Possible boat upgrade and possibly a power cat?

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TonyR123

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Have been thinking about upgrading to the next size boat. Currently have a Prestige 500 flybridge. So next size up is around 65ft. Like the look of the fairline squadron 64 and sunseeker manhatten 66 (both have 4 bedrooms and a crew cabin) - hence those specifically.

If moving to this size then I need to upgrade my mooring to the next size.

Whilst I was at Southampton I also browsed the Lagoon 63MY. This is a massive boat - due to the beam obviously (they nickname it the tennis court). So was then thinking are there any similar "luxury" power cats around the 52ft mark. The boat itself would probably have more overall space than a 65ft flybridge and I could fit it on 2x 15m moorings - so mooring costs would be about the same. Anything any good around that size? Lagoon dont do anything yet and not sure of other brands I should be looking at.

Feel free to "poo poo" the idea with reasons why they are rubbish (top speed of 20 knots compared to 30 knots is one reason but dont think I would be bothered by that in the med). Am only thinking about this and would not do anything for a few years anyway. Would probably take me a year to arrange 2 moorings side by side.
 
Quite a few.
Fountaine Pajot do the Queensland 55. It’s the last of their previous design, so I expect in the coming years we will see a refreshed MY5X to add to their refresh of the smaller boats in the range (MY37, MY40 and MY44)
I was very impressed with the new MY44 at dusseldorf last year, I’ve not set foot on the Queensland but it looks good in the pictures/videos.

Another option is Horizon, used to be Jaguar Powercats. They do a 48 (there is one in our marina in Spain). Not sure if they have a European dealer though.

The Bavaria Nautitech 47 power is at SIBS too, might be a bit small and having had a cursory glance around I wasn’t convinced by the fit and finish - felt a bit too much like a sailing boat sans mast.
 
It's not just your home berth that's going to be a problem. I imagine getting an overnight berth in other marinas might also be challenging?
The stability advantage with cats has reduced with the advances in mono-hull stabilizers.
There are pros and cons I guess. Big living space but small bedrooms, relatively.
I can see catamarans with sails making sense but there's probably a good reason why there are few power cats available.
 
I think they are great.

My sister just chartered one in Mallorca. Low fuel burn, amazing space etc. Was a Moorings charter so a bit Ikea but a great boat.

The only only only thing I would say is you last few words. Finding moorings when cruising.
 
cheers for other options whitelighter - will look into those a bit more. And good point on mooring elsewhere. Even the lagoon in places was not finished to the standard of the sunseeker (everywhere it wasnt, but some places quite abit poorer) we looked at straight after. In the end I expect I will find a reason not to go for it, but warrants some investigation in the meantime. On that note need to pack for a another week in Mallorca :).
 
TonyR123 said:
Feel free to "poo poo" the idea with reasons why they are rubbish
Click to expand...
Since you asked... :)
Catamarans are perfect for crossing oceans or cruise the Caribbean - provided of course that they also have a mast and sails.
Or, if engine powered, they do make a lot of sense as very large and fast passenger ferries.

Other than that, there are good reasons why they never became popular as pleasure boats in cruising grounds like the Med.
And as opposed to what you will hear in deck talks, the most important of these reasons has nothing to see with the higher costs of a berth - and /or the difficulties to find it (which is indeed a factor, anyway).
The crucial point is that most folks are attracted by cats because they expect them to be more stable and comfortable than a monohull, but counterintuitive as it might appear, exactly the opposite is true.
At any "human" size, i.e. unless you can/want to go for tennis courts like the one you mention (at the very least!), in any typical Med sea, with shortish waves at anything between F3 and 5, the jerky motion of cats is MUCH LESS comfortable than any monohull - let alone stabilized ones.

Anyway, it's a good thing that you are considering them as a long term plan, because I have a funny feeling that a power cat is what Whitelighter is considering for his next boat.
Btw, I already warned him in the past, but there's nothing like trying first hand to really understand, I reckon.
So, by the time you will start your search, you might have a chance to hear from him about his first hand experience, which I bet he will regret PDQ... :D :rolleyes:
 
Slight thread drift,but does anyone know why the majority of catamarans I see in Majorca are french flagged? It seems the French love catamarans, is there something about the French marina s that make cats attractive?
 
Just bear in mind where your likely cruising grounds are, she is not particularly long or heavy but boy is she wide.

You will need to think that if your destinations are marinas are they set up to take boats of that beam?

The boat displaces about 35 tonnes but you need a very big hoist to lift a 33ft wide boat. Most 75 tonne capacity hoists are about 20ft wide.
 
I had a look at the Lagoon 63 at the show and the space was amazing with 3 double cabins and a master suite. I can definitely understand why anyone would consider one as you'd need a 75+ft boat to get anywhere near the comparative space. Is was only £1.9m + VAT
 
crazy4557 said:
I had a look at the Lagoon 63 at the show and the space was amazing with 3 double cabins and a master suite. I can definitely understand why anyone would consider one as you'd need a 75+ft boat to get anywhere near the comparative space. Is was only £1.9m + VAT
Click to expand...

Hulls #1 went across the Atlantic - pretty impresssive but the lagoon 620 it’s based on was well established....
It’s a shame Lagoon are only doing mahoosive Motor Cats - there does seem to be an appetite for the 40 - 50 foot segment - although I agree with Mapism in that you’d really want one with a sail :)
 
That Lagoon 63 looks like a sailing cat without sails. The lower helm looks like an afterthought and doesn’t seem to have a streering wheel or chair? The upper helm has two stations, both at the stern. Great for watching rigging, not so great for dodging pots.
 
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