Which 50ft boat would you buy?

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TonyR123

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Bought my first boat in April this year (Beneteau Antares 36) and already looking for something bigger around 50ft to 55ft.

Boat will be moored in Mallorca (like my current one). So question is what would you buy and why? Or what would you discount immediately and why?

So far have noted:

Sunseeker Manhatten 52
Prestige 500/550
Princess 49
Monte Carlo MC5
Beneteau Gran Turismo 49 fly
Fairline 53
Sealine F530
Galleon 500 fly

I have a long list of must haves on the next boat (gyro being one). Some boats lighter than others, sunseeker being 27000kg and monte carlo 14200kg. Oros and cons for heavy/light boats? I will almost certainly have pod drives as parking and anchoring the most important aspect for me. Should be able to see most of the boats at Southampton boat show. Also most of the above have support out in Mallorca.

Interested in anyones comments or experiences.

Thanks
Tony
 
No experience of any of the above as they are all well out of my league however I do have some observations/thoughts:

Fairline/princess/Sunseeker all quality boats and not much to split between them other than personal preference.
Afaik the Sunseeker and Fairlibe are almost a size bigger than the princess.

For the French, prestige and the MC are nice boats. Mc has very unique looks and are nice. I wouldn't bother with the GT49 - it's an old boat, basically a 47, and the saloon is horrid, feels like a sports cruiser cockpit with a roof slapped on which is pretty much what it is.

Sealine looks interesting but not seen it in the flesh to judge.

Galleon is a very clever boat, with the folds down sides but it's really a boat to buy second hand. Residuals will be abysmal so unless you can get - in fact, not even if you can get a stonking discount. If you really want one let a mug but it first and pick it up for peanuts later
 
Montecarlo MC5 vs Princess 49 vs Prestige 500, all IPS powered and just under 50 feet. You can put the Fairline 48 Squadron and the new Absolute 50 Fly in this league as well.
I think the Absolute blow the competition away for space and price per quality. Not price per nice adverts.
Interesting to note that hulls for both MC5 and 48 Squadron is done by JandJ from Slovenia.

Fairline 53 Squadron is not out yet, so jury is still waiting for this one (was not positive on 53 Targa due to a low sealing midships owners room), while Sunseeker has launched its first 52 Manhattan.
Sunseeker is very spacious apparently for its size, although it free board seems coming from a boat 10 feet larger.
Sealine F53 is also very interesting, I never though I could say that for a Sealine, but they seem at least on pictures to have managed to get all together.
Galeon 500 Fly is also very spacious and has a unique cockpit arrangement.
If you are in the Med Galeon used residuals are getting better and are possibly even stronger then Sealine in France Spain area.
In this I would also put the Princess 52, and Azimut 50 or 54.

For the IPS powered boats Cranchi has a new 50/52 Fly with IPS coming out which will give quite a shot on pricing to the Princess and the rest of the group.

Agreed with WL on the 47/49 GT.
 
I'd be looking at the Prestige 550 that Ancasta have on brokerage, (it was a part ex).
Nice boat - although it's on Zeus IPS which is less attractive than the Volvo equivelent, and that's what would put me off the 550 or 560 as the face lift version is called.

On your list, the Prestige 500 is a great boat for the money, (I have one), but the overall quality is reflected in that price versus say the Fairline or princesses on your list. I agree completely about the Montecarlo 49.

I love the MC6 but not so keen on the MC5 but I think that the 530 fly lounge will be hard to be in terms of the quality/space/value although I have reservations about the power choice and its ability to be viable on a loaded boat with a dirty hull...

Nice choice to be making though -enjoy...
 
Whitelighter said:
Galleon is a very clever boat, with the folds down sides but it's really a boat to buy second hand. Residuals will be abysmal so unless you can get - in fact, not even if you can get a stonking discount. If you really want one let a mug but it first and pick it up for peanuts later
Click to expand...

Bit blunt Jez, as usual (although at least you've given your abysmal spellchecker the night off for a change :D) - do you know if Galeon have delivered any of the 500s yet? It looks an interesting boat and I'd be v interested to read a proper test of one. The folding cockpit concept, with a gyro, would be fab in the Med.
 
jimmy_the_builder said:
Bit blunt Jez, as usual (although at least you've given your abysmal spellchecker the night off for a change :D) - do you know if Galeon have delivered any of the 500s yet? It looks an interesting boat and I'd be v interested to read a proper test of one. The folding cockpit concept, with a gyro, would be fab in the Med.
Click to expand...

