Leopard 45' Catamaran. This is our new favourite production catamaran to be our live-aboard home.
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- Leopard 45' Catamaran. Our walkthrough and opinions.
In this episode of Cruising Off Duty, we continue our series where we are checking out the Catamarans at the Annapolis Sailboat Show to see what we think would suit us as a full-time live-aboard catamaran as we circumnavigate the globe.
This episode we cover the Leopard 45'. Leopard is one of the biggest Catamaran builders in the world and they make them in many sizes. The 45' seems to be our optimal size for a full time live aboard Catamaran. Watch and see what you think.
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The best kind of boat, is a friend with one.
Ha Ha. Yes but it has to be a friend that will let you come on regularly, when every you have time, or it is just too little. But I feel that way about power boats. It's fun to fly over the water and have fun water skiing, but I don't want to have to pay for all that gas every time I take it out. So if a friend has one and wants to take me out, Awesome! But I'm never buying one.
Ahh nice, great progress 🤩
I'm glad you finally came around. I've always felt Leopards are the best bang for the buck.
We were really impressed. Lagoons didn't impress us with the constant squeaky floors and the Leopards have improved so much in their design, that they are now our favourite of the 3 big production builders. We could easily live on one of these 45s. The front cockpit is a big selling point. A good place to sit out of the sun if you are anchored and the sun is coming directly from behind.
And she did point out the foldup table.
@@Bowmans-Woods What the other 2 builders whose boats you also prefer?
I'm in love with this one
Thanks for the tour. I know you get some critiques from the peanut gallery from time to time but I think its because your production level is a notch or 2 above the mundane and most folks genuinely want to comment to further that goal. You guys work hard to provide these videos and it is appreciated. As for the naysayers on the Leopards not being a true "blue water boat", check out "Gone with the Wynns" on youtube. A couple is sailing a Leopard 43 around the world with limited sailing experience.While I am sure its not as easy as they make it seem, they look rather comfortable at passage.
Thanks Tim. I appreciate your comments. Yes, I did accidentally say Lagoon instead of Leopard. We saw and filmed a TON of boats in those 2 days. We were tired and we would often be talking off camera about what we liked or didn't like about this Leopard vs the same sized Lagoon. Trying to compare apples to apples as they are both production boats. Just a slip of the tongue. I think the viewer knew what I meant. :-) . These videos take a ton of time to film and edit and upload and put on the various social media we have. It's nice to be appreciated for that effort. I know we get 90+% thumbs up so I know the vast majority of the viewers appreciate the content. RUclipsrs get used to the fact that often the vocal commenters are often of the Troll variety who just want to find a reason to criticize. It is often the same names over and over that find a reason to complain. It doesn't faze you after a while but it often makes me laugh when people who haven't had to pay a thing to watch a video go on to criticize the littlest thing. This was not a big production shoot where we had multiple takes to get it perfect. This is run and gun, one take filming as we filmed 25+ boats in 2 days. People need to keep some perspective on how much time can reasonably be spent filming each boat. Next year we will film fewer boats and put more time into the ones we film.
@@Bowmans-Woods Ignore the trolls folks. You're doing a very good job despite boatshow limitations of people stepping on each others' toes.
Definitely an outstanding layout and overall volume, the whole 9 yards.. and with haul construction, electronics, engines, plumbing, general hardware, sailing rig and stuff like that being basically the same, seeing as most is after market anyway, if the only difference is instead of real wood laminate, because the other boats are not solid wood they're still a laminate, versus maybe faux wood laminate and you talking about considerably price difference with a great layout like this you can't go wrong..
I agree with Janice, if the front seating area had a table it would be a perfect place for drinks and snacks. Perfect place for the kids table come holiday time.
Hey Muir. There is a fold down small table that she does point to in the front cockpit. It is only big enough for drinks and maybe a bowl of chips because it is small but at least there was a table and there were also cup holder built into the edge of the cockpit. Maybe there is a way to pop in a bigger table in that area for eating dinner. Im sure an owner could rig something up.
I see it as a cigar lounge, but that's me with my priorities.
Ha Ha. My wife would kill me if I started smoking cigars on our boat. She hates the smell of them. I can disagree with her.
The front cockpit is really why I would consider this over other cats, fantastic extra area. As far as water piling up in it I have heard both positive and negative.I would take my chances if all else is to my liking. Also this boat could sail out of the approaching weather very well I think, looks pretty darn fast compared to any Monhull that I have seen.
I agree Ron. I haven't heard of anyone owning one of these ever say that their front cockpit filled with water and caused any harm to the boat. ie pitchpoling which is what everyone always says would happen. If you are out in a hurricane and have 50' seas pounding over your bow then shame on you for putting your boat in that situation, right? We have weather technologies these day that forecast those big storms a week or more in advance. Any cat, even the slower ones can easily get out of the way of those storms. The only Cats you see damaged by those storms are people that left them in harms way. No one should be out sailing in those conditions and if they are. The front cockpit is the least of their concerns because they need to have they head examined. haha
I'm with Janice on this, Leopard cats have never been my choice in any of their guises but the changes they have made have turned them into a very appealing cruising catamaran. Now I'm off to their site to see just what their load carrying capacity is. Thanks again for yet another informative video, stay safe.
