Small Liveaboard Cat Search

[josepsaavedra]

I am selling a Piver 43 trimaran 1976 Only 49.900 USD located in WPB FL
Just went thru an extensive refit. My life is taking new directions. contact at josepsaavedra%hotmail
later
jose

[djeeke]

Thanks for the suggestion, for now I'm still looking at catamarans...

I just came across the John Hitch Catamaran below, it was listed in New Zealand for NZ$124,000... (not for sale anymore)
This is not a lot of money for a 41 ft catamaran...



I had never heard of John Hitch Catamarans before... (probably because he's from the other hemisphere )
Anybody knows this catamaran or John Hitch ?

As I am looking for a Catamaran it might be worthwhile for me to look at his boats if one comes on the market... As long as it sails correctly off course
It does not appear to have keels so I guess it must have swing boards (dagger boards would be visible when beached) or asymmetric hulls, anyone ?


Thanks !!

[beau]

John Hitch is an Australian (or new Zealand) multihull designer.
There are many examples of his boats here in eastern Australia. I believe most are built in Ply and then Glassed over.
I am not sure that they ever went in production but were mainly sold as a set of plans for DIY.
I believe they are a good boat for cruising or live aboard. The design is a bit old probably early 1970's.
The only issue is with all DIY boats they are usually "overbuilt" (heavy) by the owners which can be a problem with Multis.

[Tropic Cat]

Dieter,

Looking at the hulls in that photo, that boat must have boards. You'll notice my Catalac has a lot more below the waterline to track in lieu of them.

[Robertcateran]

Note the depth of the anti fouling on the stern. I think they had deep V hulls. From what I remember, someone wanted an easy to build cat that didn't hobbyhorse as much as a Wharram and John obliged. I may be completely off in my recollections as it was over 30 years ago. They are a good cruising boat and hold their value. Gavin le Seur had one called Magic Happens for quite a while.

[djeeke]

Originally Posted by Robertcateran

Note the depth of the anti fouling on the stern. I think they had deep V hulls.

Thanks Robert !
Looking at one of the other pictures in the ad confirms this :


Deep V hulls ...
Don't they imply very bad windward ability

[Tropic Cat]

It's what I have and I can make about 35% apparent. When hard on the wind the issue is leeway. Winds under 5 knots, leeway is considerable at 15 degrees. It rapidly decreases to around 5 degrees at say 12 knots to almost nothing at 15 knots.

[djeeke]

Ran into an old ad mentioning the Heavenly Twins bigger sister...

The Ocean Winds :


She looks heavy so will probably not be a racing boat...
But the designer, Pat Patterson took her around the world, 400 years after Sir Francis Drake, following Drake's route as closely as possible.

Anybody has any knowledge to share on this catamaran ?

[djeeke]

I just got pointed out by someone to multihullcentre.co.uk/mhcwoods.htm
Two Woods boats for sale there (I knew the link but am thankful, maybe one day someone shows me a site I don't know with the boat we will buy...)

When I read Flica I get a sour feeling, 'Ocean Link' was sold prior to even being able to arrange a visit (and I contaced the owners even before they were back in Europe...)



This was before many investments (including mine) were hit...
I could have been sailing now instead of searching on a low budget...

But these things happen...
I'm not feeling too bad about it, the Flica is a great boat.

I'm actually going to Holland tomorrow and I hope to have a look at a Sagitta



Will try to give my feedback about the boat...

As for the Mira on the above listed site, afaik this is an open bridgedeck catamaran, probably a nice boat but not really what we are looking for...

[djeeke]

Originally Posted by djeeke

I'm actually going to Holland tomorrow and I hope to have a look at a Sagitta



Will try to give my feedback about the boat...

The boat pictures I got from the owner do not represent the current state at all, as far as I am concerned this one requires a major overhaul...
I guess the pictures are a bit dated...
I also believe it has been pushed hard as the owner told me they only reefed in a gale ("I sailed her without reef up to 7 Bft")...
I don't know what Richard recommendations are but not reefing in a near gale sounds to me as pushing the boat...
Too bad, it was well withing budget reach...

[snort]

Keep looking! I've been searching for an affordable catamaran in good condition for as long as you have. Naturally, I'm looking for one built in the 70's or 80's and just waiting for a good one to come on the market and then getting there first in line. The good ones sell fast.

[Eleven]

I picked up a Prout 31 at xmas 2008. 36k sterling.
Three cosy doubles, room for two doubles in the saloon, one permanent in the front part if there's just five of you ans still a permanent dining table for six.
I'm learning the boat but regularly see five to seven knots in ten to twenty kts of wind. Not fast, not new, but very dry, very safe, single hander. Not for sale but message if you'd like to hear more about the type. Event's have wider bunks but the bulge is at water line and can add a little drag. I've seen sustained thirty degrees apparent but haven't managed to duplicate that. Generally forty app't but I'm just starting to learn sail trimming and rigging. I bought mine in it's first month on the market. After six months I've got a couple of problems to sort but no regrets.
And no-one refusing to come out again! Good luck with your search, it's like looking for the perfect wife. She'll tell you when she finds you!

