Broadblue 346 - UK Cruising

[JonnyDotNet]

We are looking to buy a small cat for UK coastal cruising and maybe taking down the French canals to the Med. There is almost nothing in the sub 38' market available secondhand at the moment so we are considering buying new. Again there are few options and we have gravitated towards a Broadblue 346 as it seems to hit all the right buttons for our particular requirements. With their Dazcats heritage, they have a good reputation for build quality and the design seems a good compromise between comfort and 'performance'.

We are not hugely experienced and would really appreciate insights from anyone who was in a similar situation and has any experience of Broadblue and/or buying new. We have been told that because of demand then depreciation will be very low. On the other hand, the base price for the 346 is £191,940 inc VAT but when we add all the options (which are basic necessities in my view) it rises to a whopping £300,000 which seems like a lot for a 33' cat.

We are going into this (hopefully) with our eyes open and do need an exit strategy if things go sideways. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated

Thanks!

[Tupaia]

Dazcat are excellent builders and the 346 was developed for exactly the purpose you are intending. Can't imagine what the essential extras are at nearly £110,000, you do realise that cats should be kept light whatever there cruising style.


If your objective is to be permanently based in France / Med then it may be worth exporting the boat and paying VAT in the EU rather than the UK.

[JonnyDotNet]

Thanks Tupaia, We will be mostly keeping it in the UK at least for the first year but thanks for the tip as regards VAT. It seems BB like to list a very low basic price but this includes almost nothing. The basic spec doesn't include:

Shower, 2nd head, Sails other than Dacron main and headsail, Dinghy davits, Deck hatches, Bimini, Decking (flooring), Cushions, Anchor windlass, Helm seat, Engines (20k for 2x20hp), Shorepower panel, Inverter, Navigation aids or plotters, Radio, Window blinds.

Add to this a tender, outboard and warm air heating (UK is cold), radio and commissioning which I know are usually extra and you can see how the cost has magnified. We are currently rethinking and will consider secondhand again.

Bear in mind we are starting from scratch and many things that get bundled in with a S/H boat we will need to buy.

Thanks again

[boatman61]

Maybe check out these guys..
https://yachts.apolloduck.co.uk/boat...or-sale/663534

[Ifitsworthdoing]

Yes @boatman61 the Aventura 34 is the only direct competition to the Broadblue 346 and somewhat cheaper because it's being built in Tunisia. However its beam of 5.3 metres is actually slightly too wide for many of the French canal locks (5.1m).

We ourselves are in a similar position to you @JonnyDotNet as we will also struggle to pay for the BB346 we wish to buy, but we reckon it will just about work out (we will need to register and tax her in an EU country however as we intend to berth her in the Med). The upside of the serious upfront investment is the solid build quality (i.e. not needing repairs for the first decade). Have you considered a marine mortgage?

[Tupaia]

https://uk.boats.com/sailing-boats/2...e-346-6997625/

[JonnyDotNet]

RE: Aventura 34 - Nice looking cat but unfortunately too wide for the French Canals as pointed out by "Ifitsworthdoing". I would also be worried about build quality and it is only category B rated. I think it's probably more suited to bay hopping in the Med.

Thanks for the link "Tupaia", we actually went down to Emsworth last week where the current owner of Broadblue UK, Mark Jarvis showed us round a 345 and 346. We found Mark to be very personable, knowledgeable and down to earth. At no time did I feel like we were being given the hard sell. The problem we have is one that most manufacturers create and that is the base price quoted totally misrepresents what the real world price will be for a boat that you can actually use. In this case it is around £90K above the quoted base price of £191.940. That's almost a 50% hike for basic sailing necessities (OK we did add a hot water heating system but will probably need it in the UK!). That of course doesn't include all the other extras such as safety equipment and all the little things that we probably don't even realise we need!

We are still very keen on the 346 but might have to go back to BB and look at what we can shed from our list to make it affordable without spoiling the whole experience.