Atlantic 460 or Trader 42 Signature

[Inisfree]

Having sold our Linssen Grand Sturdy 430 a couple of years ago we are now ready to get back on the water ( when Covid permits). I've nothing but good to say of our experience the Linssen apart from the maintenance of a steel hull so this time we have decided to go plastic (and semi-displacement). We are looking for an aft cabin layout which limits the choice and until yesterday had settled on an Atlantic 460 (12-15 yrs old) as our preference. The layout suits us and the build quality appears to be above average.

That was until last night, when discussing our choice with a friend, we were encouraged to add a Trader 42 to our shortlist. It looks like it would suit our needs and first impressions were positive. However after some digging into the background of the Trader brand I came across some historical complaints of poor build quality and alleged shady business practices.

So after that rather lengthy introduction I'll get to the point. Does anyone have experience of the Trader 42? Should we consider it as an option? Is the build quality indeed of general concern or is it more likely that we are looking at isolated cases which caught the attention of the chatrooms?

If anyone has experience of either of these 2 boats it would be really helpful to hear your thoughts. BTW our use will include a mix of inland and coastal cruising.

Mark

 

[Seastoke]

Well have you looked at broom

 

[Inisfree]

Well have you looked at broom

We looked in detail at the Broom 42. Very nice boat inside and great aft deck. Unfortunately we don't like the exterior styling.

 

[Seastoke]

We looked in detail at the Broom 42. Very nice boat inside and great aft deck. Unfortunately we don't like the exterior styling.

Traders are suppose to roll quite a lot

 

[longjohnsilver]

Traders are suppose to roll quite a lot

Not if it’s stabilised!

 

[ashtead]

There was an interesting vid on forum of a trader making his way to Norfolk broads -I believe it was slightly larger but might be quite educational if you can view his voyages when speaking of roll. I recall he abandon trip and left his experienced mates to soldier on with delivery trip. Having seen a linssen in ocean village I just wonder if trader of same quality?

 

[sharpness]

I personally think the Atlantic 460 is a better looking boat than the Trader 42.
The link below shows a nice example. If its currently the same owner I remember, he really looks after his boats.
Another option to consider would be a Broom 450, but they are more pricey than the Atlantic.

Atlantic 460 Used Boat for Sale 2005 | TheYachtMarket

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

We used to do a lot of cruising in company with some friends who had a Trader 41+2, which I think was the forerunner of the Trader 42. I must say I was not impressed by the 41+2 as a seaboat. It was relatively slow, rolled more than a planing boat, threw up a lot of spray and used a lot of fuel. On the plus side it was huge inside and outside, a fantastic marina party boat

I used to admire Atlantic boats at boat shows although I have no first hand experience. The build quality of the boats I looked at was excellent and they have proven Bennett hulls.

All things being equal and speaking personally, I would definitely prefer the Atlantic to the Trader. Having said that, the Broom 450 would be worth a look if you can stretch to one. Perhaps not as glitzy inside as the Atlantic but, like all Brooms very solidly built boat with a hull that will look after you and keep its value well

 

[Newbroom]

After being a Trader owner in the distance past of the Millennium and also having delivered a few round to the med. I would say that they are an ok boat its one point it wins hands down on is interior room and engine room access. The Atlantic especially the Dutch built Atlantics are in a different class altogether re quality of build and sea keeping. In saying that I miss my Trader and would have another one without hesitation. But just remember that you are not comparing like with like re hull forms.
As Deleted User said the Broom450 is a fantastic boat and worth a look at it. Perhaps though I am biased on that as my present boat is a Broom 450. And its the only boat that I have owned which I prefer to my Trader.

 

[volvopaul]

Some years back a certain Trader was the subject of a big post on here relating to its build quality , it was a brand new boat .

