Can you have Comfort, Value and Performance in a Catamaran?

[My Cherie Amour]

You can purchase my 2014 48 ft Salina Foutaine Pajot. It is the fastest of the big three production cats (Lagoon, FP, & Leopard). It is so fast, I won the ARC race in 2016. It is in perfect condition........virtually not a scratch. Never bare boat chartered........only one owner. It is fully loaded with everything. And this boat can be yours for $450,000 with no broker commission. It will be in Florida to view in August. If interested call me at 804-815-1931 or b2pken@gmail.com

[markiobe]

Knysna 500SE??

[markiobe]

Not sure I agree, dagger boards are required for upwind performance but add little to nothing on other points of sail. Smaller yes, but Seawind 1260 is a quick boat and the Maverick 440 is maybe slightly less, neither have d’boards.

[Factotum]

My wife and I sailed a 40 foot catamaran from England back to the US Gulf Coast in 1990-91. It was comfortable as long as the seas were not angry. In the gales we were caught in, with the waves running 14' and the rogue waves much larger, the cat was very uncomfortable. With the tops of the waves curling over and striking the boat, it would move instantly sideways a few inches, knocking things over that were not tied down, including people. I recall in the Bay of Biscay going below for a few minutes in a gale. There was a 2 liter plastic bottle of pop sitting on the galley table, for what reason I do not know. A wave hit and the bottle launched itself straight up in front of me, did a 180 degree spin, and went straight down to the sole, landing on its cap end. It did not explode, and left an indelible memory. After that full gale, I envied the monohulls that take waves in a slower, more comfortable fashion by heeling over to expend the force of the wave.

Coming across the Atlantic Ocean with the tradewinds, the catamaran was great, only hobby horsing with no side to side heeling. It made taking a local meridian sun sight with my sextant very easy. GPS was not available until about 1992.

Everything is a trade off with sailboats. I now own a monohull.

[whiskybuoy]

If you are going to be a liveaboard cruiser, then the industry estimates you will spend approx 80% of your time on the hook or marina. Thus I would weigh criteria for a boat on liveaboard comfort & facilities 80% & other criteria (including performance) 20%. Do you need a Cat to win races??? All are safe and have sailed all over the world. Many production Cats have done great on the ARC. For your budget, you could get used one set up with huge amounts of solar, lithium, air-con, watermaker etc. All that far outweighs (pun intended) 0.5-1.5 extra knots of speed or 10 degrees more into the wind IMHO.

[Up Helly Aa]

Originally Posted by Astroman

Hard to comment on a custom cat. There will be no reviews, no data, no prior history, etc. I'm not saying it's not a great cat, just not sure what can be said without sailing it, weighing it, etc.

https://youtu.be/qeHSfmwWHcY

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by whiskybuoy

If you are going to be a liveaboard cruiser, then the industry estimates you will spend approx 80% of your time on the hook or marina. Thus I would weigh criteria for a boat on liveaboard comfort & facilities 80% & other criteria (including performance) 20%.

SNIP

Not sure what industry you are talking about but my experience has been more like 95%+ is spent at anchor or in a marina.

[craig.stanfill]

Balance 451 comes close to what you want. Price and performance are in your range. But only 3 cabins, so not quite.

Used Catana 471 could be a close match. Definitely fast and comfortable, affordable within your parameters. But helm stations on the stern can be an issue.

[carraigdog]

I have the same dilemma ! accept my budget is about 30-40 K

[Jennyol]

Hi, I just sold a 2014 Outremer 45 as unfortunately life problems got in the way of sailing. It had 4 cabins, was very comfortable, fast and safe. Hard to beat in my view and within your budget, depending on exchange rate. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again. I would expect one or two to hit the market in Europe in May when they might come back from the Caribbean to Europe.

[roscheetham]

I suggest that you look at Nautitech. We have a 442 and have been very pleased with all aspects. It performs much better than comparable Leopards and lagoons. We just completed a circumnavigation in her with no major issues.

[blubaju]

Originally Posted by Astroman

Can I have value, performance and comfort in one boat? It does not seem like it. Let's say my budget is 750k but I don't want to buy anything older than 2015. The boat must be >48ft. I have 4 kids and I'd like a minimum of 4 cabins. I prioritize comfort and value but I would LOVE a bit of performance.
Requirements:

• 2015 or newer
• 750k or lessr
• 4 cabin minumum
• 48' or bigger
• hybrid helm, (no flybridge. Aft helm not preferred...but
• safe

with these requirements i'm steered towards the production cats. Leopard 48, FP Saba or Lagoon 52S. I also like the older Privilege 5 or Serie 5.

I read (and looked at specs!) that these boats are heavy and not going to move too well.

If you needed comfort and value, what boat would you choose that would give it a leg up on the 'performance' side (or can i have it too?).

Forget EU-cats, look into Australian or Kiwi design, my one is a Schionning, but to small & old for you. Want performance, daggerboards are a must

[sailingharry]

I've pondered and wondered about the "performance" aspect of catamarans, and find myself rather underwhelmed. My only catamaran experience (actually sailing one) is 1000 miles offshore on a large Catana. However, I often sail "against" the typical production models in my ancient Sabre 34. I have yet to have one I couldn't catch, regardless of wind direction, speed, etc. Of course, I know nothing of the skills or focus of the skipper. But I still wonder why they are so slow.


As a point of reference, it is informative to look at the ARC results. ARC boats are typically cruising boats, outfitted for cruising, while it is a "race" it is certainly no Whitbread. Finish times can tell something about the boats, especially if you look at boats who used little or no engine time.


The 2019 results are here:
https://www.worldcruising.com/arc/ar...px?eventid=117



As I looked through the results, there is a Jeanneau 43 near the top of the monohull finishers. No production multihulls under 50' came close, although there were a couple of 40-somethings that were only a day or two slower. Overall, the catamaran class was equal or slightly slower than the monohull class -- but certainly NOT days faster.



I'm sure there are times and conditions where production cats take off, but I'm convinced that their benefits are in areas other than speed (like living accommodations?).



Note, as we shopped for our Saga 43, we spent considerable time thinking about cats and almost bought one, so I'm at least a bit open minded. I also suspect that older production cats are considerably faster than the newer ones -- I especially like the mid-90's FPs.

[ColinCattanach]

In case no-one else has posted this - 'Sailing Yacht Ruby Rose' - 22 great reviews of Cats, prod and otherwise (though they have no kids). Good luck with your search -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Ac...hbk-RCaeXVqkSE

[jcoghill2]

All progress relies on the unreasonable man? That may be true but the reasonable man is the only person with a smile on his face that comes from acceptance of things as they. Which makes more sense? Covering the earth with leather or putting on a pair of shoes?