Thanks Glen. Always nice to hear a comment where someone agrees with us. :-)
Leopard 45 is fast and a easy catamaran for maintenance and the front cockpit is awesome. But less storage than a Lagoon in the kitchen. In my favorite catamarans.
Thanks for that info Jacques.
We sailed a 45 for two weeks last Feb in 18-25 knots winds and 3 meter seas. It was as comfortable as you could be. It pointed reasonably well and we had on 10 hour sail beating/close reaching that averaged 6.5 knots at reef 2. My crew demanded we get a 45 for this years sailing.
I hear you. Chartering a Cat in the BVI and then sailing across the Atlantic on a 50' Cat cemented my focus on my next boat is a Cat for sure. Just sooooo comfortable even when sailing along at 10 knots. Can't say that for my Mono. If you are sailing even at 7or 8 knots you are heeled way over and things inside are flying around and coming loose. People make fun of Cats saying they are "Condo-marans" but I don't take that as an insult. I want to sail the world in comfort. :-)
Sometimes less is more and I so respect the effort and hours and hours of filming and editing....You both do a great job with a different perspective.....I think you tried to do to much for everyone and the channel....Please take that as a compliment...I don't know how you did it in 2-3 days........In reality this is about you guys as it should be and what you are looking for. Most catamaran owners/prospective owners are in the same size range catamaran as you guys. So your audience is mostly looking at the same manufactuerer's and models... Some people might be looking new this year, next year or like you guys 5 years from now......You guys seem to be interested in the 40 to 45 foot range so why not take more time and film those specifically in more detail.........Again great job.......Will you guys be in Miami?
Thanks. Yes, next year we will be focused on fewer boats and trying to get a more detailed look at those. We will not be going to Miami. Too far to go just for a show.
I really (💕) the 42' 2011 or newer leopard. Love the front sitting area.
Like the way you two think! 🥂
Im sure the seating area in the front would be used a lot at anchor (or even underway to get a nice breeze) so the Leopards have really won us over with the new designs.
@@Bowmans-Woods I agree. They have come a long way. I have been watching for 2011 42' or newer but no longer than 46. I think you can one handed sail a 42' with some planning.
I own a Leopard 45 - sailed some 21 000 nm mostly in the southern ocean . South African designed and made. Strong and good looking - good all round comfort - pints as good as any other cat -if not better. recommend you buy it.
Thanks Daniel. I appreciate the feedback. We have heard nothing but good things about the longer term build quality of Leopards and there are plenty of RUclipsrs that have Leopards and are filming all of their sailing and they seem to all be happy. Now obviously no boat is perfect but,by and large, we hear really good things. It's at the top of our list if we were going with one of the 3 big production builders.
thank you for your reply - just a heads up, if you buy one in South Africa - you could save a lot of money. At the same time you can experience our wonderful country. then take a leisurely sail across the Atlantic back home.
I am probably doing a south Atlantic crossing on an Xquisite X5 so if so, I will be in South Africa in May. I would have no problem taking possession of a Cat in South Africa and sailing across the Atlantic. Just grab some experienced crew for the long passage so it is not just Janice and I. Can wait to see S.A.
@@Bowmans-Woods I would love to take off from south africa cut across to argentina ..see buenos aires and montevideo properly and then go thru the magellan pass then up chile and thru the canal then into the bahamas...no one has done that yet...at least not on youtube...or at least the channels i follow...
Ya. If we had our own boat crossing I think I would want to cut across to Argentina as well. Then go north along Brazil. If you cut across to Brazil. as Delos did, then you never will be down there again to see Argentina. Which would be a shame to miss.
Watching this, how do feel vs. your previous video of the Sunsail/Moorings 450 from last year. Looking through soooo many boats over time can make you rethink previous opinions etc. That give and take game where none have everything exactly the way we would like and we accept certain compromises.
I think I would prefer to have a larger salon than a front cockpit. Could have expanded it out another 5ish feet and had a larger kitchen or sitting area for when you have bad weather. Still an F.P. supporter here. Great video guys. Can't wait to see the 50'.
I hear you James. I use to think that too. I thought. How often are you really going to sit out in front? But when we had the Cat in the BVI we often sat in the front, either underway to get a better view with a breeze in our face for coolness or At anchor when the Sun was behind us. It allows you to sit out of the sun and yet still be outside in the breeze. Clearly, these Leopard are designed with cool outdoor seating in mind. So probably not the greatest boat if you plan to sail in cold climates (ie shores of Canada or Northern Europe). Because then you won't want to sit out in the chilly breeze.
That's my parents boat! They used it in the Annapolis Sailboat show in 2018. My parents had it about a week before leopard called and asked to use it in the show!
Cool. Well, go enjoy that boat. I would if I had it! :-)
Cruising Off Duty headed that way for the 4 day weekend.
Hello Craig and Janice, great work as always. Btw, not sure if you guys are into the Toronto Boat Show but my wife and I double-booked ourselves for that weekend therefore, we have 2 tickets for sale for the "preview" show event on the Friday, January 18th in case you guys would be interest. Cheers!
