Prout Quest 33 ?

[MacMan]

So I am looking at a Prout for a new (to me) boat. A Prout Quest 33 probably or maybe a 31.

Any one got specifc advice on the things to look for (or look out for) in a Prout ? (especially 33/31 footers)

What goes wrong/breaks needs to be looked/pay careful attention to when assessing the second hand boats out there.

Just to cover off things I have already done:

Been to Multihull world in Emsworth - very nice and helpful people. They are actually Brokers who I can see ACTUALLY earn their money. Fully recommend anyone in the UK at the start of looking for a 2nd hand cat to start there.
A prominent forum member Michael - has one for sale - flights booked to go and see his in the new year.
Aware that some were finished DIY rather than at Prouts - these are on at a discount in the market but difficult to assess how much that discount should be.
Been to see a couple for sale in the UK to get a rough idea and a couple more trips booked.
Searched the entire WWW - very little on Prouts if you exclude what Michael has written. (which I have also read)

Also,
Is the osmosis pox a particular concern for these boats ?
Will obviously get a full survey when we get to that stage but we are still looking round candidates at the moment.

Lastly any sensible alternatives to a Prout that I should be considering ?

Requirements: Keen on a cat as I think future plans will involve a bigger one but want to get experience now and build up but this one needs to be a small one to "fit in" around the Solent. SWMBO also very keen on flat sailing. Neither of us are racers. Sailing will be Solent and annual Brittany/CI trips probably working up to Spain/Portugal in the medium term when we both get a longer stretch off work. Like "bullet proof" reputation of Prouts - sounds to me that out in a Gale I will fail before the boat will! Like the space provided by Cat for saloon area. Need hull berths to be useable as doubles. Also like the ability to have queen berth converted from the saloon. Always drying out so need to be able to do this.

Disadvantages on Prout - well they have a reputation for pedestrian performance - BUT some people seem to claim that if set up right they can put in a reasonable performance. I guess I am after the impossible - something that has all the space of the Prout 33 but goes just that little bit faster. If anyone thinks that this exists then would be good hear from them.

 

[Bajansailor]

ScillyPete on this forum is currently on his way across the Atlantic from the Canaries to Barbados on his Quest 31 - lots of info about them on their Blog at http://peteandspamgosailing.blogspot.com/

 

[jeremyshaw]

Don't know the Quest but I had a Snowgoose for some years and now have a French cat.

Prouts are generally regarded as very solid boats and if anything are over-engineered. Osmosis not generally a big issue (though I had some slight osmosis thought to be caused by the water tanks being in the keels). We had some balsa coring and if Quests have that you need to be careful about rot in the core particularly where people have put fittings through and not sealed correctly.

Generally however these boats go on forever.

If you can run to it I'd suggest you also look at the Snowgoose. Cats, even more than monos, are somewhat stalled by head seas, and the shorter the boat the more this is true. Hobby horsing is also an issue. Personally I think 33' is a bit on the short side for a cruising cat. If you sea trial a Quest try putting it straight into the sea to make sure you are happy with the motion.

As to DIY vs factory, my boat was a DIY job and excellent. It's often said that a good Prout DIY is better than factory. But bad ones can be bad.

 

[boatmike]

Phew! Where to start.....
Firstly the 33CS is vastly to be preferred to the 31. Both actually sail OK but the 33CS motion at sea is far better and she is faster and surprisingly close winded. Also more spacious obviously.
A well built home completed boat can in fact be better than a factory completed one. Depends who has built it ( If it's mine of course it's better!)
Osmosis can appear in any boat but Prouts are no worse than average and if you get one epoxied from new (many were) excellent. Prouts vary in performance and in fact the Quest 33 CS in a force 4 will beat my Snowgoose Elite but in a 6-7 and above the bigger boat wins. There are other boats (Privelege etc) that compete favourably at 37ft upwards but then you are talking big money. In the 33 ft range there is not a lot IMO.. If you are in the Solent area and want to talk PM me. Glad to help.

 

[ebbtide]

Am just waiting for a so-called 'expert' on multihulls to leap in here and sell you his Catalac.
Don't even go there!

