kneeboard
Water skis
2 x ski tubes
Full fishing gear including trolling & casting
Stainless steel rod holders attached to rear rails
96” Para-Tech drogue – never used

Know cats have a lot of storage space but............sheesh!!

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Dang,



Know cats have a lot of storage space but............sheesh!!

We have the same boat, but one year newer. I dread the day we decide to sell it because of all the stuff on it that I will have to remove and we have plenty room for more. These boats make the 44 feel small to me. If we had not looked at one the 44 would have been fine for us, but after going on ours that is the one we wanted. The boat has a 27' beam, it is the same as the Voyage 500. They only lengthened the stern.

[jzk]

For the 200-300 range, why not a Leopard 47 or 45?

[Tim Schaaf]

To get a really good Leopard, or to equip one really well, you will be north of 300,000, I would bet. Still, you would not be that far off, and it is a terrific value.

[Tim Schaaf]

By the way, I personally know "Swish", the Mayotte in question, and she is a very nice one, and well maintained. With her big, console dinghy, she drags a bit at the stern, so the owner has very recently raised the level of the bottom step to keep growth off, which is nice. She is very strong, and has made numerous passages back and forth to the Northeast. The crew are great and have done a good job of maintaining/upgrading her.

[Intentional Drifter]

Check out a late 90's St. Francis 44 (1999 St Francis Marine St Francis 44 Sail Boat For Sale -). As Schoonerdog likes to say "best budget world cruiser".

As a proportion of boats built, probably more SF 44's have circumnavigated than any other cat. Welcome to Yacht Scud is one recently completed.

ID

[schoonerdog]

Factor into any older boat if you're going to go cruising probably around 25k in upgrades to replace failed refrigerators, old sails, failed ssb and radar, putting in a watermaker, new bimini.

If you're living aboard at the dock then you'll probably need to add another 10k for air conditioning for a larger catamaran as the greenhouse effect will be unbearable in a slip.

If you also want a boat that is esthetically like a newer boat by reupholstering the worn out interior, new floor, replacements for worn out fixtures etc that can easily add another 10-20k.

Even adding everything together for 50k, buying a 250k boat like Mustard Seed, then adding all of the improvements to bring you up to 300k and you've got a boat with new interior and sails, bimini, instruments, etc. you're still a lot cheaper than 500k for a used catana or 700k for a new catamaran.

[imagine2frolic]

We use a/c at the dock, but we use house window units. We have 3 units, but it is so cold we only use 2 of them. Yeah, I know they are ugly, but we are at the dock, and not travelling. It cost a total of $350.00, and can be removed in minutes if we wanted to sail. Sure beats $10k, and while travelling we have no use for a/c. In 4 years only a couple of times was it uncomfortable with no a/c. Ventilation, and insulation is the key.

We have shade for the windows to keep off the summer sun when anchored. I can take my afternoon nap in Miami in mid August with a small fan on me. You can use that money you have saved for much more important things to make life safe......i2f

THERAPY,

I have got so much unused storage it is almost a crime!!!!!!

[Palarran]

BATACHZ - I used to have a Hobie 20 Miracle 15 years ago - what an awesome boat. I'm looking like you are. Have you filtered the multihull options on yachtworld yet?

[Randall]

are you alone do you realize how big a 40 plus cat really is 38 is a great size for 2. at that size you can get some nice ones. i saw a 38 lagoon 2001 for 230000 1 owner really good shape parked in front of a huge house just didnt want to sail any more. there out there you just have to find it. also what one is listed for and what one will sell it for is huge. Find that person that needs to get rid of it not wants not.

[Tropic Cat]

Originally Posted by Randall

are you alone do you realize how big a 40 plus cat really is 38 is a great size for 2.

People just don't understand the living and stowage space available on catamarans. Some have said the rule of thumb is that a Cat is 1.375 times the living space of an equivalent length (aft cockpit) mono. Others would say that the ratio should be 1.5

Here's the math at 1.375

a 30 foot Cat = a 41 ft mono
a 36 foot Cat = a 50 ft mono
a 38 foot Cat = a 52 ft mono

I know that my mini Cruising Cat has more interior room than my buddy's Morgan 38. You have to spend time on one to appreciate the difference.

[sandy daugherty]

I had an even dozen Hobies in my racing years, and am indellibly multihull. I once owned a trimaran, which was fun, but cramped. When pitch-polling lost its charms for me, I bought a series of progressivly larger cats. I am reasonably content with my PDQ 36, which I can handle by myself while stumbling over a few unskilled guests. More boat would require an able assistant, not entirely out of the question, but entailing undisclosed collateral duties.

This is not a globe-girdler, and neither am I. I've seen a lot of the world, and what's left can be reached with accumulated air-miles, so my pleasure is with the boat wherever its at. Bigger isn't better.

Charter a big new Cat from the Moorings, then charter a smaller older cat from a little company. These two experiences will expose and your family you the extremes of a continuum containing the right boat for you. Since few people manage to right-size their boat on the first try, this could save you a lot of money in the long run!

Unless you can find someone who has owned one of each, you can pretty well dismiss the opinions of individual posters, and look for common sense suggestions instead. Who knows, you might even like a (gasp) Prout! (;-)

p.s. I'll take an older Outremer, myself.

[JusDreaming]

here is a nice boat Catamaran for sale - Lagoon 37 1993