Help with next boat 38-40ft Targa 38 or 40? or something else?

[wakeup]

Hi all,

I am seriously looking at changing my boat. Currently have a Jeanneau leader 805 which has been great day boat.

Now looking at somethin circa 34ft to 40ft. Must have a separate double berth and decent shower loo combo with second mid berth.

I've been looking at used Fairline 40 Targas and a few 38 Targas. Budget may just stretch to a used 38 but definitely used 40s although would like to spend less so have also looked at Prestige 34s.

Just wondered what the forum thinks of the Targa 40 vs Targa 38?

I know that the 40 has a tender garage and that the 40 reputidly has a great hull, but I prefer the styling and lines of the 38 and is seems to be a lower profile. I've walked several marinas where you can see them side by side and the 40 looks top heavy next to the 38 and the 38 seems to have more loafing room which is import for the type of boating we do. I haven't been in a 38 and not recently in a 40. They appear to have the same sort of space and layout according to the web sites and brochures. Ideally I'd prefer a hard top sports cruiser but budget won't stretch to new 38 sport top. Hence still thinking of a Prestige 34 but can't really fall in love with that.

Anyone have any comments on the useability of either of these boats? Any gotchas I should be aware of apart from the obvious fact they are outdrive boats? What engine combo works best and resells best? I am also looking to PX as I can't be arsed witht he hassle of selling privately. Any recommendations for best resellers to visit? Essexboatyards is first on my list to talk to once I have worked out what I really want.

Anything else I should be considering? Missus suggested a Jeanneau NC11 after reading this month's MBY. I must hide that from her!

This will be kept in the UK for next year or so and then move to the med so I will need to choose spec and upgradability options carefully. I will need heating now and the ability to fit aircon and passerelle later.

I know that the Targa 40 had a catridge passerelle option. Can they be retrofitted if none present? I have seen a few 38s with passerels fited to the stern. Doesn't look so great but could be useful with a tender on chocs for craning in and out. I would prefer to have a tender on bathing platform so no faffing around with a tender garage. May be though the T40s tender garage not so much of a problem. Can you lift it without disturbing people sitting having lunch arounf the table?

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome. I will consider anything from a good builder. I've even thought about Cranchi Endurance 39s but most on the market now seem knackered and worn out.

Your help and comments would be most appreciated especially those of you that have Targa 40s or 38s, I would love to know what it is like living with these boats day to day and why you chose them?

Thanks in advance

Wakeup

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

I've got a T40 (and previously had a T37). I've had it for 2.5 years and find that it's ideal for the two of us. Some (non-owners) criticise the cockpit arrangement on the T40 but in fact I find it perfect. I love having the garage; about the only thing I didn't like with mine was the steep steps down into the saloon, so I've replaced these on my boat.

I was speaking to Trevor Betts at Fairline Southampton last week, and he told me that the desirable T40's are the D6-engined boats, particularly the D6-350's. It seems that the older boats (kad44's, kad300's) are a bit harder to shift - but I guess that equally suggests that these might be more of a bargain. Rogerrat of this parish has a nice D6-350 boat based in Hythe which is up for sale and definitely worth a look. Essex Boatyards also have a couple of stock T40's so no doubt px deal would be doable on those boats.

Incidentally mine was a stock boat from Fairline Southampton/EBY and they have provided excellent after-sales service, not just in the warranty period but right through my ownership of the boat - I thoroughly recommend that you speak to them.

On your specific questions, it seems that retro of the aircon is straightforward, depending on how much cooling you need. Although a theorectically perfect installation would be 16000+9000 btu, this requires a big generator and I guess a split shorepower line; most UK-based T40's have a 4kw generator and an upgrade is big £££'s. I'm told that a single 16000 unit will do (although I guess the answer to this would depend on how many of you are regularly on board - are you using just the front cabin, or both).

The oe passerelle was a cassette unit as you say. I didn't even consider trying to retro one of these, it would be frighteningly expensive I think. If you do find out more about this I'd be interested to hear about it.

Garage is manual lift, and yes you can open it without disturbing the seating. When buying, make sure the rams are ok.

One other point - the oe design of the rear cover at the transom gate is not great on the T40. Mine were replaced this year by Jim Bowman at JB Yacht Services, he redesign this part of the cover to great effect.

Shout if you've got more questions.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Nick_H]

Ideally I'd prefer a hard top sports cruiser but budget won't stretch to new 38 sport top.

If you want a hard top then the obvious boats to consider are the Sealine SC35 and 38, but of course you'll already know about these so have presumably already discounted them. Windy 37 Grand Mistral hartop?

 

[wakeup]

I've got a T40 (and previously had a T37). I've had it for 2.5 years and find that it's ideal for the two of us. Some (non-owners) criticise the cockpit arrangement on the T40 but in fact I find it perfect. I love having the garage; about the only thing I didn't like with mine was the steep steps down into the saloon, so I've replaced these on my boat.

