Which offshore cruiser 32-36 ft ???

[Nick1150]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies... I have to admit that Italian design is nice, but I prefer the English seaworthiness

Sealine 320 statesman
Sealine 360 statesman
Sealine F360
Princess 35
Princess 360

These are my choises till now... Am I in the right way or not ?

Advises needed !!!



Thanks

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

actually both the boats I mentioned Nick are seaworthy as much if not more to the English builds, and just for you to note the Azimut 32 Targa has a hull designed by Bernard Olenski which is the same designer to Fairline and Princess
actually I am surprised to hear that a Greek think some British boats are very seaworthy....

 

[Nick1150]

no no you didn't understand or maybe I didn't put it the right way...

I meant I prefer English constructions because I like them and I am fond of them. I do not prefer Italian models just for my personal reasons, even though their design is better. I did not say that Italian hulls are not seaworthy. You got me wrong

You know there are choises we do just because. For example I am a BMW driver since 1992 and eventhough Mercedes produces quality cars, still I would not buy one. I prefer buying a BMW just because I am fond of BMW. That simple.

and BTW Greek know that many British boats are seaworthy

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

BTW Greek know that many British boats are seaworthy

seaworthy yes
but not very seaworthy, at least this is what they say when I offer them English boats which are also more attractive priced to the boats they like
normally most of the Greek clients I get come from shipping background so normally they know a thing or two about boats and yachts, and the point of view they share is also very interesting

 

[Nick1150]

seaworthy yes
but not very seaworthy, at least this is what they say when I offer them English boats which are also more attractive priced to the boats they like
normally most of the Greek clients I get come from shipping background so normally they know a thing or two about boats and yachts, and the point of view they share is also very interesting

Back in 1992, my uncle sailed his brand new Princess 470 fly, from Plymouth UK where Princess Yachts delivered it directly to Piraeus Greece, and believe me this boat cannot sail through the channels, and faced no problems at all. He faced heavy Givraltar waves and many more all the way to Malta. I have a copy of his diary as a souvenir. I guest that could be seaworthy. Right ?

I know there are more and less seaworthy boats out there. But since I am not an expert, I would very much be interested in knowing which boats do you mean.

 

[silver_boy]

Also have a look at Fairline Corsica 35 or 37 and Fairline Brava 36.

 

[PowerYachtBlog]

Back in 1992, my uncle sailed his brand new Princess 470 fly, from Plymouth UK where Princess Yachts delivered it directly to Piraeus Greece, and believe me this boat cannot sail through the channels, and faced no problems at all. He faced heavy Givraltar waves and many more all the way to Malta. I have a copy of his diary as a souvenir. I guest that could be seaworthy. Right ?

I know there are more and less seaworthy boats out there. But since I am not an expert, I would very much be interested in knowing which boats do you mean.

I am not saying they are not seaworthy, just not the best of class
I know the 470 very well, in 1997 I took part exchange for one versus a new Ferretti 53
the owner could not beleive how much better the Fer was versus his Princess which beleive me he tought was best of class too
in five/seven feet waves Force 5 upwind the Princess could not do more then twenty knots as it felt tweeking and falling in peaces, with the Ferretti we managed this with there 120 Fly (41 feet)
fair to say down wind the Princess is a bit better, but beamish or head sea there is no comparison
most boats we speak here can take the seas, the difference is that some boats can take a sea better to the other
for example a US Sportfish boat (Bertram, Hatteras, Viking) usually will put to shame most if not all EU builds especially in head sea
and even there you will get to another standard
a boat is always made of compromises of performance and accommodation....

 

[Nick1150]

Thanks for the info PowerYachtBlog

 

[sunlondon]

you cant rule out the portofino 35! it competes with all of these and it meets your requirements! It has a spacious saloon and cockpit with good vis from the helm!

they dont make new portofino 35's anymore but you can get a used one for a steal if you look in the right place!

Have you ever been on one or seen one?

 

[Nick1150]

Only via web. This is an open boat, not a HT or fly... not a winter boat. Other than that I like it alot

 

[sunlondon]

Have you seen the princess 366 in Athens? Is this the boat you were interested in?