Seriously, have cruised most Prouts and do recommend both.
Not at all deterred by dismasting when a Norseman terminal pulled out, an obvious DIY blunder.

A Snowgoose goes past my window like a dose of salts in all weathers - perhaps wosisname who posts here will contribute?
Would just lurv one in my Xmas stocking please Santa.

 

[wotayottie]

Had a Prout 33 CS for 7 years and would still have it now if my wife had her way. But I decided to day sail / occasionally race locally and IMHO cats arent really much fun for that sort of use. So we went back to a mono.

In terms of useage, I would go back to a cat every time if I was sailing long distance / liveaboard. We took ours all along the east, south and southwest of the UK down France and across Biscay and she did an excellent job. Was not worried by weather on any occasion though tbh I am careful in terms of what I will set out in. The Prout, like all cruising cats, becomes a motor sailer to windward in a chop, but then so do many modern monos.

The contsruction of the Prout was good - deffo better than my Moody. The mouldings were prone to osmosis particularly those moulded by Jaguar yachts for Prout. Ideally you need to buy a factory built boat - privately built ones are of very variable quality with some being over built and performing poorly. Weight is the enemy of any multi - just filling the water tanks on my boat made 3/4 knot difference to max sailing speed.
Other construction issues are the silette drive leg which is crude, effective but maintenance intensive and the hydraulic steering which needs a higher geared pump than standard.

I could ramble on for ever. If you want to chat, pm me your phone number (landline only please) and I will ring you at a nominated time.

 

[snowleopard]

The size isn't too much of a problem for long distance sailing. I met a couple from Japan on the ARC, well on the way to completing their circumnavigation in an Event 34.

Prouts were built for the British market - a 'proper' boat had to have lots of wood and no GRP visible below decks so very heavy. I once got a torrent of abuse on here for suggesting their performance was pedestrian but I stick by my view that they are no faster than a cruising mono of the same length, Generally a bit slower upwind and faster on a reach. You can make them go quickly by pushing hard in a blow but at the cost of reducing the safety margin.

Prior to the final Prout designs the beams were quite narrow which meant less stability and lounging space but the smaller ones could be lifted on a travel hoist and get into a single berth in a marina.

The 'minsail' rig is good from the point of view of reefing in bad weather but the huge genoa can be a pain when short tacking.

 

[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
Am just waiting for a so-called 'expert' on multihulls to leap in here and sell you his Catalac.
Don't even go there!

[/ QUOTE ]
I assume that comment was pointed at me as I have on occasion mentioned my boat for sale.

However, your comment shows your usual lack of knowledge and lack of understanding.

I have mentioned it where someone is particularly looking for a cheaper boat and with the emphasis on liveaboard. If you had a grain of interest in cats you would know that a Catalac has a great interior for its size, and that I would be the first to state that its windward performance is not in the same league as a prout. I have however achieved a round the island time of less than 10.7 hrs which for a 24ft waterline cat of known poor windward performance speaks volumes for its performance on other points of sail - ask Boatmike.

I also like the Prout design, and would add my agreement to Boatmike on hull length. If you cant stretch to the Snowgoose 37 in price, you might be lucky enough to find an early 35, which has advantages over the 33, which is better than the 31.


Perhaps you could find it possible in the future to make constructive comments without the derogatory remarks

 

[Auntie Helen]

And I'll add my two penn'orth as an owner of an Event 34 (for the last four months anyway). A great boat, feels very solidly built, we had 9 knots out of her yesterday with 25kts wind and love the space and overall feel. I suspect that in the long run she'll be pretty similar, speed-wise, to the 34 foot monohull that we sold (with perhaps a higher maximum speed but slower overall speeds in light airs). We keep her light and notice the difference when the water tanks are almost empty rather than half full. I spoke to the first owner of our boat today and he says the maximum speed he ever got was 13 knots in very favourable conditions so they're not super-speedy but seem to go decently and with real comfort.

The survey of our 12 year old Event showed nothing wrong structurally and no osmosis so - fingers crossed - the build quality seems good. Ours was a factory finished one (one of their boat show demonstrators).

If you want to talk any further, PM me a landline number.

MrsChellers