Prout Snowgoose 35 opinions

[Pugcat]

Hi all, I’ve been lurking for a while and have learnt a great deal from the forum but this is my first post and would like some advice from those very much more experienced than I.

I’m pretty new to sailing and acquired a snowgoose 35 in December with a view to taking the kids off through the canals and med for a couple of years and possibly further if we feel we have gained enough ability/confidence by then.

The boat is a bit of a project but, survey says, she is fundamentally sound and I am happy to put in the work/money if she will be the right boat for us. The thing is, there is lots of information out there saying about how great the “Prout Snowgoose” is etc but it very rarely specifies the model and with the 35 being so old I guess most of the reviews etc were pre-internet.

We have been aboard a couple of Elites and the rear cabins in particular would be great for the kids but we are funding the trip by selling the house so if we were to bail on the 35 and go for an Elite we would have to cut a year or possibly even two off the trip to cover the difference.

So there, at last, is my question - what is your opinion on the Snowgoose 35 against the other snow geese, are they in the same league as the newer ones in terms of seaworthiness, safety etc.

Thanks very much

[cueball]

Hi Pugcat,
Welcome to the forum, I'm new to this forum too, but have plenty of sailing experience under my belt, the most recent being in my Prout and I have to say I love it, she sails flat and with draft of less than a metre she opens up some cruising areas that I could not get near in my monohull.
The older snowgoose with the slimmer hulls will sail faster and point higher than the elites. The elites however have more space and loading them with full cruising kit will carry the increased weight more efficiently. On either if you need to load them keep the weight out of the ends, this will make them much more comfortable underway, but do try to keep them as light as possible, a heavy prout is slow.
Both are excellent long distance passage makers, check out how many have made circumnavigations.
If the kids are young and not to big, I would stick to the plan and put the rest of the money in the cruising kitty.
lots of additional info on the owners forum PROUT OWNERS ASSOCIATION

Good luck and fair winds

[atoll]

good advice from cueball,go with what you have,get some experince then you might find something bigger in the med in the future,prouts are fairly easy to sell .

[Pugcat]

Thank you both for your replies and advice.

Atoll, your point about going in what we have and possibly changing up later makes sense but I think if we did all the work to get the 35 sorted for long term cruising , whilst we would have a very well sorted boat, we would be unlikely to recoup the money spent when we sell so changing boats midway through might not be affordable. That’s why I’m trying to make sure we head off in the right boat for longer term.

Cueball, your point about weight carrying capacity is one of my main concerns with the 35. I have read lots about how the elite is much better in this regard but is the 35 still ok for a family of 4? My wife and I have backpacked quite extensively and are perfectly happy living long term with little more than a change of pants and a toothbrush but the kids are a different ball game. They are only 2 & 4 but seem to need an immense amount of stuff - and that’s not even counting the weight of the hundreds of “special” shells that will inevitably end up on board!

Thanks again for your replies and if anyone has anything further to add ref the Snowgoose 35’s abilities or lack thereof it would be much appreciated, particularly if anyone knows of individual boats that have crossed oceans or had families living on etc.

By the way, Atoll, I avidly follow your Elite build thread and am in awe of your work!

[hurricanehole]

Thats a great trip you have planned. If you can use one cabin for gear storage then I'd say it could be comfortable for your family. It's an easy forgiving boat for one person to handle. Little heeling is a big safety and comfort factor for the family. Doesn't like to move forward quietly or easily when wind and short period waves are fwd of midship. Not particularly great at anything but not bad either. An affordable cruising cat for those of us having a very modest budget. At this price point not many other cats with a Snowgoose's range of capabilities.

[rbrentp]

Sailed my Snowgoose from Florida to Texas in increments. One segment was from Port Fourchan, LA to Sabine Pass, TX. I just didn't have time in my schedule and hired a captain for that 280 mile leg. Captain brought his wife and another captain. Both are on retainer to deliver a lot of boats from manufacturer to new owners.


They got caught in one of the Gulf's microcells. Rigs reported winds gusting to 75, seas 12-16 feet. He said once he listened to the boat and sailed her her way, she handled the storm very well. Called me about three months later and said it was the safest boat he had been in and had just bought one.


Mine is a '77, hulls are thick and strong, rigging is stout. Not the fasted cat out there, my best is 11 knots, but certainly one of the best cruising and safety records. We bought our boat from a family of eight adults who lived on her for two years...we have never figured out how...but for what you intend you have a really good family boat. Ours has the forward starboard cabin converted to pantry. You could still put a kid in there to sleep. Just lock up any snacks

[inchcailloch]

Ive sailed the 3 Atlantic crossings and a Pacific crossing in a Prout 33. They were built for the rigours of the North Sea and handled everything that nature has thrown at it so including a force 10.. This was solo so loads of room for 1 person, plenty of room for 2 people. Ive not been on a 35 foot but the 37 would be ideal for what you are requiring (and wished I'd have bought one myself) though of course more expensive in some overpriced marinas in the Med. If you werent staying over winter or in hot places for the winter months when you could be out more I guess a 35 would be fine though less roomy especially for storage for youngsters. If youve already got it, go with what youve got. If its Prout you are as safe as you are going to get in something that size for you and your family, they are forgiving and hold their own.

