Your review was spot on! We just got back from a bareboat charter in the USVI/BVI on a 2019 46 Fly and it was awesome! It was the perfect boat for the ten of us - never felt cramped or like we were bumping into one another. The fly bridge is where we hung out most of the time, given the cool breeze and the visibility to be had up there. The boat was new so everything was nice and worked. It was easy to sail with everything lead to the cockpit and it had a self-tacking jib. We often saw speeds in the 8 knot range. The downside for me was the fly-by-wire system as there is no direct linkage to the engines and transmissions. This meant that there was a noticeable lag between the control levers and the boat. This plus the sail drives are some seven feet ahead of the rudders. This made maneuvering in tight quarters interesting.
Hi guys, As previously posted, the boats have 2 dedicated life raft lockers under the back seating area. These lockers are very easy to deploy your life raft from as not only do the tops hinge open but the front panels also come off easily with shot bolts. I reckon that I could deploy a life raft in approx 10 seconds from the locker. The bottom of the locker also has catches on the outside should you need to deploy from underneath the boat. Re. Helm positions- before I started to sail Nautitech cats, I was also a bit dubious of the helm position but then I got the whole concept once I had sailed a few thousand miles on them. Here is my list of reasons why the helms in this position works best. 1. Simply manoeuvring in marinas, it is so simple to manoeuvre and park the boat, can easily be done with one person as I have done on many occasions and very easy with 2 crew. Just put the transom on the dock by reversing or driving in forward and lasso the cleat and tie back to the cleat on the boat and hold with the engines while you step off and attach all remaining lines. 2. You touched on this slightly but on long passages on a cat, no one sits at the helm, all course corrections are done on the, fitted as standard, B&G chart plotters or the auto pilot controller. These are normally fitted inside the main cockpit. I’m probably at the helm for 15 minutes when leaving the dock and coming into dock. Even going up the Kiel Canal this year I was still inside helming on the chart plotter. Some boats even fit throttle controls indoors also. 3. The helms are connected to the steering quadrants by good old wire. No hydraulics to go wrong or top up. And you get feel through the helm unlike on a hydraulic set up. If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to drop me an email to david_pritchard05@yahoo.co.uk I would love to get you out on one of the boats with current owners or on delivery. Maybe we can arrange for some time in the future? Oh and I am a freelance skipper that is just lucky enough to sail the Nautitech cats very often with currently over 17k miles on them so know the boats very well.
Well guys, we are taking delivery of our Nautitech Open 40 in La Rochelle in a couple of weeks, aiming for the Med and the Canaries, and you are more than welcome to join us and try these helm stations (with biminis).
At the Sydney boatshow a year or so ago, the Nautitech stand was our last stop. Despite being less expensive than many (most?), and less exotic, it just felt right. Nice enough to feel luxurious, but not full of bells and whistles that add weight and cost. We only got to see the Open 40, but left feeling really impressed. I liked the rear sailing position (if a little exposed) - The minute you stepped aboard, you felt like the boat was for sailing, not driving like a bus. Performance is OK too. Keep the reviews coming, and one day, if reality catches up with my dreams, they will make a valuable resource. Cheers
Your summaries and closing notes are spot on for a long term cruising couple or family that does ocean crossings. You guys do a great job of sharing your knowledge and other people's knowledge, and explaining why it is important. I hope these companies are watching and taking notes on their boat designs!
I loved this one! She's beutiful, well designed and superbly built. The fly is not for me either, but I can see it as very usefull for chartering. Great cost benefit; changes I'd like to be able to ask when purchasing mine: 1) lounge area on the bow deck; 2) lounge area on the fly (just matresses), with it much lower and without the helm; 3) enclosed helm position at mid cockpit or a single outboard one, fully protected and with all lines. 4) as you also pointed, life raft on the bow, with both sides access. Great job guys - keep me dreaming!
Your reviews are very good, and much more informative than any others I have seen RUclips. I like the perspective you bring as cruisers with friends who cruise on a variety of boats. I want to do a mid latitude circumnavigation in the next couple of years, and have looked at many of the same boats. As someone who comes from a classic boat background, I don’t find most of the catamarans very attractive, that said, a lot of monos aren’t terribly pretty in the 40/50 ft range. Many of them have what I call The Benetau squeak. For me, the cats are sometimes less ugly because they are something completely different, and the ability to sit inside with 360 degree views is not achievable in a monohull under about 70 ft. The one problem seems to be build quality, and that has me drifting back to a used monohull of higher quality. Some of the custom cats are very high quality, but they are upwards of $2M. Currently, the Antares 44, and the Chris White design cats in the 47/48 ft range are my leading contenders in cats. I was very interested in the Neel 51, but it is just over my price range, and I am terrified of resale. In monohulls, I am interested in used Little Harbors, Cherubinis or new Hylas and Hallberg Rassey 48s. Sometimes, I think I might do it in the Nordhavn I already own! Many thanks, Maldwin
Navigating on shift: On the open 40 we used the autopilot. In the night I took out the backseat cushion below the plotter, placed it at the rail down to the port side and sat there. I had a very well sight all around and the plotter with the instruments ahead. In general to all the catamarans for me it would be absolutely crucial to have either a very well navigation chair or any other well suited seat inside were you can sit long hours and have a good sight around.
Very nice boat ..... I think that Power Mariners would prefer the FLY versions since we are accustomed to spend long hours and days in the flybridge. Piloting from a flybridge has the advantage that you can protect the boat's hull better .... able to see reefs and channels better if you are in shallow water and floating collision hazzards (tree trunks, drums and containers) in front of the boat.
Nice Review! We own a 46 Fly that's in charter in the BVI's and we absolutely love her, as do the charter guests. Nothing beats the breeze on the flybridge in anchorage. They come with an optional furling mainsail which is a dream for lots of short passages. It would also be quite sporty to climb up on the bimini, on top of the second deck, to adjust the main without the furling option. We did get a dodger made for the helm. The visibility up there makes up for the exposure, but probably not suited for multi-week passages. Hulls are not as wide as the other production Cat's, but that is where you get some of the weight advantage and the speed. Pretty tough boat also. She made it through Irma in the water, mast and rigging intact.
this is the first time ive watched one of your reviews where i selfishly (and somewhat indulgently) thought to myself... "eh...i dont agree...." because i thought the helm stations were way WAY too exposed. and then you go and ruin it by totally agreeing in the comments section. i'll just sit back down quietly and learn. well done, again. :)
Thanks guys for another great review. I think that my fundamental problem with catamarans as a sailor is that you end up with two engines... so you pay more up front for having them and then double down with the cost of running them, twice the oil, twice the filters, twice the amount of servicing, twice as many potential headaches... I know there will be people who say the they like having a back up engine in case one fails, but monohulls have been traversing the oceans with only one engine quite happily and those engines have become more and more reliable, so I really do not see this as an advantage. Maybe this is why so many people are interested in the NEEL 47 review, it would seem to have the advantages of a monohull with a well balanced centre hull and the advantages of a catamaran with the living platform stretched over three hulls. And the life raft is at the rear of the centre hull, ready for easy deployment! If only they had Nautitech doing the interiors, as I'm also impressed with their cabinetry.
Hi. Thanks for all of those catamaran review videos. They are very well made and super insightful. Looking forward myself to be going to the Annapolis boat show in couple years from now. I'm hoping you guys will be reviewing the Bali 4.1 as that's one my wife and I really find interesting, both from a specifications standpoint and from its aesthetics. Thanks!
Even though it’s a lighter boat, you have to remember that the weight of the boom is higher on the fly bridge version too, and as others have said, i think the helm station is really exposed when outboard. Great video series guys.