It seems a nice boat and if you are a fan of Princess it seems to be the right choice for you!

If you need info on this boat let me know, might be able to get you a good deal?!?!?!?

 

[Nick1150]

Have you seen the princess 366 in Athens? Is this the boat you were interested in?

It seems a nice boat and if you are a fan of Princess it seems to be the right choice for you!

If you need info on this boat let me know, might be able to get you a good deal?!?!?!?

In fact I was ready to discuss about it, but due to change of plans, I am searching for a fly or hardtop boat now.

 

[volvopaul]

There is a princess 360 in chichester uk for sale at 89950 uk pounds, I also have a friend who has a fairline brava 36 for sale at around 75k

 

[Nick1150]

Hi again,

I had some problems to solve, but now I am back again and searching for our next boats.

Unfortunately these problems costed several thousand euros, and therefore my budget has been limited to max 65,000 euros!!! And unfortunately that's my limit.

I have seen the Princess 366 Riviera to be honest but it goes off my league... I wish I could find a clean 366 in my budget.

Any hints ?

 

[Gemini]

Walrus Yacht Sales & Princess had a P366 is Spain on there books, asking £75ish, so could be worth call, the size of the lazarette you could get a completed boiler house in there and have demisters on the screen, excellent hull , normally the soft furnishing down stair will need updating as can be a bit techno colour, but easily solved.

Ancaters had one on there books in Brighton recently. but problally to far away

 

[Nick_H]

I have seen the Princess 366 Riviera to be honest but it goes off my league... I wish I could find a clean 366 in my budget

Why don't you let the seller decide if your budget is enough, put in an offer, they can only say no ...

 

[mont]

Nimbus 33 'Avanta' Flybridge ??

Hi,

Just read your August 09 post and recent posting with interest.

We have a somewhat rare 1993 Nimbus 33 'Avanta' flybridge (owned since 2005 - five seasons) which is now based in sunny Mallorca after previously being in Hull UK (not usually very sunny). It was our first boat purchase and we were looking for a modern well built sporty style of boat, with flybridge, with a light airy interior & two separate double cabins.
We have had many many weekends and extended stays onboard and have been 2 adults / 2 kids normally and feel these 10m flybridge boats do seem to really fit your needs / budget.

Your criteria I understand are :
1. Two separate double cabins (with doors).
Yes. We have two separate double cabins (not just curtained off). We have door from lower lobby into decent master forward with two wardrobes, lots of storage etc and then door into second separate double berth to starboard / under saloon floor (has accomodated two adults often and our two girls normally) with wardrobe, seat and small standing area. Saloon will also covert into further double if needed. So I feel that fully meets that issue as your 'family' is similar to ours. This layout is still little changed on the newest models built by Nimbus and many similar builders - i.e. it works.

2. Covered area / winter cruising.
Very good. We have a typical flybridge layout with framed patio door from cockpit area into well lit but enclosed saloon. Our Cockpit area has the usual full canvas canopies to enclose it if desired. Twin helms with full inside lower helm with full instrumentation and second helm to flybridge (ours has winter tonneau & summer bimini). We have winter gas heating fitted with outlets to berths but usually use electric heaters in marinas. We initially cruised / used the boat in the North of England (mainly Hull !) for three seasons 05 / 07 (all year round) with no issues as regards winter comfort. Equally for summer (now Mallorca) we have flybridge bimini, cockpit has fly overhang and bimini out onto rear davits, plenty of hatches, portholes and windows etc. We dont have air con but not found this any great issue.