I was speaking to Trevor Betts at Fairline Southampton last week, and he told me that the desirable T40's are the D6-engined boats, particularly the D6-350's. It seems that the older boats (kad44's, kad300's) are a bit harder to shift - but I guess that equally suggests that these might be more of a bargain. Rogerrat of this parish has a nice D6-350 boat based in Hythe which is up for sale and definitely worth a look. Essex Boatyards also have a couple of stock T40's so no doubt px deal would be doable on those boats.

Incidentally mine was a stock boat from Fairline Southampton/EBY and they have provided excellent after-sales service, not just in the warranty period but right through my ownership of the boat - I thoroughly recommend that you speak to them.

On your specific questions, it seems that retro of the aircon is straightforward, depending on how much cooling you need. Although a theorectically perfect installation would be 16000+9000 btu, this requires a big generator and I guess a split shorepower line; most UK-based T40's have a 4kw generator and an upgrade is big £££'s. I'm told that a single 16000 unit will do (although I guess the answer to this would depend on how many of you are regularly on board - are you using just the front cabin, or both).

The oe passerelle was a cassette unit as you say. I didn't even consider trying to retro one of these, it would be frighteningly expensive I think. If you do find out more about this I'd be interested to hear about it.

Garage is manual lift, and yes you can open it without disturbing the seating. When buying, make sure the rams are ok.

One other point - the oe design of the rear cover at the transom gate is not great on the T40. Mine were replaced this year by Jim Bowman at JB Yacht Services, he redesign this part of the cover to great effect.

Shout if you've got more questions.

Cheers
Jimmy

Hi Thanks JTB

I would love to know what you did with the steps, as you say they are steep and pointy if I remember correctly? Does the entire run of steps come out easily as they are part of a storage solution. With regard to the 40 do you find it is a tight squeeze feet wise getting down to the bow along the side decks. it looks a tight squeeze/limbo with the radar arch as well?

Do you find the bathing platform is big enough?

 

[wakeup]

If you want a hard top then the obvious boats to consider are the Sealine SC35 and 38, but of course you'll already know about these so have presumably already discounted them. Windy 37 Grand Mistral hartop?

I will look at the SC35 and 38 as some else has suggested this via PM.

I will check out the mistral as well as I like the build qual of windys.

 

[rlw]

Hi,

I've had a Targa 40 with Kad44 for 2 years now and when looking at other newer boat I always feel the targa 40 is hard to beat on from a pratical boating perspective. The tender garage lifts up without disturbing the seating and because of the boating area we are in I sometimes deploy and recover the tender a number of times a day. Its a doddle compared to the previous boat were I had to remove the outboard and tie the dingy onto the platform. When looking around I did strike me how the targa felt newer and more luxurious from a design and fitout perspective than some of the other newer boats I looked at.

I agree with the comment on the D6350 would have like those engines from a top speed perspective but they were way out of my budget range. At that time the D6 boats were nearly double the price. My targa still cruises easily at 25 knots and given it has a big genny and 2 aircon units to carry around in addition to a lot of cruising gear and the tender I don't think its that bad.

feel free to PM for any specific targa40 questions

Rob

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Hi Thanks JTB

I would love to know what you did with the steps, as you say they are steep and pointy if I remember correctly? Does the entire run of steps come out easily as they are part of a storage solution. With regard to the 40 do you find it is a tight squeeze feet wise getting down to the bow along the side decks. it looks a tight squeeze/limbo with the radar arch as well?

Do you find the bathing platform is big enough?

The steps are a relatively straightforward mod. The factory design is four steps; the top two are a single hinged unit which conceals a bin that is impossible to use because the steps don't lift up enough. This unit unscrews easily; the next step is a bit trickier and needs some boat surgery to get it out, but it's all put-backable (the removed steps are wrapped in bubble wrap and are up in my loft, ready to go back into the boat when I sell it). The bottom step is part of the saloon floor moulding and can't be changed.

I know what you mean about the side decks, but in practice it's ok. It's also easy to step from the cockpit over the windscreen on to the side decks when the side covers are out.

Bathing platform - yes, it's generally fine, although it would be lovely if it was a foot longer I guess. Interestingly this would probably be quite an easy mod, if you had the ambition to do this, because it's a separate moulding. You'd need to alter the runners for the dinghy launch, but that's not terribly difficult. The only time the platform feels small is when the garage door is open - the bottom edge of the opened garage door creates a head-banging hazard, but the platform's not big enough to step easily away from it without looking carefully where your feet are.

Hmm. I think I need to call Osmotech and find out how much it would cost to do this

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Hurricane]

Just looked at the T40 spec, Jimmy - 10.97m - I understand.
I think you will find thats a critical dimension when considering berthing
I may be wrong generally speaking but our marina allows 10% extra lenght on the berth size.

So if you were to increase the T40 to a T41 you might run into a different league when finding a berth.

The rules in our marina IIRC are speccifically 10% extra on the boat lenght and the allowed beam (width) must include 3% for fenders.

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Just looked at the T40 spec, Jimmy - 10.97m - I understand.
I think you will find thats a critical dimension when considering berthing
I may be wrong generally speaking but our marina allows 10% extra lenght on the berth size.