[Sea Wolf]

Keep on looking, gentlemen. Just don't be anxious and jump the gun. Trust that the right boat will come to you when the time is right. Ours did.

Loree
Aboard SeaWolf
CruisersLife.com

[djeeke]

Hi guys !

This thread seems to die when I'm not around, we spent some time visiting hospitals and doctors ...

Then we saw an ad for a 33ft Ocean Winds Catamaran, listed at 45000Euro ...

By the ad we were led to believe the boat was in reasonable condition, It had recieved two brand new engines two years ago, it had just been out of the water for an antifouling, the deck had been repainted etc...

So off we went, booked a week in Sardinia to go and see the boat...

Where we saw the boat was in terrible shape !!!

Yes it did have new engines, only 3.5 hours, started by the owner without even checking the oil levels (and the boat had not left its mooring for ages)
Yes the deck had been repainted but without anti-skid (plain dangerous, extremely slippery when wet) so obviously the deck needed another repainting with anti-skid...
We went for a test-sail...
No wind instruments operational, display broken...
No boat speed on the log... Depth OK
The owner did not even know how to power up the compass (which seemed to function)
Autopilot not operational
radio non operational
Impossible to fully hoist the main sail (mast slide issue ?)
running rigging in terrible condition requires replacement
problems furling and unfurling the genoa
3 of the 4 deck selftailing winches were not operational, very old winches (Telo 160, 200 and 220) who will need replacement (the working one was already a newer winch, Lewmar 16, too small for this boat, main halyard winch is on the mast)
Sails in bad condition, they had been left on boom and forestay for 4 years instead of being taken of and stored inside... Genoa needed restitching, main maybe too but both sails required a big cleaning job...
Although the rigging had been replaced 4 years ago the attachments to the chainplates requires attention
Owner not aware how the GPS operates, I had my own GPS with me...
When we returned the owner gave me the keys so I could inspect the boat at my own pace.
Fuel smell inside the boat, port fuel tanks were sitting in diesel and apparently already since a long time (fuel hoses, repainting of bilge and fuel tanks
The boat needs a full electric rewiring, household wiring had been used, contacts corroded, log on nav station completely disconnected...
No separate house batteries installed (removed when the new engines were installed)
solar panels not operational
The rudder on starboard side was cracked (for how long?) and requires a big job done...
When we looked at the engines, they obviously looked nice but under the port engine there was water after the test sail, not before ! Where is the leak ???
The fridge not operational on 12V, not operational on gas, mains not tested...
Water gas heater burns, impossible to change the temperature setting.
All rubber gas hoses to be replaced.
Owner was unable to tell us how to light the oven so we don't know if this was functional (guess it's OK)
Owner was unable to explain how to operate the holding tank, head set to 'sea' position and I could not move it to the holding tank position (maybe by trying harder) so I guess these vanes require replacement, how to empty the holding tank ?
Windlass requires overhaul...
and so on...

Needless to say we were not so happy... Owner told us not to deduct all the repair costs from the asking price...

While we were in the harbour the boat got hit by a cowboy in a motor boat !!! We informed the owner who came to the boat and repaired the bow with a gelcoat repair kit left there by the previous owner, without proper cleaning/degreasing etc... We were astonished by his attitude, there were two witnesses on board of his boat when this happened and still he just did a quick and dirty fix...

Anyway, we left home and started to search for repair estimates, certainly a lot of work but might do a lot ourselves trying to keep the price down. (my wife really loved the layout of the boat and that counts)

We then got a message from the owner to look at the ad, he dropped the asking price by 20.000 so was now asking 25.000 for the boat.

We thought this was a reasonable price and replied asking him if he would reserve the boat while we arranged for a survey, we stated we would pay the asking price if the structure was sound (no delamination or osmosis)...
We kept on exchanging some messages and he even proposed himself to phone the yard to provide me a quote.

By today I agreed with a surveyor I would give him a job. We needed to schedule a hauling with a shipyard.

And I now just got an e-mail stating the boat has been sold

I sincerely hope that whoever is buying Atreyu, a 1980 Ocean Winds 33 will read this post so they know the boat they bought is NOT seaworthy and is a lot of time and money away from being so... Whoever this is, feel free to contact me !
The owner has proven he can not be trusted so there might even be a lot more issues than what I already found, after all, I'm not a surveyor...

Needless to say we are really disappointed ...
It was not for now...
the right boat will come ...

[Sea Wolf]

Didier,
Consider yourself one of the luckiest people on earth not to have purchased that Ocean Winds. I'm sure that what you saw was the tip of the iceberg and that there were more hidden problems.

I know it's hard, but hang in there and have faith! The right boat will come your way and you'll be happy campers in the end.

Loree
Aboard SeaWolf
CruisersLife.com