Atlantic 38, your experiences appreciated.

[Greg01]

If you have owned or skippered an Atlantic 38 your experiences would be appreciated. This is for an article in MBY on buying a used one. Good and bad points, sea keeping, performance etc.

 

[DAKA]

I know the 444
with 63p s
Not too good above F5



Trys to go through the waves, as it does the wave is thrown into the air and then deposits on the windscreen giving poor visibility.
Down to 16 knots in those conditions and thirsty too.

Very comfortable in the marina /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[volvopaul]

Poor mans Broom IMHO the engineering is not as good as a Broom, the hulls are old design now, yes they are thirsty but so are most heavy aft cabin boats, the engine rooms are small but the builders have to pack in most gear that would normally be aft of the engines where the cabin is so thats the only answer, though Atlantic had just gone pop? would rather put my money into a broom to buy same pedigree.

The only plus side is they do custom build to any design thats where they have scored over others in past years which is what to expect from a low volume builder.

Residual values are less than a broom , but im sure there wil be a few around for sale next year, you either love em or not.

 

[blueglass]

We currently own a 10 year old Haines Atlantic 38 which we love and have sailed for for thousands of miles, from the upper Thames to Greece, where we are now. Yes, very similar concept to a Broom but contrary to an opinion elsewhere IMHO the boat is superior to the Broom in many ways, particularly cockpit layout and quality of fittings, joinery etc, although of course in our case this was by Haines. eye of the beholder I guess.
We have had 5 years of extremely reliable service. With S/D hull and low air draft, ideal boat for anybody like us who enjoy both offshore and inland boating. seakeeping is excellent if a tad wet in a head sea, but I have never been worried in it. Accomodation is unparalleled for a 38 footer and we looked at plenty before buying this. We cruise economically at 7 to 8 knots, much less so at 15knots and anything beyond that you pay dearly for. No good for speed freaks of course, each to his own. would I buy another one - yes.

 

[oceanfroggie]

Haines, Atlantic and Brooms are excellent build quality from low volumn builders. The aft cabins in the Atlantics perhaps lack the space of the Brooms due to the different layout (ie Brooms use full beam aft cabins). But great boats with fantastic internal accomodation space.

Interested, how did you manage the heat in Greece with an Aft Cabin layout? The layout is great in our climate but it must be hot in the med.

PS: Many Brooms as happy doing 7kt as they are at 20kt

 

[blueglass]

ocean froggie, heat was actually no real problem. we have a bimini which shades the deck area i.e. aft cabin ceiling, combined with fans and keeping all boat curtains closed during the day and we have been perfectly comfortable under way and at anchor. Occasionally in a harbour with no electricity for the fans (common out here) a bit warmish on odd occasions in July/ Aug. Before leaving UK we had originally thought to investigate air con when we got to the med but have decided not to bother - its fine.