So if you were to increase the T40 to a T41 you might run into a different league when finding a berth.

The rules in our marina IIRC are speccifically 10% extra on the boat lenght and the allowed beam (width) must include 3% for fenders.

Hi Mike

Iirc the LOA on the T40 is 12.6m. However, the main reason for not turning the T40 into a T41 is resale; that's the same reason why I didn't rip the entire sofa out of the saloon and build a new one with square corners. Replacing the stairs was a no-brainer, the factory design is terrible.

If you're referring my berth for next year, I should be ok cos it's a 14x3.8; clearly plenty of room for length, and my beam is 3.62m, which plus 3% is 3.72m. Plus apparently there was a T40 on there last summer so I should be ok.

What I _really_ want is a T40 with a hydraulic platform - then I can recreate that brochure moment that I enjoyed with Nick on Warlock's platform last spring - sitting on a chair, beer in hand, on the platform, two inches into the water, anchored between the islands. Truly lovely.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[wakeup]

The steps are a relatively straightforward mod. The factory design is four steps; the top two are a single hinged unit which conceals a bin that is impossible to use because the steps don't lift up enough. This unit unscrews easily; the next step is a bit trickier and needs some boat surgery to get it out, but it's all put-backable (the removed steps are wrapped in bubble wrap and are up in my loft, ready to go back into the boat when I sell it). The bottom step is part of the saloon floor moulding and can't be changed.

I know what you mean about the side decks, but in practice it's ok. It's also easy to step from the cockpit over the windscreen on to the side decks when the side covers are out.

Bathing platform - yes, it's generally fine, although it would be lovely if it was a foot longer I guess. Interestingly this would probably be quite an easy mod, if you had the ambition to do this, because it's a separate moulding. You'd need to alter the runners for the dinghy launch, but that's not terribly difficult. The only time the platform feels small is when the garage door is open - the bottom edge of the opened garage door creates a head-banging hazard, but the platform's not big enough to step easily away from it without looking carefully where your feet are.

Hmm. I think I need to call Osmotech and find out how much it would cost to do this

Cheers
Jimmy

So what did you replace the stairs with?

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

So what did you replace the stairs with?

A different set of stairs. Three decent-sized steps instead of four; carpet, instead of a slippy grp bullnose; top step hinged to provide storage underneath; slide-out wicker hamper between second and third step for shoes. Works an absolute treat. I can walk down the new stairs without having to hold on to anything; try doing that on the factory stairs...

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[wakeup]

Sessa C42HT

Anyone know anything about these boats?

 

[EME]

Elan 42

.. another one to look at?


Windy Grand Bora

Verve

Cayman WA as you are getting older?

 

[z1ppy]

Watching this with interest. we have been looking at boats today. Monte Carlo 37 and 42 and flyer 42 also.

Tried to see a SC35 but Ancasta were less than helpful!

Elan 35 is of interest but cant find that much about them yet.

Would love a Princess V42 with hard top but cant stretch that far. Targa 44 GT maybe buy thats a little big for us maybe??

Do SS do a Smaller (ish) Portofino with hard top??

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

Watching this with interest. we have been looking at boats today. Monte Carlo 37 and 42 and flyer 42 also.

Tried to see a SC35 but Ancasta were less than helpful!

Elan 35 is of interest but cant find that much about them yet.

Would love a Princess V42 with hard top but cant stretch that far. Targa 44 GT maybe buy thats a little big for us maybe??

Do SS do a Smaller (ish) Portofino with hard top??

Haven't you just bought a boat???

The Elan 35 was an interesting boat but you hardly ever see them in the UK.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[wakeup]

.. another one to look at?


Windy Grand Bora

Verve

Cayman WA as you are getting older?

You mean I need easy access for my even older mates that are nearing the hip-op generation rather than the hip-hop genreation

 

[wakeup]

Watching this with interest. we have been looking at boats today. Monte Carlo 37 and 42 and flyer 42 also.

Tried to see a SC35 but Ancasta were less than helpful!

Elan 35 is of interest but cant find that much about them yet.

Would love a Princess V42 with hard top but cant stretch that far. Targa 44 GT maybe buy thats a little big for us maybe??

Do SS do a Smaller (ish) Portofino with hard top??

Ooh some good suggestions, my missues likes the Elan 40, seen a few of these in Port de la Rague. The 40 is stunning, the 35 'not so much' as Borat would say.

In fact what is the newest V42s around, I love the lines on that boat, it just looks right.

 

[z1ppy]

Haven't you just bought a boat???

The Elan 35 was an interesting boat but you hardly ever see them in the UK.

Cheers
Jimmy

Yes!!

There was a 35 with inwards 18 months or so but didnt see it then. There is one in channel islands I thing and the rest seem to be eastern med based.

 

[EME]

You mean I need easy access for my even older mates that are nearing the hip-op generation rather than the hip-hop genreation

LOl .. I asked for that .. and funny you should mention groaning hips!

I also like the NC11 but not been on one yet ..

 

[kashurst]

re Jimmy's new steps on his targa 40 - any chance of a piccy I fancy doing something similar to my t43 steps.