Thanks Guy. We did not plan to go to the Toronto show as it is more of a powerboat show and there would not be any sailing Cats of any size there to look at. Thanks for the offer though.
Im a fan of the saba 50 myself but love leopards too
The Saba is nice too.
While the windows are large & viewing good. The actual opening windows are tiny for a Boat of this size, plus that front lounge would get flooded in sometimes bumpy Australian seas. I also think that the helm station would need to be enclosed for inclement weather & would then be a sweat box. In my opinion the X5 is still the number one ( but has a heft price tag ) especially in Aussie dollars
Yes. The X5 is better but probably almost twice the price. So you get what you pay for I guess. But, we can’t afford the X5.
I agree with you two. Been watching sailing Happy Together and they were happy with their lagoon 45 but are changing to the lagoon 50, soon from what they said. 👍
@Bayani - Just for the sake of accuracy, Happy Together has a Leopard 48, and they are upgrading to a Leopard 50 as we speak. Why are they upgrading? Because they can, and their 48 is three years old and they wanted a new one. I agree with Janice though... I used to think the Leopard's were so homely that I wouldn't consider one... now a recent 45 or 48 seems like the perfect cat to cat around in...
Thanks Bayani and Murray. Yes. Happy together seem really happy with their Leopard that they are getting a newer and better one. That is a good sign.
Another good review and walk through!
Thanks Michael.
I also like the placement of the Nav station forward, and wish Lagoon hadn’t gotten away from that. I really like the design of the Lagoon 450, particularly the earlier square galley models, and would consider refitting one of those to remove the Benetau annoyances.
Best,
Maldwin
Thanks. We use to like the 450 the most. This year we started to notice the constant squeaking of every floor in every Lagoon and that made us wonder about the build quality of the floors and cabinetry. If it was just one Lagoon we would have thought it was just a fluke, but it was every boat. If we were to get a Lagoon it would probably be a 450. Although there is a new Lagoon coming out to replace that model, as it has been around for years.
As usual, well produced video.
Thanks John. Always nice to hear. Obviously a guided tour with more detail would be preferred. Maybe next year Leopard will give us one. :-)
Love it!
It was pretty impressive. We could easily live on that.
i loved this one guys
Thanks. Good to hear.
Love this cat. Only negative I have is placement of aft cabin deck hatches. I would like to see them on the aft weather deck for much better ventilation.
Yes, ventilation when living in a hot tropical climate is SUPER IMPORTANT! We don't plan to be paying to stay at docks plugged into power so having a Cat with good air conditioning is not really big help because it will barely get used. Ventilation will be the most important factor. I guess if we are alone on the boat we could always sleep in the forward cabin where there should be much better ventilation.
With a good amount of solar panels, you can get a small air conditioner for the master bedroom and use it for a few hours at night. That is what I would probably do because sleeping down there at night even with the ventilation I find a challenge.
Hi, I love your walk throughs, get a bit giddy at times but that is to be expected when you have small areas to turn around in. Get job from the two of you. Would have loved to have seen the engine spaces and Gen set etc... maybe next year they will give you a guided tour. I like the woman's perspective so go Janice. Get work guys., well done.
Thanks. Yes, the plan next year is to only film new boats and boats that give us Guided tours with more detailed info.
I am not a big fan of the front sitting area, particularly during passage making with big seas. It could fill up with a lot of water...
I think that is a "Wives Tale", a scare tactic that boat builders that don't have front cockpits says. It has scuppers to drain any water. It is far enough back that at most you are going to get some spray which the scuppers can handle. Never heard of a Leopard ever having this fill up and have any sort of failure (or flip) because of it.
@@Bowmans-Woods If you get to follow Leopard youtube site I am pretty sure it mentions that the front door is a watertight configuration and then the front cockpit seating area is able to drain any volume water straight back to the sea so this does not allow for any water build up at any time. Great Video. You can also follow Sailing Sisu who have just started their round the world sailing directly from CT on a Leopard 45, Then if you get to follow Sailing Unspoken they have a new Leopard 48 and then Sailing SV Happy Together on their new Leopard 50, and so far they have all been happy with the product. The last is Nick O'Kelly and his wife bought a used Leopard from the Moorings group and have also upgraded it to suit their sailing lifestyle.
The Leopard 50' is the boat SV/Happy Together is having delivered in March.
Yes. They must be so excited. It is a great boat. It feels a bit too large for just 2 people but hey, if you have the cash, why not go bigger, right?
Great review, neat boat.
Thanks Wayne.
Thanks for grinding us along and providing good information. My only critique would be to use a wider lens.
Yep. Her camera is a Vlog camera. It comes with a fixed lens that can't be changed. It's not a GoPro with a fish eye lens. But its great in low light, has a great mic for picking up voices (without wind) and has very good autofocus. So It was the best for filming on the run. And its easy so Janice can handle it.
You guys should REALLY invest in Wide Angle lenses 😉 Otherwise good 😃
Yep. Check the date on that video. It is old. I have soooooo many cameras and lenses now that I didn’t have back then.