Here’s some questions I’m super excited and hopeful you address when reviewing the Neel 47: 1.) How much roll is there on the hook in comparison to monohauls and cats; 2.) Are full surround handrails available as an option; 3.) Is a fully enclosed helm station an option; 4.) Does the emergency life raft come out of the rear center hull hatch as easily as it appears to; 5.) Is there inherent added safety to a trimaran over a mono or cat; 6.) Is there a communication mechanism between the master suite and the helms station considering how close they are; 7.) Do they plan to round the edges of the joinery in the main head in future models? Can it be ordered that way? 8.) How much weight can she be loaded with? Is weight a massive performance factor like it is for cats? 9.) Pros and Cons of a single motor, and how quiet it is; 10.) Pros and cons of a vessel with that kind of beam; 11.) And of course, how does she point and perform?
Hey mate, we have the Neel 47 out soon. Unfortunately there is only so much we can assess in a boat show walkthrough. So most of your questions will be answered if we go and test sail one.
Sailing Yacht Ruby Rose awesome! I’m looking forward to your review, and thanks for the reply! A test sail would be cool to watch too. Anyway, super excited for you two. Keep up the great vids!
Another great video. I agree 100% with your comments regards to helm position. One thing I've never heard you discuss is on some of these catamarans the boom is near impossible to access towards the stern end. While in-mast furling (not my first choice) should help reduce boom related issues, I can't imagine the stress of dealing with a broken fitting on the boom any further than three feet aft of the goose-neck. Without a solid bimini or a lower boom, dealing with faults would be a challenge at the dock, at sea it would be brutal.
Great review. I actually like the helmposition. It's a catamaran for sailor, they love to be with the elemts. Thanks for your efforts to make the video. Fair winds.
Another fantastic review. Too bad about the helm positions. Sounds like if they were in a better spot it would have been the boat for you. I love the performance numbers. They would make your 3 week or more passage on your Southerly a lot shorter. Even in light air that boat should move better than a Mono. But you have to get what you want. Looking forward to the next one. Take care!
Great review guys. I have an Open 40 on order so I'm somewhat biased. It will go into a charter for a few years and then probably bum around the Caribbean/Bahamas/US. The liferaft is in a dedicated locker with a bottom that opens and drops directly into the water between the davits. Thanks again! Looking forward to the future reviews.
Hello Terysa and Nick, Thank you for the inspiration and I appreciate your perspective on the catamarans. We are new to the cruising world and literally just moved into our Nautitech Open 46 SV Xanadu 🥳. Terysa, I too had concerns about the exposure of the helm stations but the overall comfort.... of the boat won us over in the end. We plan to add a bimini top and enclosure for it when we get back to Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks for all you do and hope to meet you guys on water some day! Be well, Liza and Kaz 🐶⛵️
Sailing Xanadu is your saloon galley forward or aft? I noticed they recently changed, in addition to a big website upgrade. Would like to see your enclosure; Just Cats?
Me too-been watching the Wynns since the beginning when they were on HGTV looking for an RV! The crossover ep was excellent. I hope y'all pull the trigger soon on a catamaran, Nick and Terysa!
Great video as always. Have been really looking forward to this review as the 46 open is top of our list for a new cat. Like a few other comments here the life raft is under the bridge deck and is really well done for ease of use in an emergency. The open 46 has a new interior that will be displayed at the upcoming Canne show, it also appears to have a larger sailing plan.
I was hoping you guys would like the helm position more. I desire that helm position. I just don't like the perch on the bulkhead, and I can't imagine visibility would be good on a perch with the head sail right in front of you, plus it raises the boom height to clear the helm position. I've seen people enclose those helm positions on the Nautitech, but doesn't seem necessary to me. I don't like the saloon layout on the 46, but should be better for the redesign next year. Was the open 40 too small for you two? You guys have more experience than me, so it's good to hear your thoughts.
Love these videos :) Yall do a great job. And yes we are one those peeps that want your Neel 47 review. We have been waiting forever for this boat and now seeing some videos and pics, we are not liking those spare bathrooms. We are headed back to Annapolis this year to check them out ourselves .. plus the Balance 451 (which they wont have but at least we can see the 526) , and Seawind 1260
We had a Beklize43 from FP, and that boat wold tick all your safety and helm issues, but a bit dated and a really fast sailing boat Just my 2 cents in the discussion. Older could be beytter, also very solid built and rounden corners. Love u¨tÿour videos, keep them coming
I don't like the outboard helm stations. It seems to me if you were forced to manually steer in bad weather you would be too exposed. Since you like the boat so much is it possible to have a stainless structure designed and installed which would provide the means to have attachable soft walls and windows? There may be enough money left over, due to the lower price of the boat and options, to pay for the added helm structure. That way you could have outboard stations for docking, protected helms in case of bad weather and manual steering. The fly bridge looks wonderful but seemingly unpractical for two to four people.
Would love to see you guys review an Antares 44, It really seems to be set up as a true live aboard blue water boat, with safety and protection as a top priority.
That’s the nicest cat so far you have reviewed so for I thought it would be way more expensive than it was and figured it would be heavier It’s very nice I would take one if I had the cash But alas I don’t That’s why I love your channel To live vicariously through your videos Please keep them coming while I relax at my cabin in Wisconsin 😎 Safe travels Love ya both Thanks so much for sharing!!! You don’t even comprehend how much your videos mean to us viewers Again thanks so much It’s great to see what’s out there for cats 😘😘😘
This series is super tight guys… appreciate the detail, balance and opinions. You haven’t mentioned it… but hoping you can add the Lagoon 46 to the list.
We will! Trying to do a ‘first round’ of all the manufactures, then we’ll go back around and review some other models. The 46 only comes as a flybridge right now although that may change in the future, so for that reason we chose the 42 to initially review.
The outboard helm stations are ok, but I'm thinking they would be in your way Nick when fishing, not much room back there to move around with hooks, line etc. You would also need a headset to talk when at the upper helm with one down below with high winds you would need it the boat is big. T' your like yup, yeah, yup, yup, It should have been obvious when Nick brought out the tape meausure that you know your way around a Cat. lmao Great video. your second fav or third hmm. ; )peace
Nice Cat. The sugar scoops seem really small on this one - or maybe I was just to paying attention to the others. I'd love the fly version at anchor - probably not so much underway. Good luck with your search!
I delivered an Open 40: It has a locker just between the davits for the life raft. That locker has a second door at the bottom in case of capsizing. In normal that locker has an absolutely easy access to the raft. What was a little bit sad: the upper lid - you sit on - is not so stable, it makes noise if one sits on.
I’m really warming up to the 46 Open especially after the redesign. Almost every issue that’s been raised with previous generation seems to have been addressed. I’ll get an aftermarket supplier to enclose one of the helms for extended passages. being in the Bavaria stable seems to have provided stable cash flow for improvements. I have to say this is my leading boat now.
@@sailingrubyrose Isn't a Hydrovane self steering… I don't get your "or".. But, in any case you are not hand steering, so why so critical to the steering position? We did the North Atlantic circuit, and never manually steer our mono. When I race I always drive the boat manually, but cruising is a whole other business.
Just got the sailing bug, and I am watching all the RUclips I can. Loving your travels! I keep seeing snipets of what you’re eating underway, when you get a chance could you do a dedicated video on eating underway?
Nick, you mentioned being a joinery nerd, I'm a bit of one as well. Those drawers appeared to be finger joints (or box joints), not dovetail joints. Still very strong for simple drawer joinery, but there is a difference.
@@sailingrubyrose I wasn't trying to call you out, it's really not that important. I'm very intrigued to see how your new boat search plays out. Good luck!
Very nice performance oriented cruiser, and the new layout (on Aeroyacht channel) looks even better. Unfortunately the helms ruin everything. They have the 541 with a good single helm, should offer it on the lower models.
I'm sure you could spec the boat with the flybridge without the helm. Just an elevated lounge area. You will be at anchor far longer than underway. The exposed helm station makes no sense for longer passages.
You guys should get this one, for the simple and selfish reason that it's the one I want to move up to in 5 years when we retire, lol. That flybridge is the bomb.
