Most Reliable Multihull Boat

[romanos2b]

Originally Posted by Jeannius

Since no one else has yet mentioned them, I will... Privilege. You don't hear of structural problems. Level of quality up from the rest of the standard production boats. But you do of course have to pay a bit more for the privilege.

You're right, Privilege Boats are quite good quality, not too fast but very strong. Some old outremer are quite fast and reliable too.

[gspeak]

Originally Posted by romanos2b

Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems, the interior is very bad quality, plus, they are not good at sea (like most catamarans). I worked for charter companies, they're not looking for good boat, they are looking to make profit. I repaired differents boats, Lagoon, Catana, Foutaine Pajot, Dean are brand that you definitely should avoid. Catanas and fountaine Pajots from early 90' are reliable. Old prout cats are reliable also.
I owned prout, it was a reliable boat but still, you can't sail closer than 55° of the wind. Now I'm in a monohull, best choice to go anywhere without motoring

Wow, some huge generalisations being made here. I personally tend to ignore posts that say things like "Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems, the interior is very bad quality, plus, they are not good at sea (like most catamarans)."

Especially as we own a 9 year old ex-charter Lagoon 380 that has NO structural problems & in fact is in very good condition considering its age.

Would be good to hear details of the "structural problems" that the L380 suffers from. I would be happy to send the latest surveyors report on our boat.

Dave
Seabreeze L380 #241

[neilpride]

Is a matter of maintenance and care...

[Boatguy30]

You need yourself a Toyota or Honda if you want "years and years" of no problems or repairs.

They probably wouldn't hold up very well floating around in salt water either.

[Factor]

And don't get overly bound up in the cat brand per se, but rather the brand and quality of the fittings, e.g. cheap pumps versus good quality pumps, crap refrig systems versus well thought out systems, electrical systems built using highest quality components and systems built using crap components and similar.

[romanos2b]

Originally Posted by gspeak

Wow, some huge generalisations being made here. I personally tend to ignore posts that say things like "Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems, the interior is very bad quality, plus, they are not good at sea (like most catamarans)."

Especially as we own a 9 year old ex-charter Lagoon 380 that has NO structural problems & in fact is in very good condition considering its age.

Would be good to hear details of the "structural problems" that the L380 suffers from. I would be happy to send the latest surveyors report on our boat.

Dave
Seabreeze L380 #241

I mostly worked on lagoon 44 that have done 1 ocean crossing, post 2005. Structural problems are deck and hull joint that just blow off, the official lagoon technician maintenance in this case is : stuffing sikaflex inbetween then releasing power in the stays, bad quality stainless steel pillar that shears off, hinge that fell off when interior is foam + 1 layer of plywood....etc
The Lagoon 38 is one of the most reliable, but for me it's still a caravan that has poor perfomances at sea, which is only good for coastal cruising or island hoping.
Btw, if I had spent all my money in a boat which is a big sh@!!t, I will say it's the perfect boat not to lose face.

[Roy M]

If there are any Searunner fans out there with access to your old construction manuals, can you send a copy of the Jo Hudson cartoon of a Searunner skipper coming ashore to greet some dumbfounded native locals, while carrying a bent spar, saying: "You weld'um aluminum?"

Things break when you're having fun.

[2Wind]

Before you buy anything significant like a, boat, car, house etc. there is always an initial debate about what is the best value, new versus second hand, style versus function, want versus need, optimal versus practical, as well as worry about hidden risks. Invariably, once committed you enjoy your purchase and are happy when 90% is great and 10% not so great. Finnaly you become an advocate, because you are content and look beyond some imperfections, like we do with people. This is the difference between being a shopper and an owner. To say that owners deceive themselves about the merrits of their purchase "to save face" having foolishly committed large sums of money on the wrong option is cynical in the extreme.
Know your budget, know you application, consider your personal tastes, and buy the best example of whichever boat fits. At the end of the day, there will be issues and there will be no perfection, but contentment awaits.
PS. My 2004 Lagoon 440 has no "structural issues", its gellcoat remains in excellent condition, the internal woodwork is like new. For me it was the best of the compromises on offer at the time considering budget, availability and utility. No regrets other than I get to spend far too little time on her!

[bryguy67]

Originally Posted by Factor

And don't get overly bound up in the cat brand per se, but rather the brand and quality of the fittings, e.g. cheap pumps versus good quality pumps, crap refrig systems versus well thought out systems, electrical systems built using highest quality components and systems built using crap components and similar.