3. Seaworthy / coping with chop & swell / build quality.
Scandinavian built with that in mind. We have crusied in some pretty choppy seas in the Humber estuary (wind over tide situations) with no issue - F4 / F6 with 1m / 2m wave height was common. Tuck the drives fully in & trim tabs fully down and the bow drops nicely to present a pretty sharp forward 'v' to the chop or swell and we've found her cruising speed of about 20 knots is easily maintained. Our boat has a stated top speed fully planing of 32knts (which our boat will manage in the right conditions if desired) although we prefer a comfortable 20knts cruise at about 3,200 rpm/ or displacement speed at about 7knts. These boats are Swedish built for generally the Scandinavian market and Nimbus Boats have been the common choice for yachtsmen moving over to motor because of their seaworthy build and handling. Since arriving in Mallorca we have occasionally experienced some serious 'character building' seas (6m waves / F6+ being the biggest !) and can fully confirm that these boats (perhaps not always the crew / family !) will handle it if desired. As regards build quality they are Swedish built so good build spec with solid teak etc.

4. Budget.
Well possibly. Your initial budget in August started at e85,000, which would have found one, but now seems to have dropped to e65,000. I have seen some of these models / similar ones at e100,000 + and also as low as e70,000 if perhaps they are single engined / bit basic & tatty (there is one in Germany at the moment). Clearly you may be able to haggle or perhaps find a private sale where the owner isnt paying a large broker commission. I'd guess physical location as regards moving back to Greece would I presume also be a factor.

Bit of history : They were built as a flybridge 'Avanta' version between 1992 - 1996, and also as a Coupe version (same / similar hull) - briefly 33, 340, 345 etc etc till quite recently. The 'Avanta' had usually two standard engine options twin 200hp ad41b Volvo Pentas on DPA duo prop outdrives (ours) and twin 150hp VP / DPA (considered underpowered). There seems to have been some odd single engine variants as well.
Being Swedish and built and plated to comply with DNV (DeNorseVeritas) standards (bit like the Lloyds of London standards) then they were quite expensive when new and therefore were not built in huge volumes. Ours (1993) is noted as being hull number 27 although I dont know how many of the 'Avanta' flybridge version were built.

Somewhat ironic that our specific boat started life new in Greece. In 2000 it was purchased and shipped to UK and we have now returned her to Mallorca (is this the start of a good story ??).
If you have some further interest in this model do a web search etc or the link to our boat is below.
YBW.com 'Motor Boats Monthly' can supply a copy of the boat test report of the model when new in 1992 (about e8 !) which I got just before we bought ours.

http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/boat/new/boat_details1.jsp?id=46376&curr_id=1

Regards
Richard

Private Message Sent as well - hope you get it !

 

[Nick1150]

Walrus Yacht Sales & Princess had a P366 is Spain on there books, asking £75ish, so could be worth call, the size of the lazarette you could get a completed boiler house in there and have demisters on the screen, excellent hull , normally the soft furnishing down stair will need updating as can be a bit techno colour, but easily solved.

Ancaters had one on there books in Brighton recently. but problally to far away

I saw this boat you are saying but still off my budget Take in mind that I need 5 to 7K for sailing her to Greece and do all the paper work to make her Greek. So with that in mind my budget is 60K for the boat and not 65K...

Thanks anyway.

 

[Nick1150]

Why don't you let the seller decide if your budget is enough, put in an offer, they can only say no ...

Sure that's a good way of thinking. I did but he is not considering 65K at all for the time being of course. I believe that my offer will be more serious around Jan or Feb if he does not until then sell the boat.

I wish I find my boat earlier though

 

[Nick1150]

Hi,

Just read your August 09 post and recent posting with interest.

We have a somewhat rare 1993 Nimbus 33 'Avanta' flybridge (owned since 2005 - five seasons) which is now based in sunny Mallorca after previously being in Hull UK (not usually very sunny). It was our first boat purchase and we were looking for a modern well built sporty style of boat, with flybridge, with a light airy interior & two separate double cabins.
We have had many many weekends and extended stays onboard and have been 2 adults / 2 kids normally and feel these 10m flybridge boats do seem to really fit your needs / budget.

Your criteria I understand are :
1. Two separate double cabins (with doors).
Yes. We have two separate double cabins (not just curtained off). We have door from lower lobby into decent master forward with two wardrobes, lots of storage etc and then door into second separate double berth to starboard / under saloon floor (has accomodated two adults often and our two girls normally) with wardrobe, seat and small standing area. Saloon will also covert into further double if needed. So I feel that fully meets that issue as your 'family' is similar to ours. This layout is still little changed on the newest models built by Nimbus and many similar builders - i.e. it works.

