Any regrets

emnick

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I am contemplating buying a yacht. I would rather go for the Swedish end of the market (Najad, Hallberg or Malo). Do any of the owners of the so called swedish trio regret their purchase. Was the quality all it was cracked up to be. Should they have paid half the price for bigger yacht. Do they really need a so called off shore cruiser. Is the saying true that you remember the quality long after you have forgotten the price? Were there any inherent faults with them that you would not expect from a so called ''quality' yacht.
Thanks for any help here
 

peterb26

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I dont own any of these yachts. However, I have friends with all of them.

Never heard any complaints at all. And they are all superbly finished boats in my opinion.

The Malo owners tend to wind up the HR brigade by saying "If you'd found out about Malos you wouldnt have bought a Rassy". /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

But you are a lucky man to be able to look at those models.
 

Judders

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I regularly sail on a Swan and a Rassy and I have to say, I think they're both fantastic. As a bit of a sailing tart, I was totting up how many different boats I have sailed on the other night and it's a few. Of all of them, if I was just crusing, the Rassy would win every time, but then you do get the opportunity to pay for it too. Yes you could get a bigger boat for less money, but then you'd be paying the difference in mooring fees. The boat will retain it's value, the mooring fees are money spent. I was ranting on about this to SWMBO at Sparkes last weekend when faced with the sight of two Legend 50s. I'd have a Rassy 36 every time!
 

Bat21

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No not ever, this is easily reinforced by the row-away factor.
Were I to change, I would probably look at Malo
because I prefer the aft cockpit and shaft drive. I wasn't taken by the new Najad.
 

pvb

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None...

After a string of Westerlys and other mid-range boats, all bought new and kept for less than 5 years, I bought a 6-year old HR. That was about 10 years ago, and I haven't regretted it for a moment. Although my boat's a teenager, it's very easy to live with. Build quality is excellent, sailing/handling is great, aftersales support is superb too. But perhaps the most impressive thing is the thought which has gone into the design and construction. As an engineer, the more I find out about the boat, the more I'm impressed.

People will tell you that these boats don't depreciate - they do, although at a slower rate than many makes. When you factor in the higher initial price, ownership will cost at least as much as any alternative. But you'll derive far more pleasure and pride of ownership. And when the time comes to move on, it'll probably be much easier to sell. Go for it!
 

Blueboatman

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The only caveat is the same for any boat with teak decks and through bolted alloy deckfittings and s/steel bolts.....something to bear in mind in the long term..
I had the opportunity to sail a HR49 very hard once,to windward,for a day and I was impressed. Yes there were some dribbles from the deck hatches,yes the galley drawers all flew out until we strapped them up and yes you could feel the hull shudder a bit but when you stuck your head out from the hard dodger,it were nasty on deck and the boat SAILED to windward in 45k apparent-there was also the issue of the dodgy Volvo warning lights which indicated primary cooling failure (that probably wasnt).. and my one true gripe-Hrs seem to sail around their anchor,this may no longer be true.But all in all a well put together quality package,imho.
 

emnick

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Thank you for the posts, I am in fact looking at the Malo range 34 & 36s but very few around. I prefer the aft cockpit. Just downloaded the copy Book and they appear to be a little light on the helm, anybody know if they have midified this problem, the report was on only boat number 2. Any Malo owners have any problems that I should be looking for. Thanks again
 

SQUIRRELS

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Not a Malo owner, so sorry cannot comment on the helm issue you raise. However if you are after an aft cockpit boat, you should look and compare against the HR34 and younger HR342. What you'll find with the HR is that there's a lot of the boat beneath the water and so they tend to sit in, rather than on the water - if you know what I mean. That tends to make for a nice motion that enables going down below when at sea much more comfortable than with a boat that has higher topsides. Also, the flat decks make for a great working and safer platform. These things although probably quite obvious actually make a real difference and I speak from previously owning a Scanmar.
 

SQUIRRELS

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Sometimes not bringing the mooring on deck can be a good thing and I do that regularly. With chain/warp or warp alone you don't need to bring it on deck. This is the technique that goes on a lot in the caribbean, but mooring apart on that type of boat your ideal would be to have a single, if not double bow roller to enable a second anchor, should you need to deploy one, in addition to the bruce that Malo use as standard fit. Certainly the new larger Malos' have single bow roller.
 