Glad to see you are leading the spelling standards watch - blame the iPhone + call of the next beer.

True it was maybe a but blunt but it would be a brave soul to stick anywhere near list into that boat. I've been on one and the concept is good others will do it more neatly very soon. Bit like I drive in the early BMW 7 series
 
Not sure why you're hung up on pod drives because that rather limits your choices and there are some stonking shaftdrive 50 footers out there. You can get joystick control on some shaftdrive boats as well if you really must have one. In any case with bowthruster and sternthruster plus throw in a couple of hours tuition you would be manouvering a shaftdrive boat around a marina like a pro without a joystick

For Med use you've got to look at some Italian boats as well like the Azimut 50 http://www.azimutyachts.com/azimut50.html or Ferretti 550 http://www.ferretti-yachts.com/en-us/range/gallery.aspx?IdBr=1&IdBm=119&IdM=188&g=EXT
 
I've just spent 4 days on a Sealine T50 2007 model, fabulous boat, slept eat and drove it most of the weekend.
When friend was buying we discussed in great detail, 100k cheaper than a P50.
P50 a great boat but I'd have the Sealine and £100K in something else, great handling powerful and drove like a sports boat.
I've Laos been sleeping on a Manhatten 50 , I'd also recommend one as well, very well put together, engine room a breeze to service, accommodation excellent, everything works really well, shame no crew cabin , but the T 50 doesn't either.
 
Thanks for the comments so far!

Guess it will come down to if I think the extra price for a sunseeker/princess/fairline over a prestige is worth it. Hopefully see most of them in the flesh at Southampton. Based on above I expect beneteau 49 fly could be removed from the list, didn't realise it is an old boat (not that due to being old it is in anyway a poor boat)!

Any thoughts on the extra weight? The French boats are lighter, (based on kg per sq m) although I admit difficult to compare as they do not have the same dimensions. As a boating novice not driven something that is 10 tonne heavier for roughly the same dimensions. Less responsive but also less prone to being moved by wind/sea I would guess?

It is a nice decision to make and one a lot quicker than I thought I would be. Went on a fairline 70ft which was lovely. But too much of a jump from a 36 ft boat in one go.
 
TonyR123 said:
Thanks for the comments so far!

Guess it will come down to if I think the extra price for a sunseeker/princess/fairline over a prestige is worth it. Hopefully see most of them in the flesh at Southampton. Based on above I expect beneteau 49 fly could be removed from the list, didn't realise it is an old boat (not that due to being old it is in anyway a poor boat)!

Any thoughts on the extra weight? The French boats are lighter, (based on kg per sq m) although I admit difficult to compare as they do not have the same dimensions. As a boating novice not driven something that is 10 tonne heavier for roughly the same dimensions. Less responsive but also less prone to being moved by wind/sea I would guess?

It is a nice decision to make and one a lot quicker than I thought I would be. Went on a fairline 70ft which was lovely. But too much of a jump from a 36 ft boat in one go.
Click to expand...

Squadron 53 is on shafts (thank God) but doesn't have the low mid cabin ceiling that the Targa 53 has. But you shouldn't let shafts put you off as bow / stern thrusters with a joystick is available on the 53. It won't be launched until the London Boat Show but there's ways of potentially getting a sneaky early look if you're interested.
 
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What's gets me is if you choose before you go the show ,why is the price such a secret to who u are ie they try get u pissed treat ur misses like a bimbo , it would be interesting if peeps would pm u about the deals they have managed to do to help you get the best price ,worth asking
 
volvopaul said:
I've just spent 4 days on a Sealine T50 2007 model, fabulous boat, slept eat and drove it most of the weekend.
When friend was buying we discussed in great detail, 100k cheaper than a P50.
P50 a great boat but I'd have the Sealine and £100K in something else, great handling powerful and drove like a sports boat.
I've Laos been sleeping on a Manhatten 50 , I'd also recommend one as well, very well put together, engine room a breeze to service, accommodation excellent, everything works really well, shame no crew cabin , but the T 50 doesn't either.
Click to expand...

