Buizen 52 - Ultimate Cruiser?

[Sabbatical II]

What is your favourite monohull world cruising sailing yacht that can be comfortably handled by a mum and pop cruising team?

Let's presume that a shortage of cash is not your problem. In Australia many would select the Buizen 52, a locally made hand built yacht. For me, the major stumbling block with a Buizen 52 is that the price starts at approx $2.3mill. It took centre stage at the recent Sydney boatshow. It has powered everything including a button operated (hydraulic) Leisurefurl main. My only hesitation, apart from the money, would be the notion of trying to get the fancy systems fixed in some remote pacific island. Has anyone even heard of these yachts outside Australia?

OK, so what's the ultimate cruiser in the world for a crew of two? I can't see anything much better than the Buizen on the world stage.

[S/V Alchemy]

Haven't heard of it and like hydraulics for gearboxes and steering, not mains.

Just my own preference. I prefer mechanical aids, not electrical or hydraulics, which increase complexity. Where possible, I have options: powered pressure water pump AND footpump; hydraulic steering with autopilot AND tiller steering with windvane; powered and cranked windlass, unpowered winches placed to swing longer winch handles.

The sea WILL eventually destroy the finest electrics. With mechanical gear, the reasonably handy can at least replace pawls and springs and clean things out to the point of returning it to service. Corrode an imperfectly sprayed circuit board or neglect to put a drip loop in a wire, and you are perhaps risking that device or system.

That's fine for a dock queen flush with cash and next to service depots, but offshore or in the Blue Lagoon?

Forget it!

[dan360]

Here's my thoughts - Assuming you have a USD 1-2M$ budget there are lots and lots of nice boats that you can afford. I would suggest you take a look at the following mono-hulls.

Oyster - big brand, lots of customer service, lots of marketing, so perhaps less $$ going to the product than some of the others, but they do sell a lot of them and have solid people behind the product.

Discovery 55 - the couple that made their dream cruising yacht and then ended up making a company to sell them instead of cruising (they have now actually gone cruising on their Cat...). There is a new 57 which is much more expensive. Uber-nerdy blue water features on this one.

Contest - dutch, lovely build quality, very classy, my personal pick of new built fiberglass hulled monos.

You could also throw Najad into the mix, lovely scandanavian yachts, that the maker went under and got bought out of bankrupcy. Lots of deals on those because of that and they are high quality boats, but there is no company behind them any more.

I also looked closely at this boat: NORDIA 55 CRUISER sailing yacht for sale | De Valk Yacht broker - Jachtmakelaar a Nordia with lots of money spent on it at 1/3 of the price of new build. There is a school of thought that Aluminum is the preferred hull for a world traveler, some are afraid of it. A new one is 2.5M EUR, and the build quality is magnificent on them, and puts everything else I looked at to shame.

All of that said - I'd buy a Catamaran - its what I'm doing, so I would say that :-)

[shadow]

I have to agree with Sabbatical, I live in OZ and LOVE the Buizen yachts!! especially the pilothouse features!! Very well made and sail and look just as good!! But, I do have to admit also that I'm always nervous about everything being automatic.. I sail with the assumption that everything will break, period!! If I can minimize the risk by having redundancies or mechanical versions/backups, even better. And for the price, I do love the Oysters as well as many other fine yachts from the Dutch. For which those are the same size, and made out of aluminium, which I love!!

For $2 million budget, the options of yachts even slightly used are numerous, especially in today's economy. Buizen will always be top on my list, but I have seen better yachts or at least more bang for the buck yachts for the same kind of cash with the same kind of craftsmanship..

[Jim Cate]

FWIW,

A few years ago I was loosely associated with the commissioning of a new Buizen 48, and I was not favorably impressed. There were endless defects from the builders, a punch list with over 200 items needing correction and lukewarm response from Buizen. Further, the sailing performance in moderately heavy weather was not encouraging for the folks who were delivering her (this is hearsay, for I was not along on that trip).

I do think that they are an attractive boat for a motorsailor/pilothouse type, and the overall cosmetic work is appealing. However, as a serious cruising platform I would look elsewhere.

Note that this is in reference to the 48... I have not seen the 52.

FWIW, if one has that sort of budget, the appeal of a one-off, designed to your own set of prejudices is strong for me. That route has pitfalls galore, of course, but it is the way to get just what you want with no reference to marketing or racing rules or style fads.

