New Boat thread, probably not!

[IDAMAY]

congratulations on the new cat - looks great
how long did it take to go from les sables to cascais (portugal?)
love to hear more about change

Just under 5 days non stop but I think most of the passage was under motor. No doubt Nigel will be along soon to give full chapter and verse but they are now under sail on the way to Villamoura where we hope to meet them tomorrow around lunch time.

 

[Nigelpickin]

Just under 5 days non stop but I think most of the passage was under motor. No doubt Nigel will be along soon to give full chapter and verse but they are now under sail on the way to Villamoura where we hope to meet them tomorrow around lunch time.

94 hours on the engines - service carried out yesterday in Cascais - Now we’re motor sailing to Cabo Sao Vicente and then motoring on to Vilamoura for around noon tomorrow.

Used 600 litres of fuel - hope to use less on this leg but somewhere better than a mp litre thus far....

 

[Nigelpickin]

your boat names are AMAZING!

best wishes and fair winds.

Thanks - we’re really looking forward to season one of ‘Saul Goodman - should start in spring 2018...

 

[Nigelpickin]

Congrats:encouragement:
Is Saul Goodman her name or the maker? I would be very interested to hear about your F7 night in detail, maybe retelling it will be therapeutic

It’s a Lagoon 450f from the same stable as your ST34 Bouba.

We just name boats after our favourite tv shows, becauase, well why not

 

[Nigelpickin]

Many congratulations!

Visited Lagoon 450 at Dusseldorf last Jan (and will do again the coming Jan, got tickets from the dealer) and she is pretty perfect for living aboard with massive amount of space everywhere. Fantastic!

Very much looking forward to the videos :encouragement:! They have always been a joy to watch.

Thanks SM - Really looking forward to putting our handover video together - it was a great few days...
There is sooo much storage! I have all 8 fenders in one locker, food and drink for 10 days just got swallowed up by the fridges and a couple of the 20 cupboards in the main living area...Ann’s really going to have to get her game on to fill the thing with all of her crap

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

I’d like to write a longer post with regards to the reasoning that led to us moving to sail after a lifetime of motor boats and a subjective pros / cons list based on the first few weeks experience, if anyone’s interested?
.

I'm certainly interested but I can't show any of your posts to my SWMBO. She's a closet sailor and it would just give her disturbing ideas. Many congratulations on the new boat though

 

[rwoofer]

You do need to watch weight on a Cat and resist the temptation to use all the free space. Cats are far more sensitive than monos.

 

[Nigelpickin]

A belated update

We've had motor boats for years but early retirement affords us more time and like quite a few others we've had one eye on blue water cruising for a few years, now we've done it here are some initial thoughts, a cheesy video of our Handover and some pictures of us enjoying the boat in the Algarve.

We've had the new boat since the end of November and I guess that we are starting to get to grips with the thing. Last year was a long one without Breaking Bad, we had plenty to do, what with having retired in January and trying to settle into a new life in Portugal but still; we missed being on the water.

Come November we were chomping at the bit to get the new boat and right on schedule we took delivery on November 24th in Les Sable d'lonne, over two days...we could have taken longer and hats off to Ancasta who really know how to do a handover but the weather window for delivery was narrow and we really needed to get the heck out of Dodge on the 26th November.

Unfortunately, Ann would not be able to come across Biscay for the delivery trip because of some family issues in the UK - it's a real shame because the trip helped me get to know the boat while learning a little about sailing and a lot more about what conditions a catamaran can handle. Long story short, engines on across a glassy flat Biscay doing 8kts, as we approached Finisterre a F6 NE picked us up and took us all the way south to Cascais, (Lisbon). We had winds of 35kts - gusting 45kts for the night watch prior to arriving in Cascais but no drama. Had the weather been coming from anywhere in the South we'd have delayed the trip and hunkered in Acaruna but our Skipper, (Halcyon Yachts Supplied), knows Lagoon Catamarans and was certain that the ride would be comfortable, he was correct.

After a day/night in Cascais, some curry and a 100hr engine service, (Yanmar 50hp), we were on our way south. The weather had settled and we sailed for most of the remainder of the trip, arriving in Vilamoura early doors a week after we set sail.

Three months in and Ann and I are thoroughly enjoying ourselves, Lagoon have sold 700 Lagoon 450's since 2011 - that's 100 per year - or 2 per week, so by our hull# they seem to have got the production down to a fine art. Thus far there is very little to report in regard to defects or warranty issues; Ancasta flew an after sales rep down last month for a walkthrough and to discuss any snagging, it's a fantastic service but there was little for him to do.

We find that we can use the boat pretty easily with the two of us, close quarters work in the marina is a little sporty; the boat is wide and we have 6 years experience in joystick controlled boats to unlearn. The boat has little to no keel and is high sided thus windage is interesting but not disabling and we are getting better every time we go out/come in.

The Yanmar engines are good for 8.5kts at 2,500 revs - we are running them mostly at 1800 rpm, sometimes one engine, sometimes two, cruising at 6kts and burning very little fuel, perhaps a mean of 1ltr per mile.

The sailing is fab! These boats are designed for clueless, middle age wunderlusters like us, so they are very easy to use, (once someone has shown you what all the ropes are for). For now we are mostly bumbling 20 miles up the coast, dropping the Anchor and coming back the following day, no dramas and all very pleasant. Physically there is more to do but nothing that reasonably healthy folk couldn't manage and it keeps you busy.