I share your opinion of the fly-bridge as it relates to dare I say sailing, would be bumpy and windage with all the protection needed a pain. Again an opinion they are ugly. The open being lighter and faster is a Cat to sail, interior joint-work was top notch for a production boat. Great job on the videos and a very apples to apples scoring for all the boats you are reviewing. The best I have seen.
I agree completely on those helm positions. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time there. I looked at these cats also and came to the same conclusion. I like the boat overall, but I can't deal with the helm positions. I have the same opinion about the monohulls , all the manufacturers seem to want to force us to the dual helm positions that are very outboard and very far astern. I guess I'm just a center cockpit guy.
Nice review (slightly unexpected based on other video's I've seen) with valid points. However, I'm anxiously awaiting your Outremer video. It's almost as if your keeping the best for last🧐. Cheers
Not sure I understand about the flybridge. I have a 50' yacht with a flybridge (power, not sail) and it is amazing! Like this Nautitech, I also have a lower helm. And so, when the weather is bad, or on a night ride or passage, you just go down to the lower helm, as if you didn't have a flybridge. Personally, I will never own another boat without a flybridge - not just because of gorgeous views, but it actually adds to safety when piloting a larger size boat because of increased visibility. I do understand about the lower helms not being protected, but you can add two biminis with drop down enclosure, etc. This, to me, is the nicest Cat so far. JMHO.
Hey mate- it’s either the flybridge or the outboard helms, not both. And we wouldn’t have a problem with the flybridge either if we were planning to do coastal sailing. But we’re looking for an offshore cruiser and we talk in the video about why the flybridge wouldn’t suit us for our purposes. I definitely see the appeal of a flybridge though!
@@sailingrubyrose Outboard helms I get, as my lower helm is midship, since I have a mono-hull yacht. I still don't see the problem with a flybridge and a blue water ship, but I do see the problem you have with the outboard helms. You can always try to, "make do," but at that cost, you should get what you need. There will be one out there, but so far, this seemed to be the nicest of the lot. In truth, you want a Cat with mono-hull features...
Just curious, on the fly bridge version, how the hell do you get to the main sail? It's a furling main so you normally don't need to mess with it, but if something gets stuck you'll have to climb the bimini on top of the fly bridge to get up there? A bit of bad weather, you're trying to reef the main, it gets stuck and now you have to climb up there to unjam it..
Question - does a heavier boat plow through water at a more stable balance? Seems the lighter boat - more speed - less weight - would be influenced by choppy water and have a rougher ride. If you're in a hurry - fly to where you want to go. With cruising - the joy is in the journey - not the speed to get you there. What are your thoughts of speed versus comfort?
Great question! We would definitely need to do some sea trials to determine the answer to that question. I’ve heard a lot about the performance cats being ‘bouncy’ and not giving a comfortable ride. That wouldn’t be much fun, even if you are doing 20 knots. Hopefully we’ll be able to determine that for ourselves and share our findings.
Thanks for the reply - I've noticed in my hundreds of sailing videos watched, that the lighter cats ride higher in the water and and seem more bouncy. It would be like the difference between taking a car road trip between NY and LA in a cheap little KIA, or in a S Class. They both get you there and back - but one is so much easier to endure while under way. Light weight short cats - (I hate to say it - like Nikki and Jason's Leopard) ride high and bounce a lot, while a cat like Zatara (58 foot Privilege) is a smoother cut through the water. I know you filmed weeks ago - but I'm interested in what you end up with.
Hello, Nick and Terysa. I discovered (& sub'd to) your channel recently and have been catching up on all of the great content. Your videos are informative, well produced, and entertaining. I've sailed lakes in Arizona in my youth and hope to be a cruiser based out of San Diego before too much longer. Not looking to sail the world, but hope to spend a few months living aboard at sea each year. After watching your 'honest thoughts on cats' vid and all of these cat reviews I'm really starting to lean towards a catamaran. Thanks for making me want to spend more money. 🙂 Keep up the great work. Cheers! 👍⛵
Enjoying the reviews and really thankful that your view of the outboard helm station matches mine, i.e. okay for a while but not for long passages. Another issue I have with the outboard position, which you did not cover, is that with the probable need to put up shades in saloon to keep out the sun your fwd visibility is truly hampered. Thus looking from the stbd helm towards the ports side of the boat or visa versa you really cannot see much at all. The fly bridge is so out there and impressive but the rearward visibility for, say, Med mooring on this boat appears totally unacceptable plus the isolation from the rest of the boat and the motion concerns you covered so well make this a turn off. So a "sport" top held position is becoming your favoured option (or the super-duper Seawind)? Just to add, I recently sold a Bavaria I bought from new and was always impressed with the finish and the value for money as great on the extras too. Moreover the boat had no real niggles or issues whilst I owned her either so have a soft spot for their products. Looking forward to the next review and your eventual final choice.
I just got back from chartering an astrea which we really liked. It rained very hard. I don't have much experience in bad weather, but I can't imagine being able to see anything if I had an enclosure. We could hardly see though the cloud. Rain on plastic would be even darker. So I am wondering if I would either get rain gear and goggles or just not be at the helm. So in horizontal rain, I am wondering if the open helm is any worse than the wonderful astrea helm.
Nice video, very informative. Thank you. I can't wait to see your Privilege review. I was looking at those earlier in the year. Not cheap, but very nice. Did I miss it in the video or did the Nautitech not have an interior nav station? Maybe I'm old fashioned but that's firmly on my must have list of features.
They have nav stations as an optional I believe. It can be a fridge with a semi nav station on top, or it can be a full on nav station with a seat. Located aft of the galley. That "chase lounge" can also be a set of cabinets or extra cold storage instead. They are updating the layout in 2020 models to match the Open 40 of the past couple years and I think it will make it better overall.
Very nice videos! Loving to wach them! I´d like to relate two boat specs and safety that pehaps you've missed: 1) Nautitech - Fly bridges are nice to be on, and very suitable for a sunny day sail, but in a long passage, in rough sea conditions it´s raised boom also elevates the CG compromising the stability and suposily making it easier to flip. Truly, thinking of that possibility is just as imagining the flooding of Leopard´s aft cockpit. Od chances, but possible. 2) Seawind - Being able to cross an ocean faster means safety, as you can run from storms and spend less overall time at sea than in a slower boat. Do you plan do review St Francis or Knysna? keep up the vds, they are great!
Don't know if you saw the Antares, but I would be interested in your opinion as you are quite thorough and have the experience to form a valid opinion.
I really enjoy the reviews yall are doing on all of these different catamarans, but I remember seeing another RUclips video saying the Antares 44GS was the perfect catamaran in your opinion. If you could do a complete review of that catamaran I would love to see the in depth walk through/review before my purchase
Great review and I'd like to add I dont like the fly for all the reasons you mentioned and also being or feeling disconnected from the rest of the boat. I like the design of like the Wynn's Leopard where they are always a few steps from each other. Guess ya cant have everything! PEACE OUT! Ü
Mush of the pleasure of sailing in the tropics (and elsewhere) is offset by watch for shoals and floating hazards. This could offset the objection to physical separation, which itself could be offset by wifi cameras.
Those were "box joints", not 'dovetail' . Just about as strong but more visually appealing from two directions. The interior was very nice. I liked the lighting, galley and cabinetry. Much improved from their earlier models. I prefer the flybridge model.
The reoccuring theme of life rafts in the locker, could this be due to the fact that at the boat show they were not at their actual positions? for aesthetic reasons possibly?
I noticed that one of the two cats had sharper corners than the other, especially on the table in the saloon. were they both "brand new" cats or one a year older? I really didn't like the open steering positions at the rear of the "open" cat. for me they were way to close to the stern of the boat. not good in breaking waves from the rear, also a little too low as you wouldn't be able to see the other side of the boat or anything coming from that direction. Flybridge version just doesn't appeal at all. Interesting video, thanks guys.