Lagoon 45? That, my friend, is called "shopping shock." Note: women are immune except in fishing/sporting good stores.
Awesome job Craig and Janice :)
Thanks. Did I say Lagoon at some point in the episode? We filmed a lot of boats in a short amount of time. I was bound to slip up and call a Lagoon a Leopard and vice versa at some point. haha
Yes but it's understandable. By the time you guys got to the Leopards, I imagine they were all beginning to blur. Perfectly understandable!
Yes, The Leopards were at the end of the show and it was hot and sweaty and we were just tired of filming. Next year we will do the Leopards near the beginning and try to find someone to give us a guided tour to get all the details. We were really impressed by them. Top of our list in terms of mass production builders.
@Mal L Once a video is uploaded you can't just dub over it. You have to delete it and re-upload a new version which acts to RUclips as a whole new video, which loses its momentum and view count. So no one does dub overs of existing videos.
The boat looks nice, my only negative comment is if you are going to be a cruising couple sooner or later you are going to find yourself beating into a nasty sea , and when you do having that huge area in front turning into a bathtub with maybe a couple of tons of water disrupting the forward balance of the boat. I would be concerned about the boat starting to plow into waves it did not look like there was a lot of ways to remove the water from that area (scuppers) were there any?
Yes there is scuppers. From owner accounts it drains fine.
Might you find that the sink+drip-dry-drain-tub would provide you what you look for in a twin sink?
Most of these manufacturers offer the twin sinks as an add-on option. Just because the models at the show don't have them, it doesn't mean you can't get the double basin sink. They're definitely out there.
The drying area could work as a 2nd sink if you pour water win from a big cup. But notice that the faucet is placed in the middle of the single sink so it will not reach over to the drying sink. The reason she wants a second sink is to have one sink with soapy water and a second sink of just clear rinse water. The we put the dishes on a drying rack that drains into the rinse sink. One sink means you have to put a Tupperware bin full of water beside your soapy wash sink. Just seems on a big cat they could design in 2 sinks and then put a countertop cover over it for extra cutting space for those times when you don't need the sink. Its not a deal breaker but always seems like a head scratcher to us why certain builders seem to refuse to build their boats with 2 sinks. The Fountaine Pajots and most of the custom boat builders have 2.
@@Bowmans-Woods looks like the faucet head pulls out to spray rinse the dishes
OK. Then if that is true, then I guess it really does have 2 sinks! YAY! Janice will be happy. Now the boat has no flaws that we saw.
Update this video. It has a lounge on top now and other upgrades! The new version is awesome!
OK. If we see it in the future we can film it. Thanks.
Really curious about your opinion on this as we are considering retiring on a Cat as well. It seems most people just pay cash for these boats, not sure if you are in that position; however, is there any consideration to just put down a big down payment but finance the bulk of the purchase price? If I'm buying a $400k boat, why not finance $200k of that over a long term?? That way, you can preserve capital and then maybe sell the boat when you are either ready to go back to land or are forced to due to health reasons etc? Is this common or not a good idea??
Hey Chris. Yes you can finance your boat. I think most people who buy these to put them into the bareboat charter industry until they are ready to move on full time down the road, finance them. Only issue with getting a boat loan is you do not get the really low rates that you can get on a house mortgage these days. People loaning out money for boats always have to worry the owner will just sail away and stop making payments once they are hidden somewhere in the world or the other risk is the boat will get damaged or lost in a storm and then the owner will stop paying. So they only give boat loans to highly qualified buyers and even then the interest rates are pretty high. We have a budget in mind based on no boat loan and it will equal the value of what we can sell our house and other worldly possessions for.
OK, I really liked your videos until this one. JK. I had my choices narrowed down to two boats and did not care for the Leopards UNTIL you two had to tour this one. BEAUTIFUL. Very nice boat and nicely made video. I do enjoy the way you guys look at these boats. Keep up the great work. See you on the water.
Thanks DD. If it makes you feel any better we have flipped too. We didn't use to like Leopards. The pecking order of the big 3 use to be Lagoon, FP then Leopard. Now Leopards have changed and are really impressive and the order has flipped. Now it is Leopard, FP, Lagoon with Leopard way out in front of the other 2. FP and Lagoon are pretty close and could almost share the #2 spot.
@@Bowmans-Woods the new ones I can certainly see. The old ones not so much, and pointed out by your mrs primarily due to windows and views. I'll probably still have to stick with an older Lagoon due to pricing considerations
Yes. You have to get what you can afford. I would love an X5 but I know we can't afford it.
I just saw a post from Sailing Sisu where he details the actual cost of his new (2018) Leopard 45. Just thought you might find it interesting.
OK. I dont watch them. What was the price all in?
@@Bowmans-Woods $469 k base, VERY detailed, item by item. Factory options (very nice and fancy upgrades) $113851. Afermarket many toys and really nice to have things, $159898 for grand total $742729.00. I donzt thnk he left anything out. Might be of interest when you have a minute to peruse all those things. His episode 28.
