Second Purchase of Catamaran

[kurtruedi]

Following the forum I've found VERY few posts of owners of catamarans not happy with their boat.
I've been searching and thinking about the famous "perfect cat" for two of us since about 1 year now, going from Lagoon 380 to Bahia 46 to Voyage to Chris White and back. All of them look great to me, or certainly far far better then my current 35' Mono.

Should I not just go for the closest one reasonable priced, and then enjoy space if speed is low, or speed if space is only tripple and not six times the one I have actually?

So I would like to ask: Is there anybody out there NOT happy with their catamaran? Is there any Owner of a catamaran around who would be happy NOT having bought the one he has? What boat you really suggest me NOT to buy? (cruising the mediteranean for the summer, maybe some bigger steps later on, but right now still enjoying work most of the year. )

(my first post here, so be nice to me.. )

[Southern Star]

Hi Kurtruedi and welcome to the forum! I'm not sure that I understand your reference to multiples of space (triple or six times) - because I am pretty confident you won't get that kind of increase in either a Lagoon 380 or a Bahia 46 - the only specific sizes of boats that you mentioned.

Perhaps you can tell us what kind of mono you are now sailing, what you do and do not like about her and what your priorities and budget are with respect to your proposed catamaran. It is important because, while there are a large number of happy owners of both Lagoon 380's and the Chris White designs to which you also refer, they are very different boats with very different owners (or at least, owners with very different budgets and/or priorities).

Brad

[kurtruedi]

Hi Brad! Thanks for your reply. 3 to 6 times more space than my actual Beneteau 35, not between diferent catamarans usefull for a crew of 2.

We are looking for a second hand cat, have seen nice boats from 1-400'000 US$. No need to spend the upper limit if I will be happy with a boat costing less.

My question was not too much about what will be perfect for us. Many many threads have been written about. I rather think that at the end it is unimportant what Cat we will buy. We will be happy anyway, as I have found only one thread of an owner of a cat NOT happy with his catamaran. (420 Lagoon electric, and problem was "electric", not the boat itself)

So the question is: Is there anybody unhappy with his cat AFTER having bought it, and would NOT buy it again?

[SeaKing]

The beam on the 47 and 50' Voyage is 27 feet, loads of space and stability. Those other boats are not that wide, We love ours.

[Cotemar]

SeaKing,

I would agree with you. I would love a 47 and 50' Voyage, but not the price.
We love our Mahe 36 X 19.5' beam and that is all we could afford. Of course we did buy it new and could have went larger, but have found the 36 actually fits us well.
Chartered both a Lagoon 380 & Leopard 46 and enjoyed them as well, but wanted new.

Mark

[Southern Star]

Kurtruedi, my point was that while you will obviously get much more interior space than in your Beneteau 35, I wouldn't expect it to be on the order of 6:1 and likely not 3:1 on the boats you are mentioning. My other point was that, whether someone would buy the same boat again is largely dependant upon their individual priorities and whether their particular purchase suited them.

The price versus performance versus accomodation balance is all important in determining what would be a 'good' or 'bad' boat for you. For some the Lagoon 380 is a perfect boat; for others (who are more interested in performance than accomodation at a reasonable price) it would be disappointing.

Brad

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by kurtruedi

...Is there anybody unhappy with his cat AFTER having bought it, and would NOT buy it again?

Possibly, Pat & Ali Schulte (Bumfuzzle).

[44'cruisingcat]

I think they were happy enough with the boat, just not the way it was built.

Catty seems to be dissapointed with his - won't sail to windward, slow on any other point of sail, and generally uncomfortable, all based on what he says here (and other forums).

Of course he refuses to say what design it is, so that really doesn't help anyone with their choice.

[Eleven]

I bitterly regret having to sell my Prout. Miss her terribly. If I could afford it I'd go for a good 37ft SnowGoose. Ocean capable, my brother did it. My 31 would be lively at times.
There is a risk, it's assessing and accepting the odds. Running costs go up by the square of length. The make determines quality of build and seaworthiness (as new). The prouts tend to sell at the same price as they were sold as new. Depreciation is very low.
Beware the 33ft Prouts, the deck is raised as you pass forward making an unsafe area as you leave the cockpit to go forward. Consider this carefully on every boat you view. In a wet and windy moonless night are you going to feel comfortable on the foredeck, and expect to get back to the cockpit without bruises.