Lagoon 380

[davel]

There seem to be quite a few of these available - mainly ex-charter.
Anyone have any experience/views/prejudice re these as a potential blue water cruiser/liveaboard?

 

[Talbot]

Personally I am not a great fan of the lagoon as I dont much like their looks. But they do have a solid workmanlike structure, and are likely to be a much better bet than an ex charter FP. Due to their weight they are not sparkling performers, but more a solid workhorse. Main drawback is that as it is the charter design, it will be full of bunks and short of stowage, fuel and water capacity.

 

[snowleopard]

Agree with that assesment. It is a bit of a slug. I overhauled one under main only while it had the lot up. OTOH the do have a panoramic view from the saloon and the forward windows open so you get plenty of ventilation in the tropics.

 

[davel]

Thanks to Snowleopard and Talbot for the feedback.
I agree the Lagoon is not the most attractive looking boat. However they do seem well constructed and have the major advantage of being available at a realistic price.
I'm interested in your comments regarding their performance - that's a factor that will be important to me. I plan to charter one later in the year so I'll get some first hand experience.

In the meantime - any other suggestions of what I might consider?
Top-level requirements are:
Affordable - looking at a budget of £120- 140k - fitted out for long term cruising
Build quality - I'd want something I felt would look after me in ocean cruising
Comfort - as much as possible please
Performance - as much as possible please

Not too many surprises in that lot I guess.

 

[RupertW]

Slug! Compared to a Leopard, a rubber dinghy is a thoroughbred (although I prefer the accomodation in a Leopard).

Can't talk in too much detail about the 380 but I helped deliver a Lagoon 410 cross-Atlantic and found it a very good sail - managed just over 15 knots at best but frequently got 12knots plus. From one of the other crew who'd just delivered a 380 I heard that they'd got 18 knots out of the 380. I found the boat very controllable in bad weather, which we had our fair share of and everything else worked fine long distance once you sorted out a couple of chafe-points

Personally I love the vertical windows, but the accomodation is a little old fashioned for a cat, but the owners version has a very nice shower/bathroom set up.

 

[Talbot]

I am quite impressed by the Voyage range (built in South Africa) but dont know what their prices are off hand.

 

[mobeydick]

I just dont like the idea of the saildrives being behind the rudders. I know you use the engines for low speed manouvering usually but:
-Propeller seems vulnerable if reversing into a dockside mooring or shore
- low speed manouverability on one engine reduced
- It prevents you from using propwash over rudder to 'squirt' yourself sideways.

also engine access on transom steps has good and bad points (dont fancy accessing the engine in any sort of sea, but is outside accomodation)

All this is probably nothing in practice

 

[Hurleyburly]

Why are Lagoon better build than FP ?

 

[Jeannius]

Go in the bow locker of an FP Athena and you can see daylight through the hull.

 

[jamesjermain]

I'm quite a fan of the Lagoons as a good compromise between a solid cruising cat a la Broadblue, and the plasticy charter cats (the 410 is better than the 380 in this respect). Having said that, there is a lot of the charter cat about her. Had I decided to go the production cruising cat route rather than the semi-custom performance cruiser route, the Lagoon 381 and Broadblue 385 would have been my short list. I know it's all a question of style, and therefore personal, but I like the look of the vertical windows - and they are practical, too.

If there are any Broadblue 385s on the second-hand market, I suspect they would still be over your budget, but take a look at one anyway.

Performance-wise, I think you will have to go to the specialist, and rather more expensive, market to get anything significantly better than the 380. An exception would be the Outremer 40 which has very good performance and is popular with blue water families although the accommodation is less spacious. Rarity keeps second-hand prices high, though.

 

[snowleopard]

Look in any unlined grp hull (except sandwich construction) and you'll see light through it. Glass and Polyester are both translucent.

 

[davel]

Many thanks to all for the replies - I've now got a few more options to consider.
I'll do a bit more research and also take a look at the Outremer.