OK. Thanks. Now, I have been saying that in many of my episodes. The Boutique builders that include everything you need are not that expensive. You get a base boat from a production builder and it seems cheap at $470K but then you pour another 200+K into upgrades to make it a full time live aboard and now you are talking $700K. Not any or much cheaper than a boutique boat that comes with everything built in from the factory. Thats why we want to buy used. I buy a 1 to 3 yr old boat that has all the extras already added for $450K and I am ahead 250K. The depreciation in the first 2-3 years is like a kick in the #%@$.
I also like the forward cockpit in these boats, it reminds me of my favorite cats, the Chris White performance cats with their sailing cockpit. Of the three production builders, i agree the Leopard feels the highest quality, no Benetau squeak in the floorboards!
Best, Maldwin
The squeaking on the Lagoons was concerning.
In fairness, I am told the squeaky problem can be addressed, either with beeswax, or some felt.
I am sure there is a fix. It's not a deal breaker but they should realize that is an issue that annoys people and put felt or something under the floorboards to stop that, right at the factory. A boat should never be at a boat show where every step creaks. It just gives the boat a cheaper "we just mass produce these things and don't really care" feeling. If they didn't care about fixing that issue, how many other issues are not being addressed that you will only figure out later. More effort on Lagoons part toward showcasing a Solid boat needs to be done.
7:09 "that's what she said"
700K for the 2019 i just looked it up, owners version.
I'd like to see someone go topside with the 2 steps!
Ya, they aren't that big and there is not really a pole or something to grab onto to pull yourself up. I can imagine I would use the step to just prop me high enough to get on the roof with my knees and then once for enough on, I could stand up from there. We just think it is better than the huge staircase that they use to have in front of the entire front windows.
Why is wood veneer in one instance to be liked and in another not? Wood veneer is what it is, a .6mm layer on top of the material the the bulkheads are made off. You might not the like the wood but it is the same thing. As far as I know in production boats it is the normal thing to do. Even tables you'd buy for your homes it is common practice, even in tables with an eye watering price tag. Just the sides are made of 'real wood'.
Real wood veneer just looks richer to us. It may take a bit of rubbing with wood oil from time to time to keep it protected and looking nice but it looks more upscale than the fake wood. To us.
Le plus grand centre commercialLeopard 45 has a real wood veneer.
1) Please please please use a short lens!!! You are making people dizzy. 2) Pay more attention to ventilation and cross ventilation. Big windows look nice at a show. But they can be a curse if you can't open any of them. 3) Please provide more info on hull design, materials, engines, systems. etc.
Cognito. Start of video said. Not a detailed guided tour. Just a walkthrough as if you were just window shopping at the show. I explained that for a reason. We didn't have time with all the boats we filmed to get into every spec and feature on each boat. If they offered a guided tour, we took it. Then they could tell us all about the size of water and fuel tanks the type of resin they used yada yada. But, walking tour means ??? Walk-about and see if we like how it would feel to live on it. Next year, as we said in the episode, we will film less boats and strongly request each builder find us to take us on a guided tour. If we told them we were there to film and review their boat for RUclips and they didn't pay us any attention. Then time crunches meant we do a walk through. Look at if it is comfortable at anchor as a floating home, and move on to the next boat.
The other thing about large windows is that they let a lot of heat inside... if you’re in the tropics, you have to have some kind of covering on them to keep the heat out, and the boat somewhat cool. So as you said, cross ventilation is so much more important.
@@Bowmans-Woods All understood. And thanks for taking the time to read and respond to comments. I am just giving you input where you can improve. After all, you not just doing this for yourself but for the benefit of the viewer. I was at the show myself. It's a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time, it was busy as hell and extremely hot, at least on Thursday. But, having said that, the more information you can gather and the denser and entertaining you can pack it, the more people will appreciate your videos and subscribe to your channel.
Thanks Cognito for your input. We have decided (and I believe said in this episode?) that next year we will limit the number of boats that we will film to just the brand new boats never filmed and boats that we have decided are at the top of our "Possible Boat" list and do what we can to get guided tours of each. Not every salesperson wants to be on camera and put on RUclips, so we can only ask. With fewer boats being filmed we should be able to put a lot more detail into each. But then we will get the opposite complaint. "Why didn't you film boat X or boat Y? That is my favourite boat and I came to your channel to see it and am now pissed that you passed over it". We already get that this year because we didn't film every single boat. So we can't win. :-)
Not sure why Janice doing these reviews - Craig much better at it.
Thanks. I think she does a really good job. I walked around and just filmed and didn't constantly talk about what I was seeing but my lens was a manual focus lens so I was always having to stop and adjust the focus from close to far etc and occasionally some footage would be out of focus until I adjusted it. Her vlog camera has great autofocus, is the best camera in low light and picks up voices perfectly without picking up wind noise. My cameras was too big and sophisticating for her to handle. Plus she does a nice running commentary which makes it easier on me to produce. I know some people prefer my dulcid tones (ha ha) but I also get people saying they want more of Janice in the videos. I think she did an awesome job considering there was no practice runs. Its not like she did multiple takes. All her thoughts were as she was walking around and that is pretty good for 1 take. I give her much credit and I thank her every time I see her footage because it makes it easy for me to edit when I don't have to do a ton of voiceovers to explain what we are looking at. Janice deserves some love for the effort.