No as we weren’t able to assess this at a boatshow review or from the literature. We will short list our favourites and assess criteria such as these later
Hello guys and thank you for this overview. However, watching flybridge part of it, I've noticed a big lack of stern view, which must be a dead end for mooring by stern process (only if you not used to check it by sound). Do I miss something important, or it's true - you simply do not see any stern from flybridge?
View from the inexpert but interested follower: in some ways this was my favourite catamaran yet - beautiful interior and design, but oh those helms in the open version! In the current Ruby Rose layout you can both be near the helm, you can lie relaxing near the helm, you can generally "hang out" near the helm and all of that seems to me to be "a good thing". With the layout here none of that would be possible. Pity as the rest of the craft is superb!
Unfortunately it’s impossible to control the background noise in this situation! We’re going to try and film future reviews in a quieter setting, we agree that the audio can be improved upon. Thanks for commenting!
Very good, other than the noise, it’s really excellent video content, picture quality and your perspective is excellent! Stay safe and enjoy the winds!
Great review. I've been looking forward to this one. 33% lighter than leopard WOW!! This is on our radar so really interested. Out of all the reviews so far....your pick???? Have you looked at the balance catamaran? Thanks very much.
What are the criteria for a boat to get a review in this series? I really hope you reviewed the Bali 4.5; would like to hear your thoughts on the solid fordeck.
Good question Thomas- we’re looking for a blue water cruiser, suitable for a couple to go sailing around the world. We’ve had a lot of requests to review the Bali, so if we get a chance we’ll definitely take a closer look and film it for a review.
Nice boat except for the fly bridge and the outboard helm stations. My search for a cat is over, but not for a boat. Trying to find a marina that can accommodate the wide beam is proving to be a challenge.
Please tell me how do people manage reefing the main on those fly style cats. Assuming they use slab reefing. Maybe some of them use in mast or in boom furling ?
I never sailed a boat in my life but I clicked just to hear her point of view, I could never afford these boats really but I like to window shop yes. I would not just sail in warm weather or nice seas if I were to sail, so I was wondering your view on between the Xquiste 5 and my personal choice of a Privilege serie 5. I just like the out door shower head on the Xquiste but I do not think it would be great in rough seas, and I would like to explore the world so I placed much thought into these boats for actual living, and I do no like those fly bridges either. But I would love to find someone to sail with myself eventually, and really important to me is the ability to single hand sail the privilege serie 5 for possible sticky situations someone gets sick and can´t sail the boat etc.. etc.. . Food storage is very important and another shine for me on the Privilege series 5 is the large master bed ;P . But its really expensive and would be my dream boat да да (ja ja)
Have you checked out the Garcia ExploCat yet? That would be my fave catamaran, especially with the 2nd inside helm station and dayhead in the saloon. Also the new Allures C47.9 promises to be comfortable and fast.
I’ve heard that mate. We had a nice email from Leopard inviting us for a test sail at Annapolis. Happy to accept and video some more. Hope all is well with you.
Do you have a review of the Neel 47 or 51 coming up by chance? Your reviews are thorough and solid. I'm curious to hear your take on the Neels. Great channel.
We are waiting to see if Neel want to reply to the review and give them fair chance to remedy the build issues by letting us post about them. At the moment it’s pretty one sided. Once they reply, we’ll put it back. If they don’t reply in good time, we’ll also put it back
You can put it on autopilot from inside. But any sail changes obviously can’t be done from there. It’s also sometimes not possible to see the main from inside (including the Nautitech 46 fly).
I've read your comments about life rafts in the last couple of reviews you have done. It seems like you've made Lagoons life raft placement the "gold standard" and it's really always a compromise. Case in point: what happens if there's a dinghy in the way? How do you unratchet the raft from it's bracket in a hurry? When the Haley, a Lagoon 380, capsized in 2007, a survivor stated that the weight of the engines sank the aft part of the hull. How would you deploy when it's 5-20 feet underwater? If Lagoon's raft is so easy to deploy why is there a retrofit kit for the Lagoon 52? Don't get me wrong, Lagoon makes a good boat but the location of its life raft has just as many down sides as the other manufacturers.
We would have a hydrostatic release on any liferaft. One thing we do need to go back and do is examine the lockers that the life rafts are kept in. We had a few comments on how easy they were to deploy from lockers. I remain sceptical, but will go and have a look when we get to Annapolis.
@@sailingrubyrose Unfortunately, unless the cat gets down to +5m the hydrostatic release won't work. Any cat produced with RCD Cat A has to have positive bouyancy even when flooded and so it's never going to sink to 5m. Most cats are a better place to be than on a liferaft anyway and so it's better to stay with the boat than get into a tiny liferaft.
The flybridge looks cool on paper but you're loosing a lot of sail area and your remaining sail area is higher which is going to make you get overpowered sooner. I'd really like to see them do a semi-up or especially a versa helm. The outboard helms just strike me as too exposed (though these are better than most) That being said I'm a fan of most of the rest of the design. If they did it with a better helm option and turned the nav desk to be forward facing then I think it would make a really nice semi-performance cat (which would be nice to have as performance boats around this size are fairly cramped).
Aren't Catamarans design to be inherently buoyont and therefore they can function as a floatation device in case of a capsize. Perhaps the apparent seclusion of the life raft is per its particular risk factor such as flipping over or lopsided puncture?
I absolutely love the way you are doing these reviews. I'm wondering if you'll do a review on the lagoon 46. This is the boat I'm thinking of purchasing. And I'm kinda wondering why it wasn't included in your line up?
We filmed it! However, we wanted to start with just one version of each manufacturer and to us, the 42 was the preferred choice due to the helm position and size. But we'll share our review of the 46 at some point. :)
I have chartered an Open 40. You could feel the light weight in a chop, and the chartered version (I thought) was cheaply finished. I wonder if the owner of this 46 upgraded anything. The visibility forward was good in the Open, but while sailing, it was difficult to get unimpeded views through the saloon.
![What You Should Know About the Nautitech 46 Open Catamaran [Inside Scoop And a Broker's Perspective]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YSP_MiCWiqo/mqdefault.jpg)
Your review was spot on! We just got back from a bareboat charter in the USVI/BVI on a 2019 46 Fly and it was awesome! It was the perfect boat for the ten of us - never felt cramped or like we were bumping into one another. The fly bridge is where we hung out most of the time, given the cool breeze and the visibility to be had up there. The boat was new so everything was nice and worked. It was easy to sail with everything lead to the cockpit and it had a self-tacking jib. We often saw speeds in the 8 knot range. The downside for me was the fly-by-wire system as there is no direct linkage to the engines and transmissions. This meant that there was a noticeable lag between the control levers and the boat. This plus the sail drives are some seven feet ahead of the rudders. This made maneuvering in tight quarters interesting.
Hi guys,
As previously posted, the boats have 2 dedicated life raft lockers under the back seating area. These lockers are very easy to deploy your life raft from as not only do the tops hinge open but the front panels also come off easily with shot bolts. I reckon that I could deploy a life raft in approx 10 seconds from the locker. The bottom of the locker also has catches on the outside should you need to deploy from underneath the boat.
Re. Helm positions- before I started to sail Nautitech cats, I was also a bit dubious of the helm position but then I got the whole concept once I had sailed a few thousand miles on them. Here is my list of reasons why the helms in this position works best.
1. Simply manoeuvring in marinas, it is so simple to manoeuvre and park the boat, can easily be done with one person as I have done on many occasions and very easy with 2 crew. Just put the transom on the dock by reversing or driving in forward and lasso the cleat and tie back to the cleat on the boat and hold with the engines while you step off and attach all remaining lines.
2. You touched on this slightly but on long passages on a cat, no one sits at the helm, all course corrections are done on the, fitted as standard, B&G chart plotters or the auto pilot controller. These are normally fitted inside the main cockpit. I’m probably at the helm for 15 minutes when leaving the dock and coming into dock. Even going up the Kiel Canal this year I was still inside helming on the chart plotter. Some boats even fit throttle controls indoors also.
