Don't laugh - AWB or Swan !

[john_morris_uk]

I don't know why Malo haven't been mentioned. If we won the lottery its SWMBO dream boat. They are custom built to a large degree and the finish is excellent. Their draft is much less than the Swan if I recall rightly.

My other feeling is that there is an awful lot of snobbery attached to the Swan. If you want to go racing with your paid crew - get a Swan. I don't see that many of the doing the cruising rounds, and the ones that you do see cruising are often the ones that get VERY sniffy about you coming alongside them. Perhaps its inverted snobbery on my part..?

 

[BrianH]

I don't know why Malo haven't been mentioned. If we won the lottery its SWMBO dream boat. They are custom built to a large degree and the finish is excellent.

My sentiments exactly. It is a few years since I visited one of the major boat shows, the last being in Düsseldorf. The German exhibitions - another being Friedrichshafen that I like to visit - have a relaxed attitude to visitors generally when boarding on the more exclusive brands. That means one does not run the English snobby gauntlet before being granted the privilege of an appointment. So as I was about to retire and wanted something bigger I spent a lot of time visiting just about every boat in the show - even those exclusive brands that were well beyond my budget.

I remember being underwhelmed by the usual suspects, disappointed at what I saw as pandering to fashion and mass production, even with my favoured marque, HR. Then I came to Malö and it blew me away. Design and craftsmanship as it was meant to be and once was. For once I regretted I was not rich enough, for that would have been the boat I would have bought.

 

[Twister_Ken]

There is one obvious difference between a Swan and a Malo, apart from the question of 'quality'. You'll get there much more quickly in a Swan.

 

[Seajet]

You might get there faster, but I've not seen a Swan which is really set up for shorthanded cruising; for my purposes ( or the purposes I'd have if having the time and money to own such a boat ) I'd much prefer the Malo...

 

[morsimon]

Swan 53

You might get there faster, but I've not seen a Swan which is really set up for shorthanded cruising; for my purposes ( or the purposes I'd have if having the time and money to own such a boat ) I'd much prefer the Malo...

Happy to oblige you then - here is the Swan 53 which is specifically designed for shorthanded cruising. Not all Swans require large crews.

 

[zarathustra]

Here is one in UK, worth traveling to view it if this type of boat is what you want.
http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2007/Nautor-Swan-53.511-2229472/United-Kingdom

 

[john_morris_uk]

There is one obvious difference between a Swan and a Malo, apart from the question of 'quality'. You'll get there much more quickly in a Swan.

Ken,

I would challenge the 'much quicker'. It depends on which Swan and how may racing gorillas you have on board to run the boat.

Malo's are no dogs at sailing.

 

[Monique]

This thread has drifted back and forth but it was nice to read all of it.

I work in an environment where money matters little. My boss once told me "I cannot spend the interest of my money". This happened after suggesting he should charter a super yacht before commissioning one. I wish I had your moolah!!!! I'd be into a Swan or a Farr of some sort.

My first owned boat is a 46 footer. A Bav built in 1997 and Lloyds 100 rated. Some nice low production boats come off these large production lines. They are rare but they are there and they are better value for the money.

My boat was never too large for me; enjoying a large first boat is dependent on how you live your life and how attuned you are to the dynamics. Your life skills and background might have you well prepared to step into a large first boat.

If you can afford the boat and pay for its maintenance, go for it! Life is a one shot deal and you wont come out of it alive. Should you need crew for your boat, let me know.

 

[Neil]

I've been following this thread closely and with interest - who knows, I might win the lotto! The thread was interesting as to the sizes of the boats considered, and I looked again through my dream boats with this in mind. No one has yet mentioned the Sweden Yachts 54, of which the builders make much of its short-handed sailing ability; "Be selfish, give the crew a day off"

Should "my boat come in" (commercially speaking!), I might look at such; it might keep "Her Indoors" outdoors!

I'd always dreamed of a 38 footer as being as much as one might reasonably handle on ones own, if required, but this thread has opened a whole new can of worms, and if one is going to dream a little, why not go the whole hog?

 

[Twister_Ken]

I thought Sweden Yachts had gone belly-up.

 

[morsimon]

Sweden Yachts 54

I've been following this thread closely and with interest - who knows, I might win the lotto! The thread was interesting as to the sizes of the boats considered, and I looked again through my dream boats with this in mind. No one has yet mentioned the Sweden Yachts 54, of which the builders make much of its short-handed sailing ability; "Be selfish, give the crew a day off"

Should "my boat come in" (commercially speaking!), I might look at such; it might keep "Her Indoors" outdoors!

I'd always dreamed of a 38 footer as being as much as one might reasonably handle on ones own, if required, but this thread has opened a whole new can of worms, and if one is going to dream a little, why not go the whole hog?

These do look like lovely boats but none are for sale on the secondhand market and they did go bust although notice their website is recently back up and running. I am sat in front of their new brochure now but wouldnt trust them with my money at the moment as believe the ex-owner is back in charge and has something of a chequered past having done a runner with the dosh back in 2009 !!!!

Others have mentioned generic 'Swedish yachts' which would cover these and probably Swans and others, many of which are Finnish of course.

 

[Neil]

I thought Sweden Yachts had gone belly-up.

Well, I couldn't say, but the website still looks good:

http://www.swedenyachts.se/

Would this be a recent demise? A ghost site?

A pity - the 54 would have seemed to fulfill some of the OP's wish-list

 

[Twister_Ken]

Well, I couldn't say, but the website still looks good:

http://www.swedenyachts.se/

Would this be a recent demise? A ghost site?

A pity - the 54 would have seemed to fulfill some of the OP's wish-list

Read http://www.ibinews.com/ibinews/newsdesk/20100501150344ibinews.html

Then http://sweden36.blogspot.com/2009/06/sad-tale-of-sweden-yachts-purchase-gone.html.

Compare the name beginning 'Sven'

 

[SailBobSquarePants]

From my experience of watching friends whom have bought AWBs (including several that are serious sailors and who could afford better options), the detail seems to be about what options you check off on the order forms, and what upgrades you chose. Those that have high-speced them (oversized winches, better sails, better running rigging, upgraded battery banks, etc.) seem to have boats that work well, and yet are cheap enough to turn them over every few years before things start to go wrong. Those that didn't upgrade basic systems and sails have boats that frankly are not nearly as well sorted.

That would be another question to consider - how long to you intend to sail, and if so what is your maintenance or upgrade path? Buying a Swan locks you into having a fairly long-term relationship with her, and the requisite maintenance and upgrades along the way. Buying an AWB, specced-up, allows you to churn boats every 3-4 years, before she wears appreciably or requires too much work.

But then again, both my SWMBO and I consider our 44-year old Nicholson to have better joinery and interior build quality than a great many new AWBs we sail on and have toured at shows...to equal it IMHO you would need a Swan or at least a Malo/Najad/X-Yacht/Rustler...something a bit better than a BavJenBen.