Prout charter

[pessimist]

We're seriously considering purchasing either a Prout 34 or 37 but are a little worried about their sailing capabilities and are wary of the single engine versions (I remember someone commenting that "it's like being followed by a tractor"). Our experience of sailing these models is limited to a drunken afternoon on a friend's 34 so we are considering charter, but where? We can find ads. for other (later) Prout models but not the ones that interest us. Anyone any ideas?

 

[Trident]

Prout went bust as you probably know in 2001 so no new Prouts have been made since then in the UK (the name was sold to two different companies overseas as far as I can tell) and so any Event 34 or Snowgoose 37 will be over 18 years old - much too old for any charter fleet to use now. There is a Prout owners Facebook group you could join and ask around to see if someone will take you out. Its a bit of a wait but in June they're having their annual rally meeting in Dartmouth this year with quite a few 37s already confirmed going so I'm sure you would be able to find someone there who would take you sailing.

 

[pessimist]

Many thanks for that. We'll join the Facebook group.

 

[geem]

We're seriously considering purchasing either a Prout 34 or 37 but are a little worried about their sailing capabilities and are wary of the single engine versions (I remember someone commenting that "it's like being followed by a tractor"). Our experience of sailing these models is limited to a drunken afternoon on a friend's 34 so we are considering charter, but where? We can find ads. for other (later) Prout models but not the ones that interest us. Anyone any ideas?

We used to sail a Prout 37( pre-Elite model). She had a taller than standard rig (by 8feet) and was light. The Elite models had a lot more interior trim and were actually a completely different hull to the pre-elite. The 37had single engine. Sillette Sonic made the steerable leg that came in three different types. Steer well clear of the mk1 leg. Nothing but trouble. The mk2 leg was a lot better but noisy. The latest leg is a mk2 but quite due to a change to the gears in the leg.
The advantage of the single engine is it keeps the boat light and gives superior sailing performance. In my opinion the Elite is verging on a motorsailer.
We had laminate sails that gave us a performance edge but with any cat you tend to sail less close to the wind but faster than a similar sized mono. The low bridge deck tends to slam but doesnt seem to effect the performance. Off the wind they are a pleasure to sail and will give even a fast mono a serious run for their money. We did turn a few heads when we overtook racing boats on occasion. The secret of keeping good performance on any cat is keep it light. We used to see lots of Prouts with the centre nacelle anti fouled. If they need to anti-foul it they are overloaded! Even running the boat with little water and fuel gave a noticeable performance advantage. Good luck with your search

 

[pessimist]

Thanks, geem, for that comprehensive reply. I'm particularly interested in your comments on the leg. Other than asking is there any way to tell the two types of mk2 apart?

 

[geem]

Thanks, geem, for that comprehensive reply. I'm particularly interested in your comments on the leg. Other than asking is there any way to tell the two types of mk2 apart?

Your best bet would be to talk to Sillete directly. I suspect they have sold very few of the later mk2 legs. I think they only offered thos leg in the last ten years or less so if the boat you are looking at has an orginal leg is certainly wont be the later one. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the earlier mk2 leg. The straight cut gears are noisy. They whine away but its not the end of the world. The mk1 leg is another story! The mk1 leg has the gearbox built in from memory where as the mk2 uses the seperate geabox mounted on the back of the engine, usually a Yanmar.
I actually quite liked the mk2 leg. I have heard people complainong about their reliability but they are a really simple device. If you maintain it, change the oil, seals where necessary, etc then they give trouble free service in my experience. I also liked the way you could manoeuvre with the steerable drive leg. Once I got used to that thing I could spin the boat in its own length and park it inch perfect in a marina even when the wind was blowing hard. It was great in reverse as you could simple drag the boat towards your destination by keeping the rudders in the middle and steering the drive leg with your foot on the steering bar.

 

[oakleyb]

I changed our mkll leg for the newer mkll leg a couple of years ago. The only way to see the difference I believe is through the oil plug, check the gearing. It's very quiet now and still have the old mkll in the garage if anyone's interested

 

[pessimist]

Sounds as though I should be looking for a boat with a knackered leg with a view to a later replacement.