For Sale: Kennex 380 for sale lying in New Zealand

[zephyrgale]

Kennex 380 38' catamaran "Theophilus" for sale in Whangarei New Zealand. 1989. Sailed years ago from the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland USA to Sydney Australia via Caribbean, Panama, and the South Pacific. $225,000 $NZ or best offer.

Theophilus Description

Theophilus is a 1989 Kennex 380 catamaran, designed by Aquitaine Multicoques and built by Group Graal in France for Pro Kennex. It is 38 feet (11.6 meters) long, with a beam of 20 feet (6.1 meters) and draft of 4½ feet (1.4 meters). Its displacement is stated as 5,500 kg (12,130 lbs) but this is presumably empty. I bought the boat in 1998 with the specific intention of sailing it to Australia.



Theophilus has 3 double staterooms, one aft in each hull, and a third midships in the starboard hull. Port midships there are three tall pantry cabinets and two smaller cabinets. Further forward there is a washroom with linen and toiletry cabinets, and forward of that a toilet/shower room with a SeaLand Vacu-flush vacuum toilet. The forward wall there and at the forward end of the starboard forward berth are collision bulkheads.


There are two forepeak berths, one in each hull, accessible from on deck through a large deck hatch and interior ladder. One is presently used for storage and the other as a large sail locker. The latter space also contains a holding tank and vacuum pump.


The mast is fractional rigged and uses a full batten cross-cut 10-ounce main with large roach, a 130 percent genoa and a 90% working jib. It also carries a storm jib and an asymmetrical spinnaker. A stackpack with lazy jacks covers the mainsail when down (refurbished 2024). Theophilus has a removable inner forestay for the hank-on storm jib and running backstays of Dyneema tensioned by a 4-part tackle. Most lines are new. The boat has a heavy horizontal chainplate on each bow for ground and sea anchor bridles. A 12-foot parachute, 50’ bridle, and 400 feet of nylon rode are dedicated as a storm sea anchor.


There is a large bimini fabricated of heavy-duty light-gray truck trailer-curtain material covering the cockpit with rain gutters and a removable dodger. The dodger, plus side curtains and a rear curtain can be zipped onto the bimini. The cockpit floor is elevated above that of the interior and enables easy viewing over the cabin top from the sheltered helm.



Steering is pull-pull cable to two balanced spade rudders and is 1 ½ turns lock to lock. Two lockers are under the cockpit floor, one containing a 4-man valise-packed offshore liferaft and jerry cans, the other the boat’s diesel fuel tanks and additional jerry cans. The former locker is also accessible via a hatch on the underside of the bridgedeck.



Theophilus has two Volvo model 2002 18 hp diesel engines driving Volvo S120 sail-drive legs with folding props and carries 204 liters of fuel. The engines are simple, mechanicaly injected, and use no electronics for control. The cockpit has an instrument panel and a combined throttle/shifter for each engine. Total engine hours are unknown; both engines start and run well.


Theophilus has two anchors, a 20kg French Brake and an 18kg Manson, the former (excellent) anchor on all 8mm DIN-766 chain. A Quick electric bi-directional deck-mounted windlass with capstan handles the chain rode and is controllable from the anchor locker and from the cockpit.


The hulls sides are cored with rigid polyurethane foam, advertised as “waterproof”, with carbon fiber reinforcement in the layup taking chainplate loads, a Kennex special feature. The deck is cored with synthetic honeycomb. The hull bottoms are solid fiberglass. -- A core removed for a sounder head just forward of the keel was solid fiberglass 26-31 mm thick. The hulls have fixed keels.


In 2023 Theophilus received a 600 amp-hour lithium battery bank with external battery manager, a 300-watt solar panel, together with new shore and engine charging electronics. New electric management equipment installed then included a battery monitor, a shore charger, a 30A solar regulator, a DC-DC converter (to charge engine batteries) and a Globallink remote access monitor, all by Victron. The house alternator is 125 amp with isolated ground and is regulated by a Balmar external regulator. A wind generator is on an aft pole, but is no longer connected after the changeover to lithium. Each engine has a lead-acid start battery. Engine blocks and drive legs are isolated from boat ground except during starting to avoid leg corrosion as required by Volvo. Both legs are in good condition. Alternators are also isolated ground.