I have to agree. Fiberglass is fiberglass, so the brand isn't what causes it to be reliable or not. It's the quality of every little part. Just because they built 600 Lagoon 440's doesn't make it reliable or really any easier to fix. Parts may be in stock more often for a Lagoon because more people need them; that would be an advantage. However I'd rather spend more money on a better part to begin with and not need to replace it 3 times. It's like buying a Chrysler because the parts are cheap and easy to come by VS. buying an expensive well built car in which the car maker used the best parts available. 200,000 miles later you've only replaced tires on the good quality car while the Chrysler has nickled and dimed you to death while it spends more time in the shop than on the road and left you stranded several times. While cruising if it takes me 3 weeks to get special part and I have to do that once or twice a year, I'd rather do that than get an in stock part nice and easy 6-7 times a year.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by gspeak

Wow, some huge generalisations being made here. I personally tend to ignore posts that say things like "Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems, the interior is very bad quality, plus, they are not good at sea (like most catamarans)."

Especially as we own a 9 year old ex-charter Lagoon 380 that has NO structural problems & in fact is in very good condition considering its age.

Would be good to hear details of the "structural problems" that the L380 suffers from. I would be happy to send the latest surveyors report on our boat.

Dave
Seabreeze L380 #241

Guess you trust surveyors....Or just want to hold your value...

[djtopper]

Originally Posted by bryguy67

I have to agree. Fiberglass is fiberglass, so the brand isn't what causes it to be reliable or not. It's the quality of every little part. Just because they built 600 Lagoon 440's doesn't make it reliable or really any easier to fix. Parts may be in stock more often for a Lagoon because more people need them; that would be an advantage. However I'd rather spend more money on a better part to begin with and not need to replace it 3 times. It's like buying a Chrysler because the parts are cheap and easy to come by VS. buying an expensive well built car in which the car maker used the best parts available. 200,000 miles later you've only replaced tires on the good quality car while the Chrysler has nickled and dimed you to death while it spends more time in the shop than on the road and left you stranded several times. While cruising if it takes me 3 weeks to get special part and I have to do that once or twice a year, I'd rather do that than get an in stock part nice and easy 6-7 times a year.

But I think the OP was talking about a used boat. In that case the care the previous owner took is much more important than the brand. The boat / car analogy breaks down fast in salt water.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by djtopper

But I think the OP was talking about a used boat. In that case the care the previous owner took is much more important than the brand. The boat / car analogy breaks down fast in salt water.

Mythology... GRP... no worries... stainless etc=get your knickers in a twist... Come on guys... Reality vs GoogleWiki... Reality wins

[gspeak]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Guess you trust surveyors....Or just want to hold your value...

Hahaha. Good point. No I don't trust surveyors, I was just trying to reinforce my opinion that an outrageous generalisation that "Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems" is a load of bs. Like saying all Boeing aircraft have structural problems or all Mercedes Benz have structural problems ..... if they have had some sort of failure in the past.

Although the surveyor was quite thorough, my confidence in the condition of our boat stems from me upgrading & maintaining the boat myself, with the aid of a ship wright friend, & having been over just about everything in & out of the water since we bought her.

Anyway going sailing ... more fun & see if I can find one of them structural problems that all Lagoons suffer from!

[boatman61]

LOL... obviously not a Janis Joplin fan... seriously not knocking Lagoons anymore than any other boat...

Originally Posted by gspeak

Hahaha. Good point. No I don't trust surveyors, I was just trying to reinforce my opinion that an outrageous generalisation that "Lagoon are quite bad, they all have structural problems" is a load of bs. Like saying all Boeing aircraft have structural problems or all Mercedes Benz have structural problems ..... if they have had some sort of failure in the past.

Although the surveyor was quite thorough, my confidence in the condition of our boat stems from me upgrading & maintaining the boat myself, with the aid of a ship wright friend, & having been over just about everything in & out of the water since we bought her.

Anyway going sailing ... more fun & see if I can find one of them structural problems that all Lagoons suffer from!

[Sand crab]

If you check out my older thread then you will see the production numbers for the different models for Lagoon and FP and many others. Interesting that Leopard now claims to have the largest cat sales in the US or something like that.
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ers-69895.html