3. The helms are connected to the steering quadrants by good old wire. No hydraulics to go wrong or top up. And you get feel through the helm unlike on a hydraulic set up.
If you have any questions then please do not hesitate to drop me an email to david_pritchard05@yahoo.co.uk
I would love to get you out on one of the boats with current owners or on delivery. Maybe we can arrange for some time in the future?
Oh and I am a freelance skipper that is just lucky enough to sail the Nautitech cats very often with currently over 17k miles on them so know the boats very well.
Well guys, we are taking delivery of our Nautitech Open 40 in La Rochelle in a couple of weeks, aiming for the Med and the Canaries, and you are more than welcome to join us and try these helm stations (with biminis).
WOW! What a nice offer! Aren't sailors just the best ever!!!!! Ü
At the Sydney boatshow a year or so ago, the Nautitech stand was our last stop. Despite being less expensive than many (most?), and less exotic, it just felt right. Nice enough to feel luxurious, but not full of bells and whistles that add weight and cost. We only got to see the Open 40, but left feeling really impressed. I liked the rear sailing position (if a little exposed) - The minute you stepped aboard, you felt like the boat was for sailing, not driving like a bus. Performance is OK too. Keep the reviews coming, and one day, if reality catches up with my dreams, they will make a valuable resource. Cheers
Your summaries and closing notes are spot on for a long term cruising couple or family that does ocean crossings. You guys do a great job of sharing your knowledge and other people's knowledge, and explaining why it is important. I hope these companies are watching and taking notes on their boat designs!
I loved this one! She's beutiful, well designed and superbly built. The fly is not for me either, but I can see it as very usefull for chartering. Great cost benefit; changes I'd like to be able to ask when purchasing mine: 1) lounge area on the bow deck; 2) lounge area on the fly (just matresses), with it much lower and without the helm; 3) enclosed helm position at mid cockpit or a single outboard one, fully protected and with all lines. 4) as you also pointed, life raft on the bow, with both sides access. Great job guys - keep me dreaming!
Cheers mate
Your reviews are very good, and much more informative than any others I have seen RUclips. I like the perspective you bring as cruisers with friends who cruise on a variety of boats.
I want to do a mid latitude circumnavigation in the next couple of years, and have looked at many of the same boats. As someone who comes from a classic boat background, I don’t find most of the catamarans very attractive, that said, a lot of monos aren’t terribly pretty in the 40/50 ft range. Many of them have what I call The Benetau squeak. For me, the cats are sometimes less ugly because they are something completely different, and the ability to sit inside with 360 degree views is not achievable in a monohull under about 70 ft. The one problem seems to be build quality, and that has me drifting back to a used monohull of higher quality. Some of the custom cats are very high quality, but they are upwards of $2M.
Currently, the Antares 44, and the Chris White design cats in the 47/48 ft range are my leading contenders in cats. I was very interested in the Neel 51, but it is just over my price range, and I am terrified of resale.
In monohulls, I am interested in used Little Harbors, Cherubinis or new Hylas and Hallberg Rassey 48s.
Sometimes, I think I might do it in the Nordhavn I already own!
Many thanks,
Maldwin
This is my favorite boat that y'all have reviewed. Really enjoy the vids!
Best reviews of catamarans by far. Very impressed by your impartiality. Just don't keep us waiting too long for the next one!
Navigating on shift: On the open 40 we used the autopilot. In the night I took out the backseat cushion below the plotter, placed it at the rail down to the port side and sat there. I had a very well sight all around and the plotter with the instruments ahead.
In general to all the catamarans for me it would be absolutely crucial to have either a very well navigation chair or any other well suited seat inside were you can sit long hours and have a good sight around.
Very nice boat ..... I think that Power Mariners would prefer the FLY versions since we are accustomed to spend long hours and days in the flybridge. Piloting from a flybridge has the advantage that you can protect the boat's hull better .... able to see reefs and channels better if you are in shallow water and floating collision hazzards (tree trunks, drums and containers) in front of the boat.
I'm loving this series of comparative videos. Really interested to see which one you end up with
Nice Review! We own a 46 Fly that's in charter in the BVI's and we absolutely love her, as do the charter guests. Nothing beats the breeze on the flybridge in anchorage. They come with an optional furling mainsail which is a dream for lots of short passages. It would also be quite sporty to climb up on the bimini, on top of the second deck, to adjust the main without the furling option. We did get a dodger made for the helm. The visibility up there makes up for the exposure, but probably not suited for multi-week passages. Hulls are not as wide as the other production Cat's, but that is where you get some of the weight advantage and the speed. Pretty tough boat also. She made it through Irma in the water, mast and rigging intact.
Cheers mate, good to know. Don’t forget to leave your vote scores for the 46.
this is the first time ive watched one of your reviews where i selfishly (and somewhat indulgently) thought to myself... "eh...i dont agree...." because i thought the helm stations were way WAY too exposed. and then you go and ruin it by totally agreeing in the comments section. i'll just sit back down quietly and learn. well done, again. :)
Haha...thought I was the only one who does that, ya made me smile.
Thanks guys for another great review. I think that my fundamental problem with catamarans as a sailor is that you end up with two engines... so you pay more up front for having them and then double down with the cost of running them, twice the oil, twice the filters, twice the amount of servicing, twice as many potential headaches... I know there will be people who say the they like having a back up engine in case one fails, but monohulls have been traversing the oceans with only one engine quite happily and those engines have become more and more reliable, so I really do not see this as an advantage. Maybe this is why so many people are interested in the NEEL 47 review, it would seem to have the advantages of a monohull with a well balanced centre hull and the advantages of a catamaran with the living platform stretched over three hulls. And the life raft is at the rear of the centre hull, ready for easy deployment! If only they had Nautitech doing the interiors, as I'm also impressed with their cabinetry.
Hi. Thanks for all of those catamaran review videos. They are very well made and super insightful. Looking forward myself to be going to the Annapolis boat show in couple years from now. I'm hoping you guys will be reviewing the Bali 4.1 as that's one my wife and I really find interesting, both from a specifications standpoint and from its aesthetics. Thanks!
Even though it’s a lighter boat, you have to remember that the weight of the boom is higher on the fly bridge version too, and as others have said, i think the helm station is really exposed when outboard.
Great video series guys.
Here’s some questions I’m super excited and hopeful you address when reviewing the Neel 47: 1.) How much roll is there on the hook in comparison to monohauls and cats; 2.) Are full surround handrails available as an option; 3.) Is a fully enclosed helm station an option; 4.) Does the emergency life raft come out of the rear center hull hatch as easily as it appears to; 5.) Is there inherent added safety to a trimaran over a mono or cat; 6.) Is there a communication mechanism between the master suite and the helms station considering how close they are; 7.) Do they plan to round the edges of the joinery in the main head in future models? Can it be ordered that way? 8.) How much weight can she be loaded with? Is weight a massive performance factor like it is for cats? 9.) Pros and Cons of a single motor, and how quiet it is; 10.) Pros and cons of a vessel with that kind of beam; 11.) And of course, how does she point and perform?
Hey mate, we have the Neel 47 out soon.
Unfortunately there is only so much we can assess in a boat show walkthrough. So most of your questions will be answered if we go and test sail one.
Sailing Yacht Ruby Rose awesome! I’m looking forward to your review, and thanks for the reply! A test sail would be cool to watch too. Anyway, super excited for you two. Keep up the great vids!
Another great video. I agree 100% with your comments regards to helm position. One thing I've never heard you discuss is on some of these catamarans the boom is near impossible to access towards the stern end. While in-mast furling (not my first choice) should help reduce boom related issues, I can't imagine the stress of dealing with a broken fitting on the boom any further than three feet aft of the goose-neck. Without a solid bimini or a lower boom, dealing with faults would be a challenge at the dock, at sea it would be brutal.
Great review. I actually like the helmposition. It's a catamaran for sailor, they love to be with the elemts. Thanks for your efforts to make the video. Fair winds.
