Hazem Zayed
New member
can any one help with advise i am looking for new boat and can’t decide New Azimut 53 Sunseeker 55 and shall i go for IPS or Shaft
Prices going down already me thinks
- Thread starter Bigplumbs
- Start date
Mr Googler
Well-known member
Portofino
Well-known member
A S / Sker 55 is Arnesons anyhow so neither .
Go for a 1100 hp version , the full fat modal .
Chris H
Active member
If he’s looking at new boats the predator 55 won’t be on his radar.
Mr Googler
Well-known member
Greenhorn
Member
My recent experience as a buyer is that the market was red hot. Boats selling within a couple of days. No doubt I’ve bought at the very peak. 
Mr Googler
Well-known member
My recent experience as a buyer is that the market was red hot. Boats selling within a couple of days. No doubt I’ve bought at the very peak.
what did you buy?
Greenhorn
Member
2016 Princess V39
Mr Googler
Well-known member
very nice ?May I ask…as a novice…why did you want to get a boat? You’ve spent a considerable amount on a first boat so what’s the motivation? I think it would be interesting for us to know and help us understand what’s driving the market.
Feel free to say….”rather not say” ???
sailorman
Well-known member
Boat less
Greenhorn
Member
I think the first thing to say, is that this isn't a spur of the moment decision. I've been considering it for a long time.
Having spent the last few winters (before lockdown) in Portals, overlooking the beach and right next to the marina, I've had a lot of exposure to boats! The main driver though, is easy, safe, adventure. Before my daughter started school we did several long road trips around Europe in a Motorhome. and we all really enjoyed it. Now she has started school, that's less practical and well, we've already done it!
The idea is to start off in Mallorca, spend a year getting to know the boat and the sea. If we like it, I'd like to explore further afield and take our daughter out of a school for a few months and have a "proper" adventure.
The boat choice, like all things is a compromise., but I think the V39 is the best compromise we could find. There are only three of us and whilst family will come to visit, I don't want to host them overnight. I want to give them fun, not accommodation. As I like to explore, I thought a 40' boat would have more chance of getting into smaller marinas. The other big factor was the mooring cost, Portals jumps from a 12m mooring up to a 15m. Consequently anything in between these sizes costs twice as much as a 12m, that's about an additional £20k p.a. Unusually for a 12m boat, my one has a seakeeper, which will reduce the risk of anything of us finding out we don't like boating because we get sea sick.
Portofino
Well-known member
^^^ good plan .
We went everywhere in our 12 m as the kids grew up .From France to Corsica , Elba .While in France up and down the CdA coast E + W .
Fortunately the boat had a geny , Aircon and passerelle.
12 M as you say is a ubiquitous size for berthing and even in the heights of August we always managed to find marina places .
Thats a very important point for your planned usage.
The weakest link the returner reason from anchor to marina was the fresh water tank .iirc 170 L for 4 peeps .
Sometimes we used to pull up in a marina around lunch time knowing dam well the office would be shut and while the wife did a faux booking enquiry , I would top up the water tank from somebody’s tap .By the time she returned to say “ office opens @2 pm “ we were full ! Often we had no intention of booking in .
Current boat holds 500 L for mostly 2 pax these days so the issue has gone .
We went everywhere in our 12 m as the kids grew up .From France to Corsica , Elba .While in France up and down the CdA coast E + W .
Fortunately the boat had a geny , Aircon and passerelle.
12 M as you say is a ubiquitous size for berthing and even in the heights of August we always managed to find marina places .
Thats a very important point for your planned usage.
The weakest link the returner reason from anchor to marina was the fresh water tank .iirc 170 L for 4 peeps .
Sometimes we used to pull up in a marina around lunch time knowing dam well the office would be shut and while the wife did a faux booking enquiry , I would top up the water tank from somebody’s tap .By the time she returned to say “ office opens @2 pm “ we were full ! Often we had no intention of booking in .
Current boat holds 500 L for mostly 2 pax these days so the issue has gone .
Hazem Zayed
New member
Manhattan 55 has both options Shaft and IPS but Azimut has only IPS both are Flybridge
Mr Googler
Well-known member
Chris H
Active member
PGT has a lot to answer for !
prinex
Active member
You don't really want to host guests overnight on a 40", unless they are of the opposite sex, possibly younger, and are in your bed.
If you have a child with you (not a grumpy 17y/o like mine) try to do overnight stays at anchor, the pirate life is magic - no need to aircon, run the genny for dinner cooking and battery top-up and then is bliss. Be aware the slish slosh of the occasional waves can wake you up in the beginning (depends from the boat, on mine is very noticeable). If your anchor place has sunset view you reached the peak.