[Snowgoose35]

Two of us lived aboard for 4 years and sailed to the Med and all over - certainly for two its plenty big enough and as safe as a boat can possibly be - easy to sail for novices, not fast but fast enough...

I did a lot of work on mine so if you need any advice feel free to ask.

I think the only problem you may encounter is storage space - if you use under the bunks etc there is quite a bit for a 35 foot boat but like you say kids need lots...

[Sailorman Ed]

Pugcat, I think the 35 is a great boat for your family. Almost indestructable and easy to beach, your kids will love the back cabins. If not already there, add a hatch above, much better ventilation and light. No, not the fastest cat and will pound going into short step waves but will take it.

A couple things to check, The aft steering box had a mild steel mounting plate which was rusting away on mine, I fabbed a new on in SS. Mine also had mild steel at the tops of the rudders ( inside). If you see cracking, would be worth to take apart and check. The lower steering box ( base of the helm) was also mild steel but is difficult to access and mine was in good condition. My 1974 35 had the front hulls filled with mild steel "punchings" encapsulated with resin to balance out the weight of the heavy Volvo diesel. We changed to a 15 hp Yamaha and were nose heavy after that.



I drilled an access hole for each water tank and epoxied in a threaded fitting and cap so I could easily check the water level. Also tied the two tanks together as the galley used a lot more water than the head. My 74 also had a lot of untinned wire, badly corroded after so many years, plan on replacing as much as you can.. It was also undersized to today's standards.


Overall, we had a lot of fun with that boat!!

[Pugcat]

Thank you all so much for your responses, they have certainly put my mind at ease with regards seaworthiness of the 35. Rbrentp, I guess you can’t ask for higher praise than a delivery skipper getting hammered in one then going out and buying his own . 8 adults living aboard though, we’re a close family but there are limits!

Thanks Snowgoose 35 for you offer of advise in the refit, I’ll definitely take you up on that if we stick to this route and Sailorman Ed, it sounds like our boats are very similar, ours is 1973 and has most of the issues you mentioned. In our case she had been sat on a beach in Penryn for a few years and the steering was very stiff so disconnected each zone in turn. It turned out the rear steering box has been re- fixed with aluminium profile so will sort that but it was nice and free, as were the rudders and those amazingly intricate universal joints. We traced the issue to a knackered oil seal on the steering box under the helm and managed to free is up by trickling oil down the shaft from the wheel. It’s not perfect but lasted the 3 days to get us back to Chichester. Do you know if these steering boxes are still available? My initial thought was to swap out the whole system for something like teleflex with the rear steering box being swapped for a fixed pivot point for the plate that the rudder tie-bars attach to, possibly even with a filler pilot attached to this plate as well? This set up would shed at least 30 - 40 kg I would guess and be much simpler but don’t know if teleflex is strong enough for those big old rudders, any thoughts?

It’s also very interesting about the lead shot in your boats bows, I’m fairly sure we don’t have that as the forward crash compartments are open (on the list!!) and look to taper to a fine “V” all the way back but we definitely do have a very heavy old Volvo lump in the back that will be replaced with a refurbed Beta or the like. What is you do to re-balance the trim?

Several of you have alluded to storage being a potential issue with the kids and that was why we were perhaps veering towards jumping ship to an Elite. The big thing is that the aft cabins being that bit wider mean my wife and I could have one aft cabin with the kids in the other aft and the forward cabins, whereas on the 35 we would have the forward part of the saloon for us and the kids in the two aft cabins. That means you kind of get the double whammy with the elite as it’s bigger in general but also you get the whole massive saloon as a living space rather than half of it. There is also lots of storage cubbies under the saloon seating that are absent on the 35....... Aaaargh, decisions, decisions!

Thanks again for all the advise and please, keep it coming.

[Sailorman Ed]

Pugcat, attached is a pic of the steel punchings embedded in resin, port side forward. We initially took out the very heavy Volvo and installed a 4 cyl Nanni ( Kubota), pulled off the waterlogged very heavy plywood aft deck and replaced it with Nidacore and glass mat. The stern came up 3 inches! After we were unable to get a new u joint for the Volvo outdrive, we replaced the whole thing with the 25 hp Yamaha, the stern came up more but we compensated with all the food in the back. We also added davits and hung our RIB and 5 hp Honda from there, the trim was back to almost normal.



While there is quite a bit of drag due to 3 steering boxes, I would rebuilt the back one, much more robust than teleflex. Do you have the outdrive steering handle? I did replace that linkage w teleflex type



I think there is plenty of storage. We slept in the forward center, curtain across to separate from the salon, lightweight items forward in both hulls, clothes under the froward berth ( we also added 2 sets of lightweight plastic shelf assemblies - that worked well). Canned food under the salon sets. The "icebox" was used for storage. We converted the SB aft cabin for our pantry and had an extra 30 gal fuel tank there which turned out we really did not need. We bought a good sized 12v fridge Dometic that worked GREAT and had it just behind the aft SB bulkhead, easily accessable to the galley. Used lots of large plastic totes to keep food organized. Beer, wine and drinks were under the P aft cabin. Empty spare fuel and water jugs were kept way in the back.Also the 3rd anchor (Danforth type ) was back there.

