Najad Yachts - is nothing sacred?

matt1 said:
£345k incl. vat but w/o extras - and that is before you have decided which layout you fancy :-)

The new Rassy 44 comes out at £650k by the time you have the usual extras and despite only being launched in the spring there have been 5 UK orders, including 2 already delivered and residing in Lymington......so I guess people are willing to pay the premium for what essentially looks the same as a £200k Beneteau
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So, about £450k with reasonable extras (note the blurb boasts of longest extras list in its class!). Roughly twice what its near cousin (same designer and similar concept) Bavaria Vision costs. Common multiple now if you compare top and bottom (pricewise) at different levels. Other example, Bavaria 34 and HR 340.

However, if the execution is as good as the CGIs the Najad could be a winner. Remember, they went bust primarily because the market for their old style boats collapsed so not a lot of point in trying that formula again.
 
lpdsn said:
Najads too. Usually recognisable as being named after a bird, often followed by a Roman numeral.
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Indeed. I sailed alongside one briefly in May, wearing a RAF ensign, heading south down E coast of Ireland. They disappeared ahead into the murk (into Arklow I believe, which is much the same thing), but then they were motoring rather than exploiting the boat's legendary sea keeping qualities in a bit of snotty stuff. Maybe the military should have bought Tupperwaresque boats and spent the savings on defence related matters.
 
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Scolly said:
My only question is why has it only got one hull
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Because people want yachts , not stupid looking caravans. Plus they want to be able to get berths in marinas without problems. Plus they want to be able to sail properly, not at 90 degrees to the wind direction & having to make out that they are actually sailing up wind. They do not want to park on some fantasy beach once every 10 years either-- just to justify their mystifyingly silly purchase.
 
Quiddle said:
Indeed. I sailed alongside one briefly in May, wearing a RAF ensign, heading south down E coast of Ireland. They disappeared ahead into the murk (into Arklow I believe, which is much the same thing), but then they were motoring rather than exploiting the boat's legendary sea keeping qualities in a bit of snotty stuff. Maybe the military should have bought Tupperwaresque boats and spent the savings on defence related matters.
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Almost certainly a RAFSA ensign and that does NOT denote military ownership, just membership of RAFSA. The ensign is different from the RAF ensign in that it is defaced with a gold eagle. I'm not aware of the RAF ensign being flown afloat since the demise of the RAF Marine Branch over 30 years ago.

Regarding the HRs, Najads and Comfortinas operated under the auspices of the British Army out of Kiel, they weren't publicly funded either!
 
Daydream believer said:
Because people want yachts , not stupid looking caravans. Plus they want to be able to get berths in marinas without problems. Plus they want to be able to sail properly, not at 90 degrees to the wind direction & having to make out that they are actually sailing up wind. They do not want to park on some fantasy beach once every 10 years either-- just to justify their mystifyingly silly purchase.
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Blimey !!!!!! I only asked and by the way what is "Sailing properly"
 
Goldie said:
Almost certainly a RAFSA ensign and that does NOT denote military ownership, just membership of RAFSA. The ensign is different from the RAF ensign in that it is defaced with a gold eagle. I'm not aware of the RAF ensign being flown afloat since the demise of the RAF Marine Branch over 30 years ago.

Regarding the HRs, Najads and Comfortinas operated under the auspices of the British Army out of Kiel, they weren't publicly funded either!
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You sound like you know your stuff but the ensign was this one

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I'm in no doubt about this as I looked it up because I hadn't previously been aware the RAF had its own ensign.
 
Tranona said:
Remember, they went bust primarily because the market for their old style boats collapsed so not a lot of point in trying that formula again.
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I claim no personal knowledge of the situation and doubtless it wasn't helped by a downturn in market for "prestige" yachts but a najad salesman I spoke to put the blame for the company's demise squarely on the guy who bought the company in 2006, talking about a slow motion car crash. This seems backed up by some articles I've just read.

I understand that they're currently only making a handful of yachts per year (13? hmm...presumably you'd have pretty big hands to hold even one...).

If you want to know the difference between a bavaria and a najad, start by looking at the plumbing in the heads.
 
Quiddle said:
Genuinely interested - could you expand on this?
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ok admittedly based on pre-revival najads.

Look in the heads of the AWBs and you'll see the flush pipe connected directly from the pump to the bowl. Look at a Najad or a Nauticat and the pipe from the pump disappears behind a panel and re-emerges to the bowl. Remove a panel above and you see the vented loop.

More expensive than this, boats displayed at shows tend to be all electric...

Do expensive swedish yachts just have their heads lower below the waterline or is there a cost-saving vs best practices thing going on? I'm inclined to think the latter. But maybe it's because plumbing was the first thing I over-researched in my voyage into practical-boat-ownership...

EDIT: OK I admit it is odd mentioning the toilet's vented loop rather than the joinery, engine access etc. etc...
 
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laika said:
I claim no personal knowledge of the situation and doubtless it wasn't helped by a downturn in market for "prestige" yachts but a najad salesman I spoke to put the blame for the company's demise squarely on the guy who bought the company in 2006, talking about a slow motion car crash. This seems backed up by some articles I've just read.

I understand that they're currently only making a handful of yachts per year (13? hmm...presumably you'd have pretty big hands to hold even one...).

If you want to know the difference between a bavaria and a najad, start by looking at the plumbing in the heads.
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You are right about the post 2006 period - they did not seem to have a model strategy that used the Najad brand strengths, whereas this one does seem to - at least based on the information available.

I have no difficulty in telling the difference between a Bavaria and a Najad, at least based on pre 2006, but the question as always is whether the difference is worth twice the price! You could argue the gap is actually shrinking as the mass producers up their game using external design houses and automated construction of interiors before installation, and the up market builders doing similar to contain costs while at the same time using the same suppliers for much of the expensive hardware. Plus in this case using the same designer for the basic boat.

BTW never had any problems with the heads plumbing on my old Bavaria 37 despite chartering 25 weeks a year for 7 years. Still had the original Jabsco, although suspect it was dismantled more than once in that period! However I did not specify the factory black water system which was a nightmare and i subsequently installed a gravity system similar to the type they later adopted.
 
pvb said:
Dunno about the resemblance to HRs but, apart from the windscreen, the exterior styling of the Najad is very reminiscent of my Bavaria Cruiser 37...
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Personally I am appalled by the likeness; I mean has Bruce Farr no class? :rolleyes:
 
Tranona said:
I have no difficulty in telling the difference between a Bavaria and a Najad, at least based on pre 2006, but the question as always is whether the difference is worth twice the price!
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I certainly didn't intend to imply you couldn't, the point was that actually little touches can easily double costs. I'm also not saying that all those little touches are worth it to everyone: We've not seen any threads about boats sunk because of the lack of that vented loop. Benneteau/Jeanneau undoubtedly produce a product which is fit for purpose at a price which is significantly more affordable than those manufacturers who don't prioritise cost

For personal use rather than as a business, I'd still take a second hand najad over a new AWB (though not completely sure about the red colour scheme...)
 
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