Prout cats - any good?

I have a 20 year old Prout I purchased 6 months ago. Not had a chance to do too much in her yet - Along the south coast from Plymouth to Brighton - to Dieppe- down to the Med by canal. Back up to La Rochelle. Before that I had a Moody 36 that was slightly older. I would say both were of the same quality construction. Well made and well thought out. After 15-20 years any car oops sorry, boat is going to need some TLC. things are going to wear out and need replacing. I have had to replace some bits on my new - old Prout and have more to do this spring but I hope by the end of next summer to have a boat I can go anywhere in.. And hopefully will,,,

If you buy an older boat you know you will have to do maintenance. If you buy a brand new boat you will still have things go wrong and still have to do maintenance.

Michael
 
If you look at history of Prouts, the ones that really had problems were the ones they earmarked for boathsows, and then failed to project manage delivery so there was an enormous scramble to finish them off, and any material handy was used rather than the correct specs. The same problem can be evident in some home built versions. Otherwise Prouts have a great reputation as a seaworthy liveaboard, but not as a greyhound of the seas. Standard Snowgoose sailed marginally better than the elite, provided it was light, but elite is the better boat for cruising due to increased capability for loads.
 
We know a family of four who have just sailed from the Med to the Pacific in their Prout 38. It was South African built and called a Manta (?) or something like that. Build quality seemed pretty tough.
 
As a former Prout Snowgoose owner I can only say I was very happy with my boat which was solid and well put together. It was actually home built - the received wisdom being that such boats are either a lot better or a lot worse than factory boats.

I've seen Snowgeese all over the Med and Caribbean, and know of several which have circumnavigated. They remain very good value. I know have a Fountaine Pajot which I love and is a lot roomier and faster (and slams less - higher bridgedeck) but then it cost an awful lot more.

Personally I don't regard the Prout 38 (done 2,000 miles in one of those) as a particularly great boat, but believe the Snowgoose remains great value. Can't speak for the other offerings as I don't have experience.
 
from original link
[ QUOTE ]
joints between walls and bulkheads opened and closed, windows cracked, and hull connections busted as the two hulls went in their respective directions.


[/ QUOTE ]

My post was provoked by this. When investigating candidate boats I have found loads of info (e.g. on Island Packets the alu tanks get corroded by chlorine - result 9k$ to rip em out and replace) on owners forums. You have a chance to get to know the most obvious pros and cons without actually find things by surprise. The snowgoose elite seems to be much appreciated on the whole.

BB
 
Having built my own after many years building boats for other people I think they are excellent sea boats. Not as Talbot says greyhounds but very seaworthy.
HOWEVER
They sold kits to many private builders who did either an excellent job and were able to take more care and build to a higher standard than Prouts themselves (like me of course /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif)
Or they did an 'orrible job especially laminating bulkheads etc. that makes them structurally poor and generally nasty. Your extract is probably one of these.
Look carefully at each boat on it's own merits. Usually it's easy to see which is which. Ask where built and by whom. Most yard built ones are OK but heed what Talbot says about boat show jobbies etc although most of the boats shown at shows were actually owners boats.
The one on the site looks to be in good nick. About the right price, and not overweight by her marks. (A sign of a badly built home job or overloaded with stores).
If I was looking for a modestly priced cat I would find it of great interest myself.
 
I had a factory built Prout for 7 years - if you put my name into search you will find (along with a lot of cr*p) comments about cats which are all based on that boat.

I now have a mono, but only because I day / weekend sail. If I were going distance I would go back to a cat, and having seen the quality of the Prout and that of the French boats I would go Prout.

Thats not to be dreogatory about the French volume cats. They are built for a different market - French extended family having a charter holiday in the Med / the territories just like Bennies are built for the same thing. And I would partciaularly be cautious of too high a bridgedeck - windage is an issue in a cat and some research work showed that bridge deck height had a significant influence (adverse) on stability. OK it stops slamming, but a lower deck within reason makes for a safer distance cruising boat

The boat covered by your post seems expensive for its year, particularly if home built since these boats always sell cheaper. My experience of \Prout fitting out standards was good - definitely better than Moody for example. On the other hand, they have been known to suffer osmosis!

In fact, the more I write about the boat the more I regret selling it!
 
If you do a forum search for me you will find a number of postings based on my Quest 31 which I purchased in 2003 and have sailed about threequarters of the way around UK single handed. 2003 Delivery trip Plymouth to Orkney via Irish Sea and Minch. 2005 Orkney to Scarborough return to visit my aged aunts.
I am very happy with the boat, though it is approaching 30 years old. Some of the original fitting out by Prout was to a fairly low standard though, mainly the main bulkhead plywood facing which was not trimmed before the deck moulding was bolted down and is distorted. However the boat is sound and is being steadily upgraded to make a retirement / long term cruiser.

If buying in the West Country I would suggest that you ask Derek C Hyde to do your survey. He is very thorough and will discuss the boat at length over the phone if you can not be there for the survey. He has surveyed my last three boats, the first being in 1976 or there abouts.
 
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