Theophilus is wired for 120-volt US outlets in the berths, galley, main salon, and washroom, which can be supplied either by 600-watt inverter or shore power, with a 30-amp shore power input in the cockpit and 120v breakers. Theophilus also carries a 220-volt 800-watt inverter to Australian specification. Parts are on-hand to install a 220-volt shore power input, breaker and outlets.


The boat carries a Raymarine e7d chartplotter/fishfinder along with knotmeter and depth instruments. It has an AIS transceiver, a Raytheon RL70 radar, a Uniden VHF transceiver, a Dual AM/FM stereo, a Uniden marine-qualified 12v 18” TV with a wide variety of supplemental inputs including HDMI and VGA, and a Yaesu FT-857 Amateur radio transceiver. It uses a Raymarine X5 wheelpilot autopilot with a new drive unit. A Raymarine Seatalk/Seatalkng network links the instruments together. A Siren Marine security system monitors the boat remotely, including position and a geofence, entry sensors, battery sensors, a temperature sensor, and bilge sensors. It is also capable of remotely controlling a switch if desired.


Three propane tanks (2 to US standard and 1 to NZ/Australian standard) supply propane service from an external vented locker to the galley stove, which has 3 burners and an oven. The propane solenoid is controlled by a switch in easy reach of the galley in series with a breaker on the main breaker panel. The boat presently uses a Waeco 60-liter 12v refrigerator chest and also has an ex-factory evaporator-equipped ice-box. The latter lacks a hermetic compressor and condenser.


Theophilus carries approximately 476 liters of water across three selectable stainless steel water tanks with pressure water available in the galley, washroom sink, toilet/shower, and cockpit shower. A foot pump also supplies water to the galley sink.


Interior lighting is a mix of LED overhead in the main salon, sink, over the stove and nav table, over the head and for reading lights. There are fluorescent overhead lights in the double berth spaces over the cabinets, opposite the pantry, and over the washroom sink. Exterior lighting includes a mast head anchor and tricolor, deck running lights with a steaming light, a foredeck light, and cockpit lighting. Red or amber interior lighting is available in all spaces but the berths.


Theophilus carries a light-weight 2.7 meter aluminium-hulled RIB on rear davits and a 9.9 HP 2-stroke outboard on a stern storage mount. A crane assists placing the outboard on the dinghy transom and recovering it to the yacht transom.



Extensive tools, power tools, books, spares, and other boat supplies and parts come with the boat. The galley includes flatware and cups, eating utensils, cooking and kitchen utensils, and pots and pans.
Theophilus was launched In May 2024 after receiving 3 coats of an ablative antifoul paint (Carboline Sea Barrier 3000) on the bottom together with antifoul suitable for the aluminum drive legs (Vivid). The props were coated with a silicone coating.


The boat has been extensively upgraded over the factory design, not only in terms of its systems (plumbing, electric, instruments etc), but also structurally. In the latter case the forward and aft bulkheads were reinforced at high load areas and three longitudinal strakes were added to the underside of the bridgedeck to strengthen it. The bottom was peeled and relaminated using vinylester resin 10 years ago in Australia. Earlier additional laminations were added to the keel bottoms.


I have sailed Theophilus offshore along the U.S. Atlantic coast between Maryland and Florida twice, to the Bahamas and return, from the Chesapeake Bay via the Caribbean windward islands and the Panama Canal to Sydney Australia, and later across the Tasman from Sydney to New Zealand. Theophilus has been imported into the US and into Australia. It is presently under a Temporary Import Entry in New Zealand.Family health issues now prevent enjoying this boat further. It is presently well placed for visits to the Pacific islands to the North, a popular trek in these parts.



Pictures of Theophilus can be seen at https://mega.nz/folder/HdcDzCpb#qCMzhtxxhLjye2WGYmP8Jg