Advice on Buying a Cat in the 40-45' Range ?

[webejammin]

Originally Posted by SuenosAzules

This is a very loaded question that takes lots of research and reading. My best advice is to continue to read websites and blogs written by actual cruisers (like me) so I am going to offer my online article. It is at:

Article on Living Aboard

I hope this helps with your decision.

We have an 01 Gemini 105Mc #753 and love it. What boat # is yours? I like your artical and hope to replace our inflatiable with a hard dingy in the next few years. We live in the Pacific North west so a good disel hydronic furnice is our next big expence.

I met a couple who bought a Lepard 44 that was retired from rental. The couple is from Fla and after getting the saildrives replaced and rigging replaced in Fla they started there cruse west thru the Panama and to Hawaaii and then turned north to head to Seattle. They got hit by a rogue wave that bashed thru the foward windows that had too much sun damage with 1100 gal of water in the boat, when they went to deploy there rescue pod it had fallen off because of corroded hinges on the under side of the bridge deck. The guy who owned the boat got hit by the water coming in thru the front windows got knocked down and broke his leg a couple hundred miles off the Columbia river bar and had to be rescued because his wife couldn't handle the rest of the trip solo sailing because the water knocked out the electical systems. The couple got rescued ok and finally pumped out the water and got the batteries working and got the boat to the Columbia river and to Portland with help. I saw the cat at Portland Or when we were getting our mast reput on and it had no front windows and they had taken off the rigging and mast for interior winter storage. This last summer they motored without there mast and rigging ( too tall for 65 ft bridge clearence ) up stream on the Columbia 200 miles and visited our marina for several months while the owner under went surgery on fixing his broken leg. They told me they were headed up to Seattle and the Salish Sea this fall and plan on sailing the inside waters around the San Juan Islands next year.

My recomdations on used boats is to replace all hinges that are corroded and windows that have any sun damage it reduces the strength, not counting the replacing rigging and saildrives which is obvious.

[SuenosAzules]

Hi Webejammin,

I sailed on Gemini hull number 709. I owned the boat for years but sold it to another owner who lived in California. I definitely sold it in much better shape than I bought her in. She was literally a turn key boat with everything you needed for long range cruising.

I recently did a yacht delivery with a group of kids (well in their 20's, kids to me) that wanted to sail way off shore to get to Panama and I told them of unexpected squalls and rouge waves in which they just scoffed at me, as if I were making up stories. We got caught in a some pretty bad weather when one of the kids turned the boat back into blue water while I slept. The waves were breaking over the cabin top of a catamaran and flooded the main salon. I was so pissed that when I got to shore I terminated the voyage. It was my first time that I ever had to do that. Never had anyone blow off what the captain told them to do. I have seen enough of unexpected weather to play things cautiously when I see weather building, and certainly do respect the seas. I never make ANY assumptions about my safety. So I can relate on what that couple had gone through.

Corrosion is a boat's worst enemy and much of it goes unnoticed by boat owners, but things tend to fail when you need them most. Most of the damage I see in marine surveys are from a result of effects caused by galvanic corrosion. Simply changing the zincs on a regular basis and checking for stray current can avoid much of this. But also hairline cracks in rigging and rust again goes very unnoticed. So that was a good point to make.

[maytrix]

You should definitely go to the Annapolis show next year. I think its really the place to see the majority of the boats available. Miami has gone downhill from what we've heard from a friend who's been going yearly for a while. It also has a lot more used boats from what he said, so it could be good to check out just for that.

We just got back from Annapolis yesterday and I see why there are so many different makes. Everyone has a preference. We looked at a number of boats that we've heard so many good things about and just didn't like them. So I think while getting advice is good, you really just need to see for yourself and see what you like and what is important to you.

If you do a show like Annapolis and stay to the end, you can get out and sail with some of the companies. We were at the Leopard booth and had we stayed through Tuesday would have gone out for a sail.

[hawaiisun2]

webejammin, Leopard never made a 44 until 2010, so highly unlikely one came out of charter and then got slammed. We are on a 2004 leopard 47, which was a "rental" and have fully upgraded electronics, interior, refrigeration, nuteak decking, etc. for about $325k. The 45, which later added 2' to the sugar scoops to become a 47, is extremely solid and well built and will outsail the newer 46 ( I had hull #2 in 2006) and the lagoon-like 44.

[Go Wildcats]

To be clear, hawaiisun2, the retrofit was $325k?