Another fantastic review. Too bad about the helm positions. Sounds like if they were in a better spot it would have been the boat for you. I love the performance numbers. They would make your 3 week or more passage on your Southerly a lot shorter. Even in light air that boat should move better than a Mono. But you have to get what you want. Looking forward to the next one. Take care!
Great review guys. I have an Open 40 on order so I'm somewhat biased. It will go into a charter for a few years and then probably bum around the Caribbean/Bahamas/US. The liferaft is in a dedicated locker with a bottom that opens and drops directly into the water between the davits. Thanks again! Looking forward to the future reviews.
Hello Terysa and Nick, Thank you for the inspiration and I appreciate your perspective on the catamarans. We are new to the cruising world and literally just moved into our Nautitech Open 46 SV Xanadu 🥳. Terysa, I too had concerns about the exposure of the helm stations but the overall comfort.... of the boat won us over in the end. We plan to add a bimini top and enclosure for it when we get back to Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks for all you do and hope to meet you guys on water some day! Be well, Liza and Kaz 🐶⛵️
Fantastic choice!
Sailing Xanadu is your saloon galley forward or aft? I noticed they recently changed, in addition to a big website upgrade. Would like to see your enclosure; Just Cats?
Coming to visit from Gone with the Wynns. Glad to have caught your journey with them.
Awww, thanks. Welcome to our channel
Hi, Andrea! I got here from the Wynns too and it is absolutely worth going back and watching Ruby Rose from video 1.
Me too-been watching the Wynns since the beginning when they were on HGTV looking for an RV! The crossover ep was excellent. I hope y'all pull the trigger soon on a catamaran, Nick and Terysa!
Great video as always. Have been really looking forward to this review as the 46 open is top of our list for a new cat. Like a few other comments here the life raft is under the bridge deck and is really well done for ease of use in an emergency. The open 46 has a new interior that will be displayed at the upcoming Canne show, it also appears to have a larger sailing plan.
I was hoping you guys would like the helm position more. I desire that helm position. I just don't like the perch on the bulkhead, and I can't imagine visibility would be good on a perch with the head sail right in front of you, plus it raises the boom height to clear the helm position. I've seen people enclose those helm positions on the Nautitech, but doesn't seem necessary to me. I don't like the saloon layout on the 46, but should be better for the redesign next year. Was the open 40 too small for you two? You guys have more experience than me, so it's good to hear your thoughts.
I really Love your Channel and those Type of Videos👍❤️
Love these videos :) Yall do a great job. And yes we are one those peeps that want your Neel 47 review. We have been waiting forever for this boat and now seeing some videos and pics, we are not liking those spare bathrooms. We are headed back to Annapolis this year to check them out ourselves .. plus the Balance 451 (which they wont have but at least we can see the 526) , and Seawind 1260
We had a Beklize43 from FP, and that boat wold tick all your safety and helm issues, but a bit dated and a really fast sailing boat Just my 2 cents in the discussion. Older could be beytter, also very solid built and rounden corners. Love u¨tÿour videos, keep them coming
I don't like the outboard helm stations. It seems to me if you were forced to manually steer in bad weather you would be too exposed. Since you like the boat so much is it possible to have a stainless structure designed and installed which would provide the means to have attachable soft walls and windows? There may be enough money left over, due to the lower price of the boat and options, to pay for the added helm structure. That way you could have outboard stations for docking, protected helms in case of bad weather and manual steering.
The fly bridge looks wonderful but seemingly unpractical for two to four people.
Would love to see you guys review an Antares 44, It really seems to be set up as a true live aboard blue water boat, with safety and protection as a top priority.
I agree. It ticks a lot of boxes. I just wish they did a 50’ version. And maybe slightly more performance. Bloody good boats though with great resale.
That’s the nicest cat so far you have reviewed so for
I thought it would be way more expensive than it was and figured it would be heavier
It’s very nice
I would take one if I had the cash
But alas
I don’t
That’s why I love your channel
To live vicariously through your videos
Please keep them coming while I relax at my cabin in Wisconsin 😎
Safe travels
Love ya both
Thanks so much for sharing!!!
You don’t even comprehend how much your videos mean to us viewers
Again thanks so much
It’s great to see what’s out there for cats
😘😘😘
This series is super tight guys… appreciate the detail, balance and opinions.
You haven’t mentioned it… but hoping you can add the Lagoon 46 to the list.
We will! Trying to do a ‘first round’ of all the manufactures, then we’ll go back around and review some other models. The 46 only comes as a flybridge right now although that may change in the future, so for that reason we chose the 42 to initially review.
The outboard helm stations are ok, but I'm thinking they would be in your way Nick when fishing, not much room back there to move around with hooks, line etc. You would also need a headset to talk when at the upper helm with one down below with high winds you would need it the boat is big. T' your like yup, yeah, yup, yup, It should have been obvious when Nick brought out the tape meausure that you know your way around a Cat. lmao Great video. your second fav or third hmm. ; )peace
Nice Cat. The sugar scoops seem really small on this one - or maybe I was just to paying attention to the others. I'd love the fly version at anchor - probably not so much underway. Good luck with your search!
I delivered an Open 40: It has a locker just between the davits for the life raft. That locker has a second door at the bottom in case of capsizing. In normal that locker has an absolutely easy access to the raft.
What was a little bit sad: the upper lid - you sit on - is not so stable, it makes noise if one sits on.
Great reviews, thanks for pulling these together. Joinery and ventilation. Got it! :)
I’m really warming up to the 46 Open especially after the redesign. Almost every issue that’s been raised with previous generation seems to have been addressed. I’ll get an aftermarket supplier to enclose one of the helms for extended passages. being in the Bavaria stable seems to have provided stable cash flow for improvements. I have to say this is my leading boat now.
Don't you use the autopilot when you sail for three weeks?? What's the issue..
No mate we don’t. Hydrovane or self steer
@@sailingrubyrose Isn't a Hydrovane self steering… I don't get your "or".. But, in any case you are not hand steering, so why so critical to the steering position? We did the North Atlantic circuit, and never manually steer our mono. When I race I always drive the boat manually, but cruising is a whole other business.
Just got the sailing bug, and I am watching all the RUclips I can. Loving your travels! I keep seeing snipets of what you’re eating underway, when you get a chance could you do a dedicated video on eating underway?
Nick, you mentioned being a joinery nerd, I'm a bit of one as well. Those drawers appeared to be finger joints (or box joints), not dovetail joints. Still very strong for simple drawer joinery, but there is a difference.
I know mate I know. I dropped the ball a bit. They are indeed finger or box joints
@@sailingrubyrose I wasn't trying to call you out, it's really not that important. I'm very intrigued to see how your new boat search plays out. Good luck!
Nice Video. Nautitech interesting from it's price to what you see. Can't see quality, durability, sailing until you get to try these on a passage....
Very nice performance oriented cruiser, and the new layout (on Aeroyacht channel) looks even better. Unfortunately the helms ruin everything. They have the 541 with a good single helm, should offer it on the lower models.
Love your videos. Just a heads up Nick, those drawers had finger joints or box joints, not dovetail joints. They are still well made drawers.
I'm sure you could spec the boat with the flybridge without the helm. Just an elevated lounge area. You will be at anchor far longer than underway.
The exposed helm station makes no sense for longer passages.
You guys should get this one, for the simple and selfish reason that it's the one I want to move up to in 5 years when we retire, lol. That flybridge is the bomb.
The Fly is very fly, perfect vantage point for the tropics and navigation throughout those coral reefs
Absolutely mate. For a Caribbean liveaboard it’s amazing.
I share your opinion of the fly-bridge as it relates to dare I say sailing, would be bumpy and windage with all the protection needed a pain. Again an opinion they are ugly. The open being lighter and faster is a Cat to sail, interior joint-work was top notch for a production boat. Great job on the videos and a very apples to apples scoring for all the boats you are reviewing. The best I have seen.