Fergus

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My Sweden 41 is 25 years old - same price as a new Bav of equivalent length - don't regret it for a moment. She is definitely the best boat I have ever sailed in!
 

waterboy

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I know of one Swedish built 38 that was forever changing hands, seemingly with no owner hanging on longer than 6 months. How do I know? It passed through the hands of a friend whose previous boat was of the same make but a 34. The 34 sailed beautifully, the 38 was, in his words, a total dog.

Swedish boats are virtually hand built boats. I have heard over the years of the occasional "wrong 'un". One boat, a 40 footer from the same builder had an extra ton of lead accidentally poured into the keel mould, dramatically affecting its handling. That one resulted in a case ending up in or near the House of Lords - the importer/agent lost that one.
 

Daedelus

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Only regretted having a Malo when I suffer the hamfisted attempts of certain other owners to come into their pontoon. Buy extra fenders and put them on BOTH sides.

It's worth getting Malo ones as they have Malo on them and it's rare to have another Malo alongside.

They make you feel very safe and secure and the latest version has got (in my view) a better layout of the mainsheet.

Yes they are light on the helm but is this a problem? They're not twitchy. Previous boat (a much loved Moody 31) really took it out of you when she was in a sea as you had to be constantly moving the wheel to put reverse helm on to counter the tendency to turn away from the heel. Although Malo is light on the helm all you need to do is leave the wheel alone a lot more and make gentle alterations of course. I have a photo showing us under cruising chute and with a fair degree of heel and me with one hand lightly holding the wheel.

The bow fittings seem to vary with every Malo you get as each owner has their own ideas of what they want. Go for a new build (as per Nigel Calder) and you don't even have to have the anchor in below the deck or the anchor locker up forward. My version has the anchor below and an open bow roller to take in moorings from a buoy. (Specified by a previous purchaser and an option I also had done).

Nearly as rare as hen's teeth and not cheap but a very nice boat. People who buy them tend to hang onto them. For comparison I think HR make about 300 boats a year, Malo make about 30 but Malo will customise as you wish: thus no two ever identical and can be very idiosyncratic especially with the bigger ones.

Finally, Nordic, the importers at Poole tend to be very helpful with any problems you might have whether it's new or second hand.

PM me if you want any further info.
 

Daedelus

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Winding up HRs

SWMBO and I were in Cherbourg with our Malo 36 and on returning to the boat she found a small group of people around it who were pointing at verious bits and obviously in deep discussion. Fearing we'd been rammed yet again she asked if everything was OK, "Oh yes" she was told, "We're the HR owners group and we are admiring the posh boat"

Nuff said!
 

Birdseye

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I looked long and hard at the Swedish boats when buyinmg my last one. They were clearly much better built and finished than the Ben Bav Janns, but with a production engineering background I couldnt convince myself that they were worth twice as much or even more. They werent. So what to do? The answer (butr for reasons beyonfd this post) was Ovni which was at least as well engineered and constructed as HR and way cheaper.

You might not like the ally or the chines or the lifting keel. But thats not the point. There are boats as well built as the Swedes but where you are not paying quite so much for "an aspirational brand". try Southerly. Or Contest

Cost of ownership? Even the Onvi man admitted that HR have the depreciation argument sown up but dont forget the finance cost ( loan interest or interest foregone), and the insurance cost.

In the end, you pays your money and takes your choice. But there is a danger that with HR as with Harley you are paying part for the extra cost and part for the badge on the tank.
 

emnick

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I also looked very hard at the Southerly range (110 in particular). However I felt that the later models were not as well fitted out as early models. I would rather not go into the detail on this forum as I think they are a quality yacht. I also looked long and hard at Ovni, I liked the inherent strength, and was moored next to one in France last year. It to looked like a quality boat. But the problems of stray currents, and different metals in contact and constant touching in the put me off I respect your sound decision making and I can see why an engineering person would like them. Thanks for the opinion.
 

PeterGibbs

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HR have the lines - all boatowners agree with this more or less.

Malo has superb finish and superior materials below that really give you pride of ownership.

Najad occupy a position half way between the two.

All sail well and are well suited for European waters. For further afield I think the choice has to be openend up - liveaboard space is not generous in any of them.

I never cease to smile at those who take a hard line on popular yoghurt pots; I have a Bavaria Ocean 38 - it is so close in design and finish to the Najad 400 to be uncanny - even to the same light switches! Of course, trophy owners don't want to hear such comparisons, but as a practical sailor who values a quality finish in a reliable hull I have never for one moment felt outclassed in 10 years of ownership.

Let trophy boat owners have their day, I say. But there are no objective explanations for owning an expensive Scaninavian that are rooted in safety or better sailing characteristics.

PWG
 
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