We had a 35 lb Delta and good size Danforth up front, normally used about 35 ft chain, rest was 1/2" 3 strand. We did also carry but only used twice, was 160 ft of 5/16" chain. Delta was better than the original CQR but not as good as our current Rocna. We used a 3/8" 3 strand bridle nearly every night. Prusik knot for the bridle.



Wife and I cruised all thru the Bahamas, had another couple join us for a while, then our son for several weeks and then another large friend for several weeks. I did fabricate a large rigid bimini to cover the cockpit and we stored lightweight gear up there. Space never seemed to be an issue.



BTW, we had 2 140 watt solar panels, seemed to be just right for our needs. Ed

[Sailorman Ed]

Pugcat, could not think of her name before but find a copy of : Sailing Promise, Alayne Main, they did a circumnavigation in the same boat.
Ed

[Snowgoose35]

Pugcat - if you're in Chichester then a) we're very close - I'm just up the Emsworth channel in Chi harbour, b) the Prout Owners Facebook group is having a Prout meet on the Isle of Wight in a couple of weeks that you might like to go to

I'm just at the early stages of re-fitting a Prout Quasar right now which I hope to finish by Christmas.

[Pugcat]

Thanks Snowgoose 35 for the heads up on the Prout Owners group, 3 weeks after I finally closed my Facebook account and now I find there’s something useful on there after all! Looks like I’ll be signing up again then.

I just looked a few pictures of the Quasar online, looks like a beautiful boat with masses of space - do you have plans for a long trip?

Sailorman Ed, thank you so much for your very informative reply and noted about the steering. I have been in touch with a local guy on email who thinks it’s a Whitlock steering system and he may be able to supply the box under the helm but I need to confirm dimensions and can’t get anywhere near the thing without cutting big holes. I have seen a 35 on YouTube with a hatch in the cockpit floor which would allow a chance of getting at it, does yours have that and do you know if it is indeed Whitlock. If anyone knows the secret to getting these steering boxes out I’d be grateful for any tips.

I have tried to attach a couple of pics, one through the nacelle from the engine bay and the closeup is by picking my phone through a 4inch access hole in the main bulkhead by the mast.

Couple of other questions if I may - did you need to make a sub frame before installing the Nidacore and glass rear deck? Mine is currently wood planking but I’m fairly sure it’s just stained pine decking rather than anything useful so like the idea of glassing it.
Also what kind of autopilot did you have as the friction in the steering must need quite a bit of power even when it is working properly.
Finally, would you be able to give further details of your rigid Bimini (pics would be great) as I’m very keen on that idea. Also did you have to fix your boom higher to clear it as the boom on ours is very low.

Thanks again all for taking an interest and offering your advice, much appreciated

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Pugcat

Thanks Snowgoose 35 for the heads up on the Prout Owners group, 3 weeks after I finally closed my Facebook account and now I find there’s something useful on there after all! Looks like I’ll be signing up again then.

I just looked a few pictures of the Quasar online, looks like a beautiful boat with masses of space - do you have plans for a long trip?

Sailorman Ed, thank you so much for your very informative reply and noted about the steering. I have been in touch with a local guy on email who thinks it’s a Whitlock steering system and he may be able to supply the box under the helm but I need to confirm dimensions and can’t get anywhere near the thing without cutting big holes. I have seen a 35 on YouTube with a hatch in the cockpit floor which would allow a chance of getting at it, does yours have that and do you know if it is indeed Whitlock. If anyone knows the secret to getting these steering boxes out I’d be grateful for any tips.

I have tried to attach a couple of pics, one through the nacelle from the engine bay and the closeup is by picking my phone through a 4inch access hole in the main bulkhead by the mast.

Couple of other questions if I may - did you need to make a sub frame before installing the Nidacore and glass rear deck? Mine is currently wood planking but I’m fairly sure it’s just stained pine decking rather than anything useful so like the idea of glassing it.
Also what kind of autopilot did you have as the friction in the steering must need quite a bit of power even when it is working properly.
Finally, would you be able to give further details of your rigid Bimini (pics would be great) as I’m very keen on that idea. Also did you have to fix your boom higher to clear it as the boom on ours is very low.

Thanks again all for taking an interest and offering your advice, much appreciated

with that type of steering using gear boxes and drive shafts about the only viable auto pilot system is a chain drive with a clutch linked directly by chain and sprocket to the steering wheel shaft.
fairly common with old edison and whitlock systems,though pretty obsolete these days,and very power hungry.

best option would be to replace with a hydraulic system using a steering pump,ram and intergrated hydraulic electric pump for the auto pilot with a bypass valve.