The post was fully documented with everything wrong on the the build , the boat in the buyers opinion wasn’t fit for purpose , his name on here is Gludy , I would do a search on the post , you will get an idea on the product .
The post went on for a while , some of the earlier member that sadly dont seem to be on this forum anymore , they will remember it very well , from memory the buyer was out of pocket , I am sure it went legal with the dealer filing for bankruptcy in the end .

I stand to be corrected as this was quite a few years ago possibly 10 years ago .
If you are looking for that type of boat a Broom 450 is an ideal one , take a look at them , there are 3 for sale in the uk , one of which Nick Vass and myself have just surveyed for a client , the boat was rejected on a few small items but the price was bang on the money , pm me if you want to discuss.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

The post was fully documented with everything wrong on the the build , the boat in the buyers opinion wasn’t fit for purpose , his name on here is Gludy , I would do a search on the post , you will get an idea on the product .
The post went on for a while , some of the earlier member that sadly dont seem to be on this forum anymore , they will remember it very well , from memory the buyer was out of pocket , I am sure it went legal with the dealer filing for bankruptcy in the end .

Ah the famous Gludy Trader threads! Those will go down in the annals of history of this Mobo forum along with hlb's exploding bog saga

One of Gludy's threads is still out there in the ether

The Tarquin Trader Saga - Update

All I would say is that I'm not sure Gludy's Trader was typical of the marque and I'm not sure Gludy was a typical owner. Whether the way he was treated by Tarquin was typical is another matter The fact is that there are many Trader owners out there who are satisfied with their boats

Anyone know where Gludy is these days? Didnt he buy a S African made catamaran sailboat after his Trader saga and sail across the Atlantic or something?

 

[Greg2]

If memory serves I saw Gludy’s Trader at LIBS and I remember well the subsequent thread covering the many and varied issues with the boat. No idea whether the issues were representative of the brand generally but it was enough for me to put them to the bottom of the list when considering boats (acknowledging that we are only ever in the used boat sector).

I know a bit about Atlantic’s having researched them as an option and knowing people who owned a 46. I know a bit more about Brooms having owned two and the factory being on our doorstep.

The Dutch built Atlantic’s are a quality boat, not dissimilar to Broom but with interior styling that was always a bit more contemporary than their British cousin. Good seaboats and not much to dislike. I recall the owners of the 46 we knew commenting on it being a bit thirsty on a trip to Holland but then it is a big semi-displacement boat and I think they were more used to similar sized full planing hull, which would be more efficient at speed. I recall one article referring to the engines being lower in the hull than a Broom, which had a positive impact on centre of gravity and sea keeping but meant that the props were closer together so close quarters manoeuvring affected a little. Also engine access a bit more cramped. This might have been on the 38 so worth checking for the 46. Not show stoppers at any rate.

Cant go wrong with a Broom and if going up to a fifty footer is doable there are some good value boats out there. Word is that Broom never made the 50/53 pay but that could be rubbish of course. As already said, the 450 is a great boat and well worth considering.

 

[IDAMAY]

Perhaps a post from a former owner of a Trader 42 might help. There is no real comparison between the 42 and the 41 plus 2 and similar boats. These had a different hull and were built in Taiwan wheras the 42 was built in China. The 42 has modern Cummins common rail engines wheras most Plus 2s had Volvo or CAT non electronic engines.

One similarity is a propensity to roll in a beam sea. This is shared with most semi displacement hulls but can be countered to some extent by upping speed to give dynamic stability. This worked quite well for us but at the cost of fuel consumption. As LJS observes the solution is stabilisers. We looked at the feasibility of retrofitting fins but couldn`t see a cost effective way of doing it. We also thought about a gyro stabilser but, in the end, changed boats to a Trader 54 with stabilsers already fitted. As far as I know there are no 42s with either type of stabilser. In a head sea she was a wet boat especially if pressing on.

Ocean Star was fitted with Cummins QSB 5.9 litre engines of 425hp. We carried a lot of weight in stores. These engines gave her a max speed of around 17kts with a clean bottom and half tanks although Trader claimed around 22 kts. However we normally cruised at 8 to 9 kts and our carefully recorded consumption over the time we owned her was 1.5 gallons per nautical mile.