I agree completely on those helm positions. I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time there. I looked at these cats also and came to the same conclusion. I like the boat overall, but I can't deal with the helm positions. I have the same opinion about the monohulls , all the manufacturers seem to want to force us to the dual helm positions that are very outboard and very far astern. I guess I'm just a center cockpit guy.
Not personally interested in a cat, but I really enjoy these review videos.
Nice review (slightly unexpected based on other video's I've seen) with valid points.
However, I'm anxiously awaiting your Outremer video. It's almost as if your keeping the best for last🧐. Cheers
Hahaha, Outremer will be in a few weeks mate
@@sailingrubyrose But I think I already know what your preference is going to be. I'll just have to wait a bit longer for you to admit it😉
Stunned by the price and the weight. Looks like a winner to me. But I also think oceans are crossed on autopilot.
Not sure I understand about the flybridge. I have a 50' yacht with a flybridge (power, not sail) and it is amazing! Like this Nautitech, I also have a lower helm. And so, when the weather is bad, or on a night ride or passage, you just go down to the lower helm, as if you didn't have a flybridge. Personally, I will never own another boat without a flybridge - not just because of gorgeous views, but it actually adds to safety when piloting a larger size boat because of increased visibility. I do understand about the lower helms not being protected, but you can add two biminis with drop down enclosure, etc. This, to me, is the nicest Cat so far. JMHO.
Hey mate- it’s either the flybridge or the outboard helms, not both. And we wouldn’t have a problem with the flybridge either if we were planning to do coastal sailing. But we’re looking for an offshore cruiser and we talk in the video about why the flybridge wouldn’t suit us for our purposes. I definitely see the appeal of a flybridge though!
@@sailingrubyrose Outboard helms I get, as my lower helm is midship, since I have a mono-hull yacht. I still don't see the problem with a flybridge and a blue water ship, but I do see the problem you have with the outboard helms. You can always try to, "make do," but at that cost, you should get what you need. There will be one out there, but so far, this seemed to be the nicest of the lot. In truth, you want a Cat with mono-hull features...
Just curious, on the fly bridge version, how the hell do you get to the main sail? It's a furling main so you normally don't need to mess with it, but if something gets stuck you'll have to climb the bimini on top of the fly bridge to get up there? A bit of bad weather, you're trying to reef the main, it gets stuck and now you have to climb up there to unjam it..
Question - does a heavier boat plow through water at a more stable balance? Seems the lighter boat - more speed - less weight - would be influenced by choppy water and have a rougher ride. If you're in a hurry - fly to where you want to go. With cruising - the joy is in the journey - not the speed to get you there. What are your thoughts of speed versus comfort?
Great question! We would definitely need to do some sea trials to determine the answer to that question. I’ve heard a lot about the performance cats being ‘bouncy’ and not giving a comfortable ride. That wouldn’t be much fun, even if you are doing 20 knots. Hopefully we’ll be able to determine that for ourselves and share our findings.
Thanks for the reply - I've noticed in my hundreds of sailing videos watched, that the lighter cats ride higher in the water and and seem more bouncy. It would be like the difference between taking a car road trip between NY and LA in a cheap little KIA, or in a S Class. They both get you there and back - but one is so much easier to endure while under way. Light weight short cats - (I hate to say it - like Nikki and Jason's Leopard) ride high and bounce a lot, while a cat like Zatara (58 foot Privilege) is a smoother cut through the water. I know you filmed weeks ago - but I'm interested in what you end up with.
Hello, Nick and Terysa. I discovered (& sub'd to) your channel recently and have been catching up on all of the great content. Your videos are informative, well produced, and entertaining. I've sailed lakes in Arizona in my youth and hope to be a cruiser based out of San Diego before too much longer. Not looking to sail the world, but hope to spend a few months living aboard at sea each year. After watching your 'honest thoughts on cats' vid and all of these cat reviews I'm really starting to lean towards a catamaran. Thanks for making me want to spend more money. 🙂 Keep up the great work. Cheers! 👍⛵
Welcome!
Enjoying the reviews and really thankful that your view of the outboard helm station matches mine, i.e. okay for a while but not for long passages. Another issue I have with the outboard position, which you did not cover, is that with the probable need to put up shades in saloon to keep out the sun your fwd visibility is truly hampered. Thus looking from the stbd helm towards the ports side of the boat or visa versa you really cannot see much at all. The fly bridge is so out there and impressive but the rearward visibility for, say, Med mooring on this boat appears totally unacceptable plus the isolation from the rest of the boat and the motion concerns you covered so well make this a turn off. So a "sport" top held position is becoming your favoured option (or the super-duper Seawind)? Just to add, I recently sold a Bavaria I bought from new and was always impressed with the finish and the value for money as great on the extras too. Moreover the boat had no real niggles or issues whilst I owned her either so have a soft spot for their products. Looking forward to the next review and your eventual final choice.
I just got back from chartering an astrea which we really liked. It rained very hard. I don't have much experience in bad weather, but I can't imagine being able to see anything if I had an enclosure. We could hardly see though the cloud. Rain on plastic would be even darker. So I am wondering if I would either get rain gear and goggles or just not be at the helm. So in horizontal rain, I am wondering if the open helm is any worse than the wonderful astrea helm.
Nice video, very informative. Thank you. I can't wait to see your Privilege review. I was looking at those earlier in the year. Not cheap, but very nice.
Did I miss it in the video or did the Nautitech not have an interior nav station? Maybe I'm old fashioned but that's firmly on my must have list of features.
They have nav stations as an optional I believe. It can be a fridge with a semi nav station on top, or it can be a full on nav station with a seat. Located aft of the galley. That "chase lounge" can also be a set of cabinets or extra cold storage instead. They are updating the layout in 2020 models to match the Open 40 of the past couple years and I think it will make it better overall.
You left out the clearance height of the mast?
Super excited to see your Neel 47 Review!!
Very nice videos! Loving to wach them! I´d like to relate two boat specs and safety that pehaps you've missed: 1) Nautitech - Fly bridges are nice to be on, and very suitable for a sunny day sail, but in a long passage, in rough sea conditions it´s raised boom also elevates the CG compromising the stability and suposily making it easier to flip. Truly, thinking of that possibility is just as imagining the flooding of Leopard´s aft cockpit. Od chances, but possible. 2) Seawind - Being able to cross an ocean faster means safety, as you can run from storms and spend less overall time at sea than in a slower boat.
Do you plan do review St Francis or Knysna? keep up the vds, they are great!
I have been looking forward to this review. I love the open 46. dream boat
Don't know if you saw the Antares, but I would be interested in your opinion as you are quite thorough and have the experience to form a valid opinion.
We’ll review it at the Annapolis boat show- Antares don’t display outside of the US
I really enjoy the reviews yall are doing on all of these different catamarans, but I remember seeing another RUclips video saying the Antares 44GS was the perfect catamaran in your opinion. If you could do a complete review of that catamaran I would love to see the in depth walk through/review before my purchase
We will be seeing that at Annapolis my friend
Thank you so much, and I was also wondering what your thoughts on the Maverick 440
Great review and I'd like to add I dont like the fly for all the reasons you mentioned and also being or feeling disconnected from the rest of the boat. I like the design of like the Wynn's Leopard where they are always a few steps from each other. Guess ya cant have everything! PEACE OUT! Ü
Mush of the pleasure of sailing in the tropics (and elsewhere) is offset by watch for shoals and floating hazards. This could offset the objection to physical separation, which itself could be offset by wifi cameras.
Those were "box joints", not 'dovetail' . Just about as strong but more visually appealing from two directions.
The interior was very nice. I liked the lighting, galley and cabinetry. Much improved from their earlier models. I prefer the flybridge model.
I think you would like the 40 / 46 open much more. Aft steering ...... and foam core. Right now it is ahead of the others in my survey.
The reoccuring theme of life rafts in the locker, could this be due to the fact that at the boat show they were not at their actual positions? for aesthetic reasons possibly?