If you are going for longer trips (and we did tons of it) my suggestions:
Always travel very early in the morning (I usually raise anchor / leave the marina) at 5.30 am, and travel slowly (8-9 knots) in displacement speed until your child wakes up, mines raise from the cabin in the sunlight around 9.30 am. Then generator on, breakfast, you will have done 30 miles already which is usually half an hour "fast" planing speed from your next swimming place, anchor, swim, lunch, swim. Reason is water is very calm early in the morning, and dolphins will say hello to you every now and then.
For best berth chances I used to go a bit early in port (4pm), after 5-6 pm the sailing armada will try to get a berth and it can get tight, nowadays I use the navily app to book a berth or just motor into the marina. Try to pick a marina with a sheltered anchoring place nearby (in case the marina is full), what we did lots of time if the marina is full is I would stay on the boat moored somewhere where there is some place (like around the gas station, lift , marina reception etc), family will do the shopping for 1- 2 hours, most of the time there is a water tap at the gas station so you can "fill up" 200Euro diesel and free water. Then back in the sheltered bay for a sumptuous dinner and sleep (you just saved 100Euro mooring fee so you deserve it !). Most notably in the CdA is Baie des Canabiers just West of Saint Tropez.
Never go out if the weather forecast is not perfect or very good weather, use the time to visit the town, go to the next beach by foot and have a swim, explore. Sad as it is many casualties happens due to "gohomeitis", specially charter people need to bring back the boat for Saturday, they are too far and Mistral starts blowing - recipe for disaster. If you get caught out in bad sea you will not be able to go planing speed (which is also the speed at which the boat is more stable) and 20 miles becomes a 3 hours nightmare. My family does not get scared at all (we do this since 20+ years so we have seen it all) just get annoyed, your family may react differently and get put off boating for good. Remember the good captains are not the one braving the storm, they are the one that are sipping a coffee at the bar while outside the storm is raging.
Oh and always have plenty of wine / beer bottles on board.
If you have a child with you (not a grumpy 17y/o like mine) try to do overnight stays at anchor, the pirate life is magic - no need to aircon, run the genny for dinner cooking and battery top-up and then is bliss. Be aware the slish slosh of the occasional waves can wake you up in the beginning (depends from the boat, on mine is very noticeable). If your anchor place has sunset view you reached the peak.
If you are going for longer trips (and we did tons of it) my suggestions:
Always travel very early in the morning (I usually raise anchor / leave the marina) at 5.30 am, and travel slowly (8-9 knots) in displacement speed until your child wakes up, mines raise from the cabin in the sunlight around 9.30 am. Then generator on, breakfast, you will have done 30 miles already which is usually half an hour "fast" planing speed from your next swimming place, anchor, swim, lunch, swim. Reason is water is very calm early in the morning, and dolphins will say hello to you every now and then.
For best berth chances I used to go a bit early in port (4pm), after 5-6 pm the sailing armada will try to get a berth and it can get tight, nowadays I use the navily app to book a berth or just motor into the marina. Try to pick a marina with a sheltered anchoring place nearby (in case the marina is full), what we did lots of time if the marina is full is I would stay on the boat moored somewhere where there is some place (like around the gas station, lift , marina reception etc), family will do the shopping for 1- 2 hours, most of the time there is a water tap at the gas station so you can "fill up" 200Euro diesel and free water. Then back in the sheltered bay for a sumptuous dinner and sleep (you just saved 100Euro mooring fee so you deserve it !). Most notably in the CdA is Baie des Canabiers just West of Saint Tropez.
Never go out if the weather forecast is not perfect or very good weather, use the time to visit the town, go to the next beach by foot and have a swim, explore. Sad as it is many casualties happens due to "gohomeitis", specially charter people need to bring back the boat for Saturday, they are too far and Mistral starts blowing - recipe for disaster. If you get caught out in bad sea you will not be able to go planing speed (which is also the speed at which the boat is more stable) and 20 miles becomes a 3 hours nightmare. My family does not get scared at all (we do this since 20+ years so we have seen it all) just get annoyed, your family may react differently and get put off boating for good. Remember the good captains are not the one braving the storm, they are the one that are sipping a coffee at the bar while outside the storm is raging.
Oh and always have plenty of wine / beer bottles on board.
westernman
Well-known member
Excellent advice. Particularly the bit I highlighted in red.
Kawasaki
Well-known member
Just to add to the Title of this Thread
'Prices going down' etc
Not in North Wales they aint
Most boats are selling quite quickly and for 'top dollar' as it were
Especially in the 40 to 150 K price range
'Prices going down' etc
Not in North Wales they aint
Most boats are selling quite quickly and for 'top dollar' as it were
Especially in the 40 to 150 K price range
Cavalierbond
Well-known member
Boats .co .UK have had a sc35 for a while .. either it’s a dog or vastly overpriced ...
I’m no expert
Member
Prices are definitely not dropping yet and boat sales are red hot, I sold my boat this week in two days to a dealer who paid nearly the full asking price and transferred the money the next day.