We used the 42 extensively and cruised her as far La Rochelle in the south, Tobermory in the north and Gothenburg in the east. In five seasons we covered over 5000 nm in very varied conditions. She was a comfortable boat to live on board for extended periods, being very well equipped in standard form. There were three types, hard top, fly bridge and command bridge. Ours was a hard top which gave excellent protection from the elements but did get hot in sunny conditions. We also had the three cabin option which did not have an internal helm. The latter option would be pretty redundant in all but the flybridge version.

Aside from the minor problems associated with all boats, we didn`t have any issues with the quality of the build. She was a great boat and we only changed to the 54 to gain more space and the aforementioned stabilsers. If you want to have a chat about our experiences do PM me. Good luck with your choice. Both are fine boats IMHO.

Richard.

 

[tico]

I was going to mention Gludy's trials & tribulations with a certain Mr Chappell, but VP beat me to it.
ISTR that theres another forumite long term cruiser with a Trader (Idamay) who appears to be very happy with it.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Cant go wrong with a Broom and if going up to a fifty footer is doable there are some good value boats out there. Word is that Broom never made the 50/53 pay but that could be rubbish of course. As already said, the 450 is a great boat and well worth considering.

I remember thinking at the time that the 50/530 didnt seem to offer much more value than the 450 despite the higher price. IIRC you could have the 450 and the 50/530 in almost identical layouts with the only real difference, at least on the 530, the bathing platform. IMHO, the 450 was a sweet spot in the Broom range

 

[Newbroom]

As I said earlier I have owned both a Trader Signature 57 and a Broom 450 and as much as I loved my trader the 450 is the best boat I have ever owned . The Gludy incident was not typical of Traders but it was typical of how TC dealt with his clients.

 

[Inisfree]

Thanks everyone for your input, most interesting, particularly IDAMAY's 1st hand Trader experience.

I read part of Gludy's nightmare with his new Trader, I couldn't finish the thread, too stressful. I imagine the extent of his build problems were not typical throughout the range but what is more concerning is the way Trader dealt with him. It's hard to believe that their unprofessional attitude did not translate into quality issues (hidden or otherwise) in other boats in their range. Having said that I accept that there are many happy Trader owners out there. Personally I do like the look of the 42 and the finishes look to be of a good standard.

Some of you have commented that Traders roll. You should have seen my Linssen Grand Sturdy 430 in a beam sea, not a pretty sight. That was a displacement hull. I expect SD hulls perform a bit better in that regard. I considered retrofitting stabilisers but they didn't manage to get over the cost/benefit hurdle. So I'm happy to accept a bit of rolling which I'll try to manage with boat speed/direction and choosing the right weather. Also at least 50% of our boating is done on inland waters. So unless someone tells me that the Trader 42 is likely to roll more than my Linssen I'll keep it on the shortlist. However if I find the right one it would have to pass a rigorous survey just to put my mind at ease regarding the build quality.

Some of you have mentioned the Brooms, in particular the 450. Lovely boat but I don't want to spend that amount on a hole in the water in these uncertain times. The Broom 42 is out because we (particularly my wife) don't the exterior styling. Also, for whatever reason the Brooms appear to be quite a bit more expensive than the equivalent Atlantics.

Throughout the 5 years with our Linssen we spent at least 4 months per year on board. And the majority of that time was spent on the aft deck, either under way or relaxing in the evening. With a full cockpit tent, comfortable seating and a heater outlet it was extremely enjoyable even in the worst weather. I hope to find something similar in our next boat and at the moment the Atlantic 460 has it over the Trader 42 in that regard.

Again many thanks for your comments, they really do help my thought process.

 

[Gludy]

I am afraid that my case was typical of Traders. However his business practices were deplorable and were exposed by the `BBC - many victims