Thanks! Well, I do all the voiceovers and the intro and the outro. So hopefully that was something. When the episodes are all me talking, I used to get the complaint, "Where is Janice! More Janice!". So I let Janice have a bigger role. I feel with a boat if you can get your wife to agree to spend her whole life living on a boat, you are SUPER LUCKY (because that is extremely rare) so it is much more important that Janice likes the boat than I do. If she wants 2 sinks, she gets 2 sinks. If she wants big windows that she can sit at the table and see out of. She gets that too. I'm just happy she wants to live on a boat. "Happy wife, happy life". :-)
Craig said it was a lagoon
With all the hard corners they need reminding it's a Boat and not a Condo!
Yes we are not a fan of sharp corners either but a lot of the newly built boats are going with the "Modern" look. We prefer everything to be rounded. We all know the builders are sticking to square edges because it saves them money in the cabinet making side of the production. They say it is what the new buyers want, but we believe that is BS.
Guys you should buy a floating house customized to your liking! Not a boat or any kind to travel the brutal seas.
Disagree. We want to sail around the world, but take our time to explore every spot in detail before moving on. So, at anchorages, we want to be comfortable.
Do you realize you called it a Lagoon 45 at 8:53.
Oh did I? Ooops. Im sure everyone knew what I meant. Leopard, Lagoon. There are only 3 large builders and 2 have to have similar names!
You beat me too it :-)
Ha Ha. Thanks Freight. I am bad with names at the best of times too.
But no double sink though 😜
Ha ha. So the boat is not perfect. :-)
I've now been informed that the faucet has an expandable neck and the drying sink can be a second sink. So it is now the perfect boat. haha
Not your fault but filming this one was the real challenge. Could not get a feel for the boat over all at all
You need to spend money on a better wide angle lens for your camera lens.
That is an older video. I have lots of lenses etc now.
Contact the manufacturer before the boat show and introduce yourself and your channel. I'm sure you'll get full tours not by who is by chance available but by someone responsible for sales or PR.
We will try that but often when you get to a boat the real salespeople that actually know any of the details (not just the hostesses that stand by the boat) are already busy with "possible new owners" so even if they know you are coming to the show, that does not mean someone will be standing there ready to give you a guided tour. Believe me, we often asked and we were told if we wanted to speak to a Sales person we needed to make an appointment. We had too many boats to film to be standing around at each boat waiting for a salesperson to book us a time later for a thorough walkthrough. Next year we plan to film fewer boats and try and get guided tours for the ones we are interested in.
@@Bowmans-Woods Yeah, that's why I recommend you write to the company weeks or months before the boat show...
Gonna buy one?
It’s high on the list of production cats. We like some boutique builders a little more but may be hard to find one on the used market.
It is certainly a nice catamaran. I wonder about service going forward. The South African Government has set the month of March as the time when white owned farms and businesses will be appropriated. I love the front seating areas available on many models of the Leopards.
I am sure South Africa is not going to force out their Catamaran companies. That would be shooting themselves in the foot. If they did Leopard could just move their production facilities to another country. Maybe Argentina where Antares is built. These big builders are not going to go out of business.
So you new going in that you would not have time to film all of the boats . So why don't you just pick out the fore or so that you have time to do a good job, instead of doing a half knocked job on 5or 6 ?
This year was still about narrowing down what brands and sizes of boats we would seriously consider as our full-time live-aboard Cat of the future. Since we were planning to walk through them all, we decided to film them all. Some boats the representatives saw us, knew who we were, and offered us detailed guided tours, so we always took advantage of that. Those episodes had plenty of detail.
Next year we will narrow down the number of boats to just the boats that we really like and on each of those, we will try (to the best of our ability) to find a knowledgeable sales person that wants to be on camera to give us a detailed tour. Not everyone wants to be filmed and put on RUclips so we can't put a gun to their head. So if we really like a boat but they refuse to give us an on-camera guided tour. We will learn more and try to do a more detailed tour of the smaller number of boats. Fingers crossed we get tours on each. :-)
All the things you want in a cat are great at a boat show in a marina , but how well do these boats interiors and hulls work when you are trying to beat to windward in 35 to 45 knots.......? You look at flush hatches like they are modern and cool but how do they deal with green water flowing over them? A princess seat as you call them is just a brace for the stainless rail.. big windows in the front of the saloon are great in a marina, but can they withstand green water at twenty knots or will they implode? These boats are charter boats and nothing more. Be warned as you jump into your life raft as your life savings gets washed onto a lee shore you can recall how cool it looked at the boat show....................
Exactly...
I hear what you are saying. Big windows could be a weak spot. So far I haven't heard anyone saying that those windows blew in during any storm. More research would have to be done before we plunk down the cash. You are right that at this stage we are just narrowing boats down that we would be interested in and we are mostly looking at them as "how comfortable would they be at anchor" because we plan to sail slowly around the world. Avoiding going out in storms. Figure 80-90% of our time would be at anchor and the other 10-20% of the time we would only leave a safe harbour when the weather is not calling for massive storms. Before we buy we will get much more detailed on the boats on our top 5 list and actually take them out for test sails and maybe even charter our favourite boat for a week or more to make sure we think we could live full time on it.