We are talking oldie here but the Azimut 50 and Fairline 50 Phantom are all above the boats mentioned above.
I cruised on a T50 in Croatia after a delivery of an Azimut 39, and that Azi39 still handled the sea better.
I ended up calling the Sealine a river boat. The Sunseeker 50 has the problems associated with some of Poole's boat of the turn of the century short waterline, engines at the back, and big tunnels for props.
Not a good technical recipe.
Anyways poster is talking new boats by my understanding.
 
I usually like Sealines but the new F530 put me off with the super large area of glass. In the med it will be like an inferno in the summer in the lounge. It will need a massive aircon system to keep it cool. Maybe they can use tinted glass or reflective glass to keep the heat out.
 
Prestige 500/550,
I have played with both these boats and they are good boats, not the fastest but reasonable sea keeping, and they come with a bow thruster. The ride of a pod drive is different to a shaft or out drive , it feels light in the water. If you are looking for Pob drive have a bow thruster on as well . Pod/joysticks are rev limited and side on to a strong wind or tide can struggle to turn, the thruster can make all the difference in these situations.

A shaft drive with bow and stern thruster works almost better than pods
 
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Quote VolvoPaul "I've just spent 4 days on a Sealine T50 2007 model, fabulous boat, slept eat and drove it most of the weekend.
When friend was buying we discussed in great detail, 100k cheaper than a P50.
P50 a great boat but I'd have the Sealine and £100K in something else, great handling powerful and drove like a sports boat."

will the real volvopaul please come back

PS mine averaged 0.76mpg at 22Knots on a 40 mile run this week, can any 50 foot IPS boat do that ? Its just about to go over 1300 hours and feels like it is just about run in.
 
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kashurst said:
I usually like Sealines but the new F530 put me off with the super large area of glass. In the med it will be like an inferno in the summer in the lounge. It will need a massive aircon system to keep it cool. Maybe they can use tinted glass or reflective glass to keep the heat out.
Click to expand...

Youre not wrong there. My current Ferretti is one of their first cab forward designs with enormous saloon windows and the aircon struggles to keep the saloon cool despite the fact that the windows are tinted. Its not so much that it cannot cool the saloon during the daytime so much as the air handler fans are always going full blast which is noisy and irritating. The result of that is that during the summer we always tend to keep the window covers on and the blinds closed which rather negates the purpose of having large saloon windows in the first place

Having said that, monster saloon windows seems to be the way the market is going and it is certainly a wow factor at boat shows but the boat builders do need to think more about how the temperature is regulated in their boats with these large windows
 
had not thought about the large windows and aircon. Something else to bear in mind!

anyone got any experience of weight of boats? must be pros/cons for heavier/lighter boats. I guess heavier boats are more stable (not a problem if having a gyro installed) and less prone to be being blown in the wind? Lighter boats more fuel economical?

Might fly over to cannes boat show as most boats seem to be on show there.
 
kashurst said:
Quote VolvoPaul "I've just spent 4 days on a Sealine T50 2007 model, fabulous boat, slept eat and drove it most of the weekend.
When friend was buying we discussed in great detail, 100k cheaper than a P50.
P50 a great boat but I'd have the Sealine and £100K in something else, great handling powerful and drove like a sports boat."

will the real volvopaul please come back

PS mine averaged 0.76mpg at 22Knots on a 40 mile run this week, can any 50 foot IPS boat do that ? Its just about to go over 1300 hours and feels like it is just about run in.
Click to expand...

Hi Kevin , I meant it was 100k cheaper than a Princess 50 mid cabin version, friends must have was full beam mid cabin and he looked at Princess 50and 54. I turned the Taos up to 31.5 and it was still going, the bottom hasn't been cleaned since February this year either. I could def live with one.
 
PowerYachtBlog said:
We are talking oldie here but the Azimut 50 and Fairline 50 Phantom are all above the boats mentioned above.
I cruised on a T50 in Croatia after a delivery of an Azimut 39, and that Azi39 still handled the sea better.
I ended up calling the Sealine a river boat. The Sunseeker 50 has the problems associated with some of Poole's boat of the turn of the century short waterline, engines at the back, and big tunnels for props.
Not a good technical recipe.
Anyways poster is talking new boats by my understanding.
Click to expand...


I am in the market for a Manhattan 50. I have heard something along this lines your are mentioning me before could you clarify what this means in practice please ? Thx

And op. .... Don't worry about shafts or s bigger boat. I went from 40 to 65 and after a few days was fine with it.

With bow and stern thrusters you can make the boat do anything you wish down to the inch
 
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