Average Cruising Speed - Production Cats

[Lagoon4us]

I know what your saying Dave the area we are currently sailing in (the Adriatic) in 25 to 30knots its seas of no more than a metre, they are short and choppy but no ground swell that we get in Australia.

Wave action at 30 knots would equate to 10 to 15 knots in Australia, it's a sailors paradise for sure...

The only time we surf here is on wakes from large vessels....

Cheers.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by POH

I'm looking at a Lagoon 420 and have been reading all the threads bashing its performance.

So ... the racer in me is getting scarred!

What are the actual cruising averages for those of you who have cruised extensively on a ~40ft production cat?

Hoping that actual cruisers with boats contribute and this isn't a speculative "I've heard that ..." thread. Please indicate if you're boat is loaded with gear.

Thanks in advance.

I think the 420's will represent a good buying value in the future for people who will sacrifice a fraction of speed and performance (at the expense of the original purchasers), particularly for those who want to carry more junk (I mean "gear"). I suspect these will be mostly Caribbean cruisers, who really aren't going anywhere anyway.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by gspeak

Hmmmm ... You are a much braver man than me. I will put the first reef in whenever the wind gets to 20 knots on my 380.

I just spent 4 days sheltered behind Fitzroy Island in North Queensland waiting for 25 to 30 knot strong wind warning to abate. No way was I venturing out in that .. Definitely not with full sail up.

Dave
L380

Would have been OK heading to the reef or North. Definitely not south however.

Then again 4 days marooned at Fitzroy island would have been tough.

[Dave852]

We sailed from Galapagos to Marquesas twice in the last five years. About 2975 miles. First trip was 16 days 2 hours. Best day 214 days worst day 143 miles. Second trip was 15 days 12 hours. Best day 218 miles, worst day 154 miles. Any days that we had between 17 to 20 knots true wind the average would be around 200. And no matter how much wind we had never did more than 218 because we liked to sleep at night. The low days were winds below 16 knots true from behind. All in all pretty consistent for planning purposes. Would have done a little better on the second trip but only had one rudder for the last three days.

[POH]

Originally Posted by Dave852

We sailed from Galapagos to Marquesas twice in the last five years. About 2975 miles. First trip was 16 days 2 hours. Best day 214 days worst day 143 miles. Second trip was 15 days 12 hours. Best day 218 miles, worst day 154 miles. Any days that we had between 17 to 20 knots true wind the average would be around 200. And no matter how much wind we had never did more than 218 because we liked to sleep at night. The low days were winds below 16 knots true from behind. All in all pretty consistent for planning purposes. Would have done a little better on the second trip but only had one rudder for the last three days.

Was the first time in the Manta? A 50ft cat would be nice ... but a bit north of my budget!

[Dave852]

No, both times in the St Francis but the Manta did make the trip with the couple I sold her to. She is now in Fiji. Their passage time was kind of skewed as they traveled 3700 miles in an aborted attempt to sail to the Gambier's before winding up in the Marqueses.

[1paulg]

Hardly a standard production boat -but a Shaun Arber Se 14m(Australian)...and a coastal race in New Zealand(not a long offshore passage)...we recently did 120 miles including the last 20 beating into fading wind in 10hrs 20mins
here is a link to the video..... Crew.org.nz • View topic - P'zzaz Coastal Cassic Video 2012
Was interesting seeing what the boat could do in hard reaching conditions....

[44'cruisingcat]

We averaged pretty close to 8 knots on our return from Vanuatu to Australia, in some mixed conditions - some light tailwinds as well as some nice reaching conditions. Heading into Chesterfield reef we did the last 120 miles in around 10 hours when the wind picked up.

[SVNeko]

Originally Posted by POH

I'm looking at a Lagoon 420 and have been reading all the threads bashing its performance.

So ... the racer in me is getting scarred!

What are the actual cruising averages for those of you who have cruised extensively on a ~40ft production cat?

You're talking about two different things - average cruising speeds and satisfying the racer fix. You'll do just fine and better than most monos, and much more comfortably to boot, in cruising times. We have a fast boat and passage plan at 7, because what's the rush and we like to beat it anyway. Buuuuuuut, put a mono a few miles ahead of us and watch the tweaking start. However, the latter is a tiny fraction of our sailing time, and really shouldn't be a priority.

[ArtM]

Originally Posted by POH

I'm looking at a Lagoon 420 and have been reading all the threads bashing its performance.

So ... the racer in me is getting scarred!

What are the actual cruising averages for those of you who have cruised extensively on a ~40ft production cat?

Hoping that actual cruisers with boats contribute and this isn't a speculative "I've heard that ..." thread. Please indicate if you're boat is loaded with gear.

Thanks in advance.

I don't remember exactly which models, but I remember reading somewhere that there are vast differences between certain Lagoon 42' models that can affect performance.

Also, keep in mind that some cruisers intentionally keep their speeds down in order to reduce stress and wear on sails and running gear, and probably on crew.

If your question is about crossing days, I would suggest posing that question as "what is your average (or target) crossing day", rather than talking about the actual speed capability of the vessel which doesn't really reveal what you want to know.