What we love about the boat:
Learning to sail
Limitless range and the sense of freedom that gives us
Our upgraded 44kg Rocna anchor and Mantus BFG, (Big F****ng Grabber)
Low fuel consumption
Great level of kit, for the money
Acres of space inside
Comfortable in 320 degrees of wind/sea direction
B&G Zeus 3 is a massive step up from our Raymarine 127's
Watermaker, (should have done it years ago)
Four very well defined seating areas, (FB, fwd Cockpit, Main Cockpit and Saloon).
Loads of lockers on the deck for fenders, sails, pressure washer, tools and still more room to fill
Ease of access to nearly all components for repair or replacement
A hull for us and one for our guests
Turning of the engines and letting the sails earn their keep
Did I mention the storage space?!

What I don't love about the boat
A bow thruster would be nice, (used to be an option but alas no longer)
The mast height is MASSIVE, around 23 metres, so we can go anywhere but can't get under everything...
There's so much to learn and without expertise we don't really know whether we're doing it right - but that never stopped me having sex...
20 second relay on the shower pump-outs
Salt water flush toilets

These are first thoughts, I'm sure that they will develop in the coming months. We take the boat up to Galicia in May, we love it there and need to explore some more - from there we sail to Tenerife in August - ready for the Atlantic crossing with the ARC in November. We hope to be in Miami for New Years Eve 2018 and then to take the mast down and spend a year doing the ICW/Great Loop before heading back out into the Gulf and carrying on around the world.

I'll leave you with a few pictures and to any other Motorboat owners who are thinking of making the change, we're just a cheap flight away from you, so pop down if you want to see what £500k will get you if you don't have mahussive engines....

Anchored in our (currently) favourite anchorage in Portimao

The Marina, Vilamoura - €4k for 6 months low season inc Elec and Water

Our dear friend Richard, (IDAMAY of this forum), realising that a boats a boat sail or no sail...

Our new boat comes with forward facing CAT Scan

Big flappy and powerful, LPH = 0

The water maker is as JFM says - Plan A.

This is our most liked watch keeping position, unless there's a headwind...

Huge thanks to Ancasta for a superb customer experience, Halcyon Yachts - I'd rather use you than ex Matelots any day of the week, Richard and Elvia for house sitting and just being great friends and of course Ann for letting me have the money....

 

[Bouba]

Nigel, that is so impressive. My first impression, you people are really young! I have parked many times next to these big Lagoon 450, they are huge and they should be charged for two spaces if I was as brave as you it’s the boat I’d go round the world in. Congratulations :encouragement:

 

[Nigelpickin]

Nigel, that is so impressive. My first impression, you people are really young! I have parked many times next to these big Lagoon 450, they are huge and they should be charged for two spaces if I was as brave as you it’s the boat I’d go round the world in. Congratulations :encouragement:

Thanks!
We certainly take up 2 berths! Fees here are x 1.5 going rate but boat overall is < 14m so not too awful; plus we’ll be spending a lot of time on the hook in the months coming so costs will be manageable we hope. If you see the boat on charter anytime soon you’ll know we got the maths wrong...

 

[MrB]

Totally enjoyed reading/watching that, sweet boat too. Thanks for taking the time to post it. :encouragement:

 

[WhiskeyTownRacer]

what conditions a catamaran can handle.

A well known oldie, one suspects you have a decent amount of 'capability headroom'

Best of luck for future adventures and avoidance of these conditions :encouragement:

 

[MrB]

A well known oldie, one suspects you have a decent amount of 'capability headroom'

Best of luck for future adventures and avoidance of these conditions :encouragement:

Looks like they had a drogue deployed, worked well.

 

[WhiskeyTownRacer]

Looks like they had a drogue deployed, worked well.

300 foot line with a bight.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Congratulations Nigel. Lovely boat even though its from the dark side. Are you planning to cruise further into the Med?

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

A well known oldie, one suspects you have a decent amount of 'capability headroom'

Just out of interest, how would a sailing cat behave with that kind of sea on the beam?

 

[rubberduck]

Good plan, have a great retirement

 

[WhiskeyTownRacer]

Just out of interest, how would a sailing cat behave with that kind of sea on the beam?

Having never sailed one I'm not exactly well placed to answer that, though I can't imagine many people having that experience or wanting to find out.
10-15+ metre beam seas in any pleasure vessel? I'll pass.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Having never sailed one I'm not exactly well placed to answer that, though I can't imagine many people having that experience or wanting to find out.
10-15+ metre beam seas in any pleasure vessel? I'll pass.

Actually in big following seas, a well found planing power boat can be quite comfortable if it is being helmed by an experienced person. But 10-15m beam seas, likewise no thanks!

 

[Nigelpickin]

Congratulations Nigel. Lovely boat even though its from the dark side. Are you planning to cruise further into the Med?

We’ve recently changed plans and will spend the spring/summer cruising up - then down the Portuguese Atlantic coast, late Summer to the Canaries and then west; so no med for a few years...the Great Loop has been calling and we want to do it while we can still afford the medical insurance!

We were granted our US visas last week, so now all we need to do is get there in one piece...once the mast is down we’ll be a motorboat for a season or two.

I hope we’ll circumnavigate before we need or want to sell the boat sontje Med will be in around 5 years from now, ATBE.