A few observations from my experience of these boats. 1) The targa top prevents you reaching the end of the boom (the full hardtop is better) 2) One winch either side is not enough, one more ideally needed on stbd. side to help deal with gib singlehanded 3) the helm seats are great when new, but given a few years of sun degradation, they could be a hazard as there is nothing else to stop you going overboard if/when the back rest fails under strain (suggest installing conventional lifelines behind the seat back as well) 4) Don’t even think about putting a dinghy on those davits in anything but absolutely benign conditions. 5) The ‘fuses’ as fitted to the mainsheet connections to the boom are either inadequate - or - the boom and mainsheet needs upgrading as the fuses blow in a force 3-4 under not particularly excessive loads. Positively…. Loads of boat for the money if you can live with with things like plastic shower hoses and other value fittings. External styling is great. The mainsail is very powerful and it literally flies along on a broad reach.
Crossing oceans, you really need more protected helm positions. Fun to sail in good weather or moderate winds and good weather, but horrible for the helmsperson in heavy weather and heavy rain. A few days of bad weather and your crew are going to be cold and wet and miserable and tired.
Made by the same corporation that makes Lagoon. So what are the bulkheads made of? Is it the same single sheet of plywood that Lagoon used on the 450 model?
Its a fine cat I suppose, but nothing about it was particularly exciting. Some parts felt a bit cheap or poorly considered in my opinion. Still, might be an ok boat to consider in 20-30 years when the price has come down enough for a normal person to consider affording.
The days when you could just call yourself a charter business are long gone. A genuine charter business could reclaim the VAT. Some years ago we bought an ex charter First 501 in the St Martin and brought it back to the uk. The first thing that we had to do was pay the VAT. There was a lot of discussion on the value of the boat. Fortunately my partner was an accountant.
I have sailed monohulls all my life and am half thinking about a cat for long term cruising in retirement. One thing that always concerns me is that they feel the need to put escape hatches in the hulls. Yes, better to have one, but how many time do these thing turn over? I would be interested to know?
You just have to sail differently than with a monohull. With a mono you can kinda wait until a squall hits you and you start getting overpowered before you adjust your sails. On cats without daggerboards you want to have your reefs in before the weather hits, because you can't really heel over to de-power the sails. In the end it doesn't really matter though since you tend to be traveling much faster in a cat anyway, so even if you miss out on some of that edge of your seat sailing, you'll probably still get to your destination much faster than a mono
That would depend on the finale destination and would only apply to a new yacht, These yachts are built in Europe and VAT would apply in the UK. You could get that refunded if you were a charter business but you need to prove that you are a business. If you were buying a new yacht you could ask the builder to deliver it to your chosen location.
A few observations from my experience of these boats. 1) The targa top prevents you reaching the end of the boom (the full hardtop is better) 2) One winch either side is not enough, one more ideally needed on stbd. side to help deal with gib singlehanded 3) the helm seats are great when new, but given a few years of sun degradation, they could be a hazard as there is nothing else to stop you going overboard if/when the back rest fails under strain (suggest installing conventional lifelines behind the seat back as well) 4) Don’t even think about putting a dinghy on those davits in anything but absolutely benign conditions. 5) The ‘fuses’ as fitted to the mainsheet connections to the boom are either inadequate - or - the boom and mainsheet needs upgrading as the fuses blow in a force 3-4 under not particularly excessive loads. Positively…. Loads of boat for the money if you can live with with things like plastic shower hoses and other value fittings. External styling is great. The mainsail is very powerful and it literally flies along on a broad reach.
Good boat. The review, as always, is concise, interesting, with an emphasis on the necessary details. Thanks
We had a local 34’ cat flip over and turtle last fall in Wisconsin…3 very experienced sailors aboard sailed during a storm on an inland lake.
I’ve flipped our hobie tiger many times. What is your point?
This cat won’t flip, even if you try. The outremer or marsauden will.
There is no way that sail will lift 11 tonnes or whatever it is. What kind of boat did you flip?
Crossing oceans, you really need more protected helm positions. Fun to sail in good weather or moderate winds and good weather, but horrible for the helmsperson in heavy weather and heavy rain. A few days of bad weather and your crew are going to be cold and wet and miserable and tired.
Would you happen to know what the cloth cover overhead in the main cabin @7:00 minutes is covering up?
Made by the same corporation that makes Lagoon. So what are the bulkheads made of? Is it the same single sheet of plywood that Lagoon used on the 450 model?
Its a fine cat I suppose, but nothing about it was particularly exciting. Some parts felt a bit cheap or poorly considered in my opinion. Still, might be an ok boat to consider in 20-30 years when the price has come down enough for a normal person to consider affording.
Sound was only on the right side. Boat seemed interesting. As commenter below said, they can flip and if they do the cannot right themselves.
what can flip? catamarans or this particular model?
How about it for charter business?
The days when you could just call yourself a charter business are long gone. A genuine charter business could reclaim the VAT. Some years ago we bought an ex charter First 501 in the St Martin and brought it back to the uk. The first thing that we had to do was pay the VAT. There was a lot of discussion on the value of the boat. Fortunately my partner was an accountant.
I have sailed monohulls all my life and am half thinking about a cat for long term cruising in retirement. One thing that always concerns me is that they feel the need to put escape hatches in the hulls. Yes, better to have one, but how many time do these thing turn over? I would be interested to know?
You just have to sail differently than with a monohull. With a mono you can kinda wait until a squall hits you and you start getting overpowered before you adjust your sails.
On cats without daggerboards you want to have your reefs in before the weather hits, because you can't really heel over to de-power the sails.
In the end it doesn't really matter though since you tend to be traveling much faster in a cat anyway, so even if you miss out on some of that edge of your seat sailing, you'll probably still get to your destination much faster than a mono
I thought that VAT was not charged on exports, or refunded.
That would depend on the finale destination and would only apply to a new yacht, These yachts are built in Europe and VAT would apply in the UK. You could get that refunded if you were a charter business but you need to prove that you are a business. If you were buying a new yacht you could ask the builder to deliver it to your chosen location.
no sound :(
sound?!
no sound