2. Covered area / winter cruising.
Very good. We have a typical flybridge layout with framed patio door from cockpit area into well lit but enclosed saloon. Our Cockpit area has the usual full canvas canopies to enclose it if desired. Twin helms with full inside lower helm with full instrumentation and second helm to flybridge (ours has winter tonneau & summer bimini). We have winter gas heating fitted with outlets to berths but usually use electric heaters in marinas. We initially cruised / used the boat in the North of England (mainly Hull !) for three seasons 05 / 07 (all year round) with no issues as regards winter comfort. Equally for summer (now Mallorca) we have flybridge bimini, cockpit has fly overhang and bimini out onto rear davits, plenty of hatches, portholes and windows etc. We dont have air con but not found this any great issue.

3. Seaworthy / coping with chop & swell / build quality.
Scandinavian built with that in mind. We have crusied in some pretty choppy seas in the Humber estuary (wind over tide situations) with no issue - F4 / F6 with 1m / 2m wave height was common. Tuck the drives fully in & trim tabs fully down and the bow drops nicely to present a pretty sharp forward 'v' to the chop or swell and we've found her cruising speed of about 20 knots is easily maintained. Our boat has a stated top speed fully planing of 32knts (which our boat will manage in the right conditions if desired) although we prefer a comfortable 20knts cruise at about 3,200 rpm/ or displacement speed at about 7knts. These boats are Swedish built for generally the Scandinavian market and Nimbus Boats have been the common choice for yachtsmen moving over to motor because of their seaworthy build and handling. Since arriving in Mallorca we have occasionally experienced some serious 'character building' seas (6m waves / F6+ being the biggest !) and can fully confirm that these boats (perhaps not always the crew / family !) will handle it if desired. As regards build quality they are Swedish built so good build spec with solid teak etc.

4. Budget.
Well possibly. Your initial budget in August started at e85,000, which would have found one, but now seems to have dropped to e65,000. I have seen some of these models / similar ones at e100,000 + and also as low as e70,000 if perhaps they are single engined / bit basic & tatty (there is one in Germany at the moment). Clearly you may be able to haggle or perhaps find a private sale where the owner isnt paying a large broker commission. I'd guess physical location as regards moving back to Greece would I presume also be a factor.

Bit of history : They were built as a flybridge 'Avanta' version between 1992 - 1996, and also as a Coupe version (same / similar hull) - briefly 33, 340, 345 etc etc till quite recently. The 'Avanta' had usually two standard engine options twin 200hp ad41b Volvo Pentas on DPA duo prop outdrives (ours) and twin 150hp VP / DPA (considered underpowered). There seems to have been some odd single engine variants as well.
Being Swedish and built and plated to comply with DNV (DeNorseVeritas) standards (bit like the Lloyds of London standards) then they were quite expensive when new and therefore were not built in huge volumes. Ours (1993) is noted as being hull number 27 although I dont know how many of the 'Avanta' flybridge version were built.

Somewhat ironic that our specific boat started life new in Greece. In 2000 it was purchased and shipped to UK and we have now returned her to Mallorca (is this the start of a good story ??).
If you have some further interest in this model do a web search etc or the link to our boat is below.
YBW.com 'Motor Boats Monthly' can supply a copy of the boat test report of the model when new in 1992 (about e8 !) which I got just before we bought ours.

http://marinedirectory.ybw.com/boat/new/boat_details1.jsp?id=46376&curr_id=1

Regards
Richard

Private Message Sent as well - hope you get it !

Thanks for your message

As I stated in my pm, I am still off my budget. I like your boat alot and eventhough I respect Nimbus, I am Princess admirer and I would stick there for the time being. I am going to search for a Princess 32 riviera instead. I know it does not fullfil my winter needs but she like chopy waves that we often have here.

Thanks again for the message and I wish you have a good sale with your boat.

Nick