Not sure mate. Didn’t see any cradles mounted
I noticed that one of the two cats had sharper corners than the other, especially on the table in the saloon. were they both "brand new" cats or one a year older? I really didn't like the open steering positions at the rear of the "open" cat. for me they were way to close to the stern of the boat. not good in breaking waves from the rear, also a little too low as you wouldn't be able to see the other side of the boat or anything coming from that direction. Flybridge version just doesn't appeal at all. Interesting video, thanks guys.
Great video as I’ve come to expect from you guys good input thanks for sharing your thoughts
Did you explain the thickness of each and every catamaran hulls ? Thx
No as we weren’t able to assess this at a boatshow review or from the literature.
We will short list our favourites and assess criteria such as these later
Guys! For the time you spend out crossing oceans does it really matter having a fly or the open?
Hello guys and thank you for this overview. However, watching flybridge part of it, I've noticed a big lack of stern view, which must be a dead end for mooring by stern process (only if you not used to check it by sound). Do I miss something important, or it's true - you simply do not see any stern from flybridge?
View from the inexpert but interested follower: in some ways this was my favourite catamaran yet - beautiful interior and design, but oh those helms in the open version! In the current Ruby Rose layout you can both be near the helm, you can lie relaxing near the helm, you can generally "hang out" near the helm and all of that seems to me to be "a good thing". With the layout here none of that would be possible. Pity as the rest of the craft is superb!
Good information, great perspective on the boat, video picks up a lot of background noise. Thank you!
Unfortunately it’s impossible to control the background noise in this situation! We’re going to try and film future reviews in a quieter setting, we agree that the audio can be improved upon. Thanks for commenting!
Very good, other than the noise, it’s really excellent video content, picture quality and your perspective is excellent!
Stay safe and enjoy the winds!
Nice review. A wide angle lens will offer a better perspective awareness in terms of item placement.
Great review. I've been looking forward to this one. 33% lighter than leopard WOW!! This is on our radar so really interested. Out of all the reviews so far....your pick????
Have you looked at the balance catamaran?
Thanks very much.
What are the criteria for a boat to get a review in this series? I really hope you reviewed the Bali 4.5; would like to hear your thoughts on the solid fordeck.
Good question Thomas- we’re looking for a blue water cruiser, suitable for a couple to go sailing around the world. We’ve had a lot of requests to review the Bali, so if we get a chance we’ll definitely take a closer look and film it for a review.
Oh this one is nice, I like it. With some minor customization of course
Guys love your clips! Please review a sunreef 😄🙏🙏😎
Nice boat except for the fly bridge and the outboard helm stations. My search for a cat is over, but not for a boat. Trying to find a marina that can accommodate the wide beam is proving to be a challenge.
Please tell me how do people manage reefing the main on those fly style cats. Assuming they use slab reefing. Maybe some of them use in mast or in boom furling ?
I never sailed a boat in my life but I clicked just to hear her point of view, I could never afford these boats really but I like to window shop yes. I would not just sail in warm weather or nice seas if I were to sail, so I was wondering your view on between the Xquiste 5 and my personal choice of a Privilege serie 5. I just like the out door shower head on the Xquiste but I do not think it would be great in rough seas, and I would like to explore the world so I placed much thought into these boats for actual living, and I do no like those fly bridges either. But I would love to find someone to sail with myself eventually, and really important to me is the ability to single hand sail the privilege serie 5 for possible sticky situations someone gets sick and can´t sail the boat etc.. etc.. . Food storage is very important and another shine for me on the Privilege series 5 is the large master bed ;P . But its really expensive and would be my dream boat да да (ja ja)
Have you checked out the Garcia ExploCat yet? That would be my fave catamaran, especially with the 2nd inside helm station and dayhead in the saloon. Also the new Allures C47.9 promises to be comfortable and fast.
Yes, will be interested to have a look once they build one and display it at a boat show.
Have you found the live raft yet....? its actually in a very clever place in that it is accessible from top or bottom.
I’ve heard that mate. We had a nice email from Leopard inviting us for a test sail at Annapolis. Happy to accept and video some more. Hope all is well with you.
I'm surprised about the low ratings hearing your positive comments. That doesn't match. Just watching your vids this looks like the best boat so far.
It’s not what we would consider a low rating. It has the highest score for any production cat. so far
Hey guys i would place this CAT right behind the Seawind it still is my favorite for build and safety
Do you know of any production cats that have water jet engines in them???
Do you have a review of the Neel 47 or 51 coming up by chance? Your reviews are thorough and solid. I'm curious to hear your take on the Neels. Great channel.
The 47 review is coming out on Thursday
@@sailingrubyrose Why was the Neel 47 review you did taken down?
We are waiting to see if Neel want to reply to the review and give them fair chance to remedy the build issues by letting us post about them. At the moment it’s pretty one sided. Once they reply, we’ll put it back. If they don’t reply in good time, we’ll also put it back
Have to ask, can any of the sailboats be sailed or steered from inside the cabin, or do you have to do it from outside?
You can put it on autopilot from inside. But any sail changes obviously can’t be done from there. It’s also sometimes not possible to see the main from inside (including the Nautitech 46 fly).
I've read your comments about life rafts in the last couple of reviews you have done. It seems like you've made Lagoons life raft placement the "gold standard" and it's really always a compromise. Case in point: what happens if there's a dinghy in the way? How do you unratchet the raft from it's bracket in a hurry? When the Haley, a Lagoon 380, capsized in 2007, a survivor stated that the weight of the engines sank the aft part of the hull. How would you deploy when it's 5-20 feet underwater? If Lagoon's raft is so easy to deploy why is there a retrofit kit for the Lagoon 52? Don't get me wrong, Lagoon makes a good boat but the location of its life raft has just as many down sides as the other manufacturers.
We would have a hydrostatic release on any liferaft. One thing we do need to go back and do is examine the lockers that the life rafts are kept in. We had a few comments on how easy they were to deploy from lockers. I remain sceptical, but will go and have a look when we get to Annapolis.
@@sailingrubyrose Unfortunately, unless the cat gets down to +5m the hydrostatic release won't work. Any cat produced with RCD Cat A has to have positive bouyancy even when flooded and so it's never going to sink to 5m.
Most cats are a better place to be than on a liferaft anyway and so it's better to stay with the boat than get into a tiny liferaft.
The flybridge looks cool on paper but you're loosing a lot of sail area and your remaining sail area is higher which is going to make you get overpowered sooner. I'd really like to see them do a semi-up or especially a versa helm. The outboard helms just strike me as too exposed (though these are better than most)
That being said I'm a fan of most of the rest of the design. If they did it with a better helm option and turned the nav desk to be forward facing then I think it would make a really nice semi-performance cat (which would be nice to have as performance boats around this size are fairly cramped).
Aren't Catamarans design to be inherently buoyont and therefore they can function as a floatation device in case of a capsize. Perhaps the apparent seclusion of the life raft is per its particular risk factor such as flipping over or lopsided puncture?
What about a fire my friend?
I absolutely love the way you are doing these reviews. I'm wondering if you'll do a review on the lagoon 46. This is the boat I'm thinking of purchasing. And I'm kinda wondering why it wasn't included in your line up?
We filmed it! However, we wanted to start with just one version of each manufacturer and to us, the 42 was the preferred choice due to the helm position and size. But we'll share our review of the 46 at some point. :)
Great review and must agree that the outboard helms or fly do not appeal to me, otherwise I would really be interested. Liked that layout a l ot
Good job! Those drawers look like box joints not dovetails, but hard to tell from the vid. Carry on!
So my first question was what happens to the center of gravity when you have a flying bridge on a sail boat? Asking because I don’t know.
It would move up and for that reason a fly is not what we would want for ocean crossing. Amazing boat for island life but not for long distances
I have chartered an Open 40. You could feel the light weight in a chop, and the chartered version (I thought) was cheaply finished. I wonder if the owner of this 46 upgraded anything. The visibility forward was good in the Open, but while sailing, it was difficult to get unimpeded views through the saloon.