Why would an exhibitor borrow a customer boat for a show and not ask for the closets to be cleared out? Is it not reasonable for prospective buyers to want to see the storage space? just the same as, for example, viewing a house for sale? What was in there anyway: drugs, sex toys, dead bodies?
I hear you. I am often surprised about that. You would think they could rent them a storage container on the nearby docks and just move all their stuff inside that. If I was an owner, I wouldn't want all my drawers of personal items being opened and closed and inspected by every random person at the show. Often the size and build quality of closets is a feature people want to see. It's tough when you are told to not open any cabinets. The builders want to save money by not shipping a brand new boat to the shows so they pay a local owner to just park it there for the weekend. It's all about $$$
double sink double sink double sink double sink......NOOOOOOOOO
Not sure why her desire for a double sink upsets you to the point of writing in? Everybody wants what they want.
Cruising Off Duty ...I agree...double sink and washer dryer....why would you not!
Spend some time at anchor in caribbean sunshine at low wind contitions an you will rethink generous windows whith tiny opening areas...unless you are planning to run AC and generator 24/7.
Well you dont need a ton of openings in the front windows when you have huge doors at the front and back you can open to get airflow. The big overhangs at the front and back will provide lots of shade for the mid day sun, so big windows just means lot of 360 views, even while you sit at the indoor table to eat (if you so choose). Could the late day sun come in? Yes, but by then keeping the doors open at the front and back should allow plenty of breeze to keep things cool. I recall you complaining about a bunch of Cats in the series. Im guessing you are not a Cat fan?
Agreed. If you are in the middle of a Mangrove and "No See Ums" are swarming around. The boat will need to be sealed up and the AC will be a godsend to not sleep in a pool of your own sweat, even if that means running the generator. The new Lithium-Ion batteries can run an AC unit if you have a big enough bank, but I doubt you would be able to run it all night while you sleep. So a generator will do that job.
Sorry to say I have been a bit disappointed on the last couple of reviews. I saw sweeping by a couple of signs thatseemed to have something to do with upgrades. Also of interest to a man (sorry Janice) would be accessibility for maintenance of the various machinery and other technical info; basically more detail and less comestics, I guess is what I am saying. In my very humble opinion I liked your walk throughs somewhat better. Again apologies to Janice, sorry young lady. Overall the vendors should pay way more attention to you. Seems obvious to me.
Floyd. We explained at the beginning why it was just a walk about. Way too many boats to film in just 2 days to spend hours on each boat. Be a bit more understanding and be happy that we filmed as many boats as we did for all of you. Better than nothing. And it is free for you. Less complaining would be appreciated.
@@Bowmans-Woods I am sorry I tried not to sound complaining, just suggestions, I guess I failed. Please convey to Janice my most sincere apologies. There was nothing wrong with her walk-thru just a different take than what I would be interested in.
I get that Floyd. More detail on all the specs is better. We would have loved to have guided tours of each boat, although I am not sure we would have had enough time to film all of the boats if that happened. That is why next year we plan to film only the new boats we have never filmed before and we are going to strongly request guided tours at each since we should have more time for each boat we film. We did ask for people to show us around the boats when we were at the early boats like Lagoons and we were told we needed to make an appointment with a sales person to get that level of service and we didn't have time to be making appointments for each boat we wanted to film. We were trying to film every Cat at the show that could qualify as a live aboard boat. That is a lot of boats! We didn't even get to them all in the time that we had. Bali actually told us we were not allowed to film their boats. Can you believe that? Turning down free exposure? So when we got the run around by some of the builders we decided that we would just get on boats with our cameras, say we are filming for our RUclips channel (Im wearing the Cruising Off Duty T-shirt and had business cards to give them) and if they seemed disinterested we just did a walk around like this and moved on to the next boat. The boutique builders, like Xquisite, Maverick, Majestic, Antares, Balance etc all jumped at the chance to give us a guided tour and the level of detail provided in those episodes was much higher. Im sure the time they spent with us was well worth it. We have been told by Xquisite that at least 6 boats have been sold to people who said they only knew about their boat, and got interested because of the guided tour episode we did last year. That episode has over 130,000 views and is the biggest episode on youtube about that Cat. But we aren't going to jump up and down and demand service if sales people seem to not care about us showcasing their boats. It's their loss. We were pressed for time anyway.
@@Bowmans-Woods You deserve a commission from them, 6 boats that's over $7.5 million just from your video! I would feel the same as you on your reception from some. Be safe!
Thanks Floyd. You too!
Wrong lens, hard to watch.
Its a fixed lens on her Vlog camera. It does the best in low light situations (like bathrooms indoors), has a great Mic, doesn't pick up wind noise and has a pretty darn good autofocus. So you get what you paid for, oh that right, you didn't pay anything. haha. It's not a commercial advertising shoot but 2 people quickly walking through a bunch of boats in a short amount of time. Can't please everyone.
Cruising Off Duty its true when people say it’s impossible to keep everyone happy, the videos are fine. Great info
Thanks VXNova. I appreciate that.
