380 S2: Lagoon 380 vs Broadblue

[jbinbi]

I am heading down to multi hull days this year and noticed that broadblue 385 will be there. I sailed a lagoon 380 and leapord 40 last year, but I don't know anything about broadblue.

I currently have a beneteau, and know that lagoon is like the beneteau of multi hulls. In my mind, beneteuas are the Chevy's (or Chrysler's) or boats. Everymans boat. Not upscale, but built to have as much for affordability.

I am not planning on circumnavigating, but doing coastal cruising.

Can anyone inform me of broadblues vs. lagoons regarding build quality, sailing performance, reliability. I checked out their web site, and it is not very professional. I think that is a major liability in this day and age when you can get a very high quality web site done for not much money. I would hate to discount a boat builder based on their web site, but it is an impression. Thanks, Scott

[Jeannius]

Can anyone inform me of broadblues vs. lagoons regarding build quality, sailing performance, reliability. I checked out their web site, and it is not very professional. I think that is a major liability in this day and age when you can get a very high quality web site done for not much money. I would hate to discount a boat builder based on their web site, but it is an impression. Thanks, Scott

They are much better at building boats than building websites!

Broadblue is run by many of the senior managers who ran Prout during their many successful years. They are a relatively small, specialist manufacturer that builds boats that'll go anywhere and survive almost anything. If you are comparing Beneteau to Chevy then you might compare Broadblue to Landrover.

They aren't speed machines but they will get you there and in 10 years time they'll be worth far more than a Lagoon or Leopard of the same size

[freetime]

The new 385 is cheap....look at la rochelle.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Can anyone inform me of broadblues vs. lagoons regarding build quality, sailing performance, reliability. I checked out their web site, and it is not very professional. I think that is a major liability in this day and age when you can get a very high quality web site done for not much money. I would hate to discount a boat builder based on their web site, but it is an impression. Thanks, Scott

I saw the 385 at the 08 Miami boat show.

I think it is fantastic!

The top three, for me, are.
Manta
Seawind 1160
Broadblue 385

Not necessarily in that order.

For some reason I don't like the Lagoons much - the saloons are nice (I am tall) but the cockpits I don't like.

But I don't know squat!

[freetime]

Take a close look at the galley in the lagoon 380... And compare it to f-p 36 mahe.

[jbinbi]

joakim, what do you mean the 385 is cheap, look at la rochelle? The new 385 costs more than a lagoon 38

[Eleven]

BB seems to fill the gap between the charter condo's and the live aboard cruiser with an eye for the comfort rather than crowded accomodation. There boats have a lot of good features (for some) and in all packages there are weaknesses.
I find their cockpits small for the size of boat, they are raised across the stern to allow big sleeping cabins below.
They have the re-introduced the rear mast and have the Sport rig for extra cost and weight. The rear mast makes for easy single handing.
There's no tramp on most of them so deck work on the fore sails is easy, anchor handling has been carefully thought out etc
It may be the boat you should see first to compare others too. It may not be the right mix for you but it will be a strong contender.
The rear mast itselfs makes it's my 'lotto winner' choice.

[freetime]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

joakim, what do you mean the 385 is cheap, look at la rochelle? The new 385 costs more than a lagoon 38

I just saw that the 3 first of the new broadblue 385 should have a nice price. But compare only sailready boats. Not the pricelist.

[Eleven]

New thread from this one.
Broadblue 385. One owner's pro's and cons.
Two honest opinions of their own boats, a BB385 and a BB415. From what I've seen at the boat shows and two days on board they are solid reviews, certainly touched with a bit of British Understatement. Don't be fooled by the negatives, they love their boats.

[jbinbi]

Where is this thread. Would love to read it.

[Eleven]

Just recieved today by ELEVEN.

Special deals on the Fantain Pagot range at the Southampton UK boat show.
Do a google search on Multihullworld UK if these of interest to you.
20 to 30 k euro of extras for one? boat each across the range. See for details.

[Eleven]

Took me ages to find it again because I didn't contribute.
Long search eventually lead to '05-09-2007' in the Multi Hull section.
Created by Phillip van Praag of Brighton UK. and added to by a 415 owner too.

[bb beware]

As a 415 owner. I would rather have gone for a Nautitech 44,a Catana or a Fontaine Pagot. The 415 is a boat show boat, check the inventory, check the bits that you can't see. Check the cockpit drain.Check where the anchor chain saws through the bulkhead! Check the quality of the side linings in a good light, check the rudder arrangement and ability to inspect. Above check when your boat will be delivered and put penalty clauses in the contract. My boat is 5 months late (and counting) and the last straw was the inverter burning because of loose terminals.

[bb beware]

BB 415 it doesn't get any better! After all the hassle during the build, it looked like the boat might be finished soon. Not so: the inverters caught fire! they had been incorrectly installed.They were eventually repaired and replaced. BB announced that the boat was finished, the boat was in it's usual grubby condition and was moored in a mud berth with hardly any warps or fenders correctly positioned. It appeared that this boat was abandoned by the builders and that nothing more was going to be done. The boat was taken; in the first 6 hours of use: the boom contacted the bimini and destroyed 2 solar panels. This was despite a kicker being fitted and the topping lift being set up by BB with a safety knot to prevent just this! Both engines stopped charging, the steering developed a 'knotch' which added to the concern. The 4 forward hatches all leaked the first time a wave came over the decks, wetting the bedding in the 2 forward cabins. The anchor jumped in it's locator hitting the surround and causing local cracking and delaminating. The cockpit drain funnelled water from the bridge up to the saloon door, this water then ran inside the boat, wetting the saloon floor. The holding tank seal did not hold in the pitching (motoring into a force 5, moderate seas) and the contents were transferred to the bilge!! Finally, when moored up the inverter/chargers overheated!
The kicker gave no support to the boom and has been returned to the manufacturer, Z Spars; Z Spars and BB response is "they don't advise fitting a kicker". The clearance over the bimini is about 6" (150mm) the topping lift is 10mm braid about 38metres in length; the obvious conclusion is that the topping lift stretched at least 6-8", this is denied by the rope manufacturer.
The hatches (Gebo round) when installed have a tolerance of 1mm. I doubt that the deck is true flat to within 1mm. However, when the boat pounds, the decks flex, the hatches flex and the water comes in through the hatch seal! At present looking at replacing with Bomar (BB fitted these to earlier 385's) as these have larger seals and also 3 clamp handles(against Gebo's 2)
The boat will have to be lifted to check the rudder bearings (and clean the mud from the mud berth).
Volvo engineers are to check the engines (they are assuming incorrect installation)
The bedding will probably have to be replaced, the solar panels replaced, the anchor bulkhead repaired and the cockpit drain modified.Total cost approx £9000 and counting.
It does not sound like the advertising blurb does it!

[stupidape]

The official BB website is not BroadBlueUSA.com it is Broadblue.co.uk . It looks like they just tacked on USA at the bottom of the logo. They really need a new web designer.

The US office that has the US site is in North Carolina just above the border with SC. The boats built here and those built in the UK seem to be the same, but I would guess that they have different electrics.