Cheers,

Jim

[JJ77]

Originally Posted by Sabbatical II

OK, so what's the ultimate cruiser in the world for a crew of two? I can't see anything much better than the Buizen on the world stage.

Assuming you plan to kick a polar bear and steal pinguin eggs and everything in between I would go for Atlantic yachts;
Atlantic 51 | Atlantic 51 | Atlantic Yachts

They are built to do everything...well sort off,not cheap.

Btw;you have a nice boat!which version did you order?Do you have a side window in the salon?

Cheers,
JJ

[Coops]

I have to agree with an Australian boating journalist recently who stated that most if not all Aussie built yachts are a step behind the times and quality for a world class vessel. The reason given was that because of the high import duty in the past three/four decades then nobody was importing the others into here and therefore the Aussie builders could get away with offering a bit less in fittings and luxuries. There has never been anything offered over here to the quality of let's say, Pacific Seacraft, in terms of quality in smaller yachts at a time when 30' was a decent size. Now that the dollar has changed, more imports have come onto the market causing the locals to either lift their game or sink.

Coops.

[noelex 77]

If shopping for a boat like this, look worldwide.
The Buzen is a nice boat, but boats like this are often more expensive in Australia than they should be.
As a comparrison the Dicovery 55 is very similar. Does anyone know the price of the Discovery?

[dan360]

I looked at a very nice 2007 Discovery 55 that was asking 875K GBP, still for sale I believe in Lymington "Kalandia". That's circa 1.3M USD. I think a new one is 1.6-1.8M USD. The 57 I think is 2.5M+

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by dan360

I looked at a very nice 2007 Discovery 55 that was asking 875K GBP, still for sale I believe in Lymington "Kalandia". That's circa 1.3M USD. I think a new one is 1.6-1.8M USD. The 57 I think is 2.5M+

Thanks Dan.
They are both very nice cruising boats, but my vote vote would go firmly for the Discovery 55 over the Buzen 52. As always the Devil is in details, but it looks like you would save $600,000 on the purchase price. The Australian gov charges 15% on importation (but at seconhand prices), but you could still be ahead with a European and south pacific cruise thrown in.
Please bear in mind this is a very superficial comparrision, but my advice to anyone considering this class of boat is to compare the overseas options carefully.

[Carlisle Spirit]

It's free advice that I am offering here - and we all know that free advice is worth what you pay for it

Buizens are nice-ish - but i think they are an Aussie phenomenon at a frankly silly price

I have looked at many

Discovery 55 is way better as both a boat and at a better price point

Amel 54 is also great

Contest was mentioned earlier in the thread - if you haven't been aboard one , do yourself a favour

But what about Oyster 56 & Tayana 58's (fully optioned) which also rate a mention for much less than a Buizen, with much greater sailing capability ?

Carlisle Spirit

[noelex 77]

I agree with most of your thoughts Carlisle spirit, but some of the boats you mention are not pilot houses and if you want that style of yacht you are unlikely to happy with a deck saloon.
The second point is the Buzen looks like a motor sailor, but has a modern underwater profile and sails very well. (as does the Discovery 55, which is also a pilot house)
As always the ideal yacht for one, is not ideal for another, but at this price point cast your net far and wide.

[dan360]

Amels are definitely worth a look, although the option choices are pretty much "what color drapes". That's both a plus and a minus of course. They are very specific boats and a very passionate company.

If you're looking seriously at these type of boats, I'd thoroughly recommend a trip to the Dusseldorf boat show - its the biggest in the world and they have 2 big halls full of cool big boats - 62' Oyster, the Amel, Big Moody etc etc. AND you can hang out and drink and eat at German beer halls.

[micah719]

Had to see what all the hullabaloo was about...

Buizen 52 Yacht, Buizen Pilot House Yachts – The Finest Blue Water Cruising Yachts In The World

[Sabbatical II]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

FWIW,

A few years ago I was loosely associated with the commissioning of a new Buizen 48, and I was not favorably impressed. There were endless defects from the builders, a punch list with over 200 items needing correction and lukewarm response from Buizen.

I find that comment interesting because having just launched and am currently commissioning a semi-custom yacht, my list is about 10 items and the builder is as keen as I am to get it all done when he is able to. Maybe I should be pretty happy with that. His difficulty is that his workshop has been so busy that he struggles to get it all done. I'd rather have that frustration than to be building a boat with any of the others (builders or importers) who are struggling to keep the doors open.