Like you guys but this video was painful to watch do to the camera work. Check out Ruby Rose and pick their brains, they are the best at reviews and pretty good with the camera. There were so many things of importance that were brushed over that I as a viewer wanted better look at.
This is an old video. We have moved to powered gimbals in the newer videos. Always a good idea to look at how old a video is. Most RUclips channels, their early videos are much rougher than the stuff they create later. Learning process.
I don’t like the forward door to the bow. Not good. At all. When on long ocean passage. Very unsafe
Why unsafe? People who live on these boats tend to like that area a lot.
Cruising Off Duty because they don’t cruise on 20 to. 30 Day passages
@@Bowmans-Woods as someone else pointed out, those doors could be shattered by a big wave, or even a small one if you buried your bows while over-pressed. Then you have the amas filling up fast and probably electrical failure, so only your epirbs and life rafts between you and Davy Jones locker.
Something to consider if that is an issue or not. More study on our part would be done before we plunk down some big cash to get one of these. Thanks for your input.
The door is very thick and securely attached. And in the storm, a catamaran never sails in front of the sea.
These cats hold there retail value you .
Yes. Looking at Yachtworld they really seem to. The 1-2 year old Leopards are not a lot cheaper than buying a new one.
Sorry, Leopard 45 to a Leopard 50 from their leopard 45.
Ya. I've done that. You think Leopard but accidentally say Lagoon.
Heavy boat
It is not an Outremer (since I know that is your boat of choice). Its built for a cruising couple not someone after performance.
Hi guys! Thanks for your dedication to reviews: I'm kind of in the same "when i retire boat." However, you refer to this boat as a 'blue water boat' and I'm not sure I'd be comfortable sailing this boat around the world. A 'blue water' boat is a boat that is capable of handling situations that may suddenly appear that you can't plan for or sail away from. For example, if you go to the Caribbean in January you know you golden - the provpreverbial 'sailing in a bathtub' - nice trades, no storms or wicked sea-state. Everything in boat design is a compromise as you guys well know - fast cats have narrow hulls; but that also gives you speed to sail away from danger.
IMHO, this cat is a 'Caribbean Cat' - it's really designed for that environment rather than being a true blue water boat. This is a GREAT boat for the BVI's in non hurricane season. Sail it around the cape? No way. Ever wonder why monohulls have such small port lights? It's because those are a point of failure - the bigger the portal, the more likely it will fail when a big waves hits.the larger the area, the more force per square inch to cause a failure. If a monohull port light breaks, the boat fills with water and sinks; which counts as a very bad day. The cat won't sink, it just becomes un-sailable. On this boat with those huge "windows" it simply can't withstand those pressures. And, the basic design is hugely scary if you find yourself in bad weather. It's a double whammy: You've got that forward lounge, which, if filled with water, will add 2 TONS of weight to your bow increasing the likelihood of your boat pitching in bad sea-state. And that nice cover of the forward pit? It will direct - and amplify - that huge wave ability to blow out those huge windows. Yeah, it won't sink, but it will be a total write-off; which would only matter if you're still alive...
Also note that this boat has no logeroon (the structural pointy-thingy for running additional sails). This suggests, again, a boat for the Carib where you don't have to spend a great deal of time reaching in light wind. And, again, that forward seating area lowers the bridge deck increasing bashing in bad sea-state (which never happens in carib charter market).
God bless!
BTW, I'm a EMT/Firefighter, so don't diss my opinion just because people love me more than cops!
Hey Mr S.. I hear what you are saying. Big windows could be weak spot if you are sailing into a massive storm with near hurricane level winds and 30' seas. Our plan is to take our time and not do any passages unless the weather forecast (modern technology is our friend) says there is nothing even remotely like that coming up in the foreseeable future. A boat like this can easily cross oceans in reasonable conditions. It can handle any random Squall that may pop up. Check RUclips. There are tons of people that have crossed oceans and filmed the whole thing for proof on Lagoons, Leopards and FPs. I think there is a bit of snobbery when it comes to Mono hull people that try to imply that the only real ocean boats are Monos. Believe me I have a Mono now and I wouldn't want to be out in gale in that either. The whole boat would be going up and down over the waves while also flying from side to side. Everything inside the boat is flying around like you are inside a tumble dryer. No thanks. Plus you punch a hole in your hull in the mono and your led keel is going to drag you to the bottom super quick, so you better have your ditch bag and life raft at the ready because that boat will be gone in a couple of minutes. Cats are built to float at the surface, no matter what happens to the hull. Even in the highly unlikely event that you flip a big 45' heavy Live-aboard cat upside down. It still floats. You can live in an upside down Cat if you had to to survive. Better than being in a hurricane in what is in essence a blow up tent that a life raft is. High winds like you are referring to will probably rip that roof right off your life raft. Then you will die of sun exposure when the storm is done with you. I'd prefer to live on an upside down cat out of the sun as I wait to be spotted. :-). I'll take a big "Not a Real Blue Water" cat over a Mono any day. After crossing the Atlantic in a Cat I have to say I have never had such a comfortable sail. A 50' Mono would not have been nearly as much fun or as comfortable.