Windy boats, what’s the general consensus, good or bad ?

As far as I know, they are right up there with the best of hulls...price reflects it too perhaps. Notoriously quick and capable hulls. Not too familiar with the newer models, but certainly the 90's hulls, I always thought looked amazing things. decades of pedigree, right back to the Draco boats heritage.
 
We looked at used Windy’s until we decided on something bigger than their usual fair, one thing that really stud out at the 2019 Cannes boat show was the lack of head room in any of their boats.
 
marcochi76 said:
How does Windy compare to Itama, regarding sea keeping?
Not speaking of the outboard vs shaft drives
Just hull
In the 40feet range
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Not quite as good .
Itama have greater deadrise and mid mount the engines being all shaft , this extra balance reduces pitching so a greater part of the fwd sections can do there stuff .
Deadrise even 1 degree greater makes a difference in vertical acceleration, the slamming forces you ( and the boat feels ) as the formula is iirc either squared or cubed ?
My 42 ( 48 later designated) has a 23 * deadrise .The Itama forty built by Ferretti is 22 , now called a 45 .

As far as build the older Amarti boats we’re hand layered and heavy nothing reported solid as a rock .
How ever like many others in the mid noughties circa 2005-2007 under Ferretti they did get into a mess ( no pun intended :) ) with Vac bagging the Forty .Phaffing about re structuring the company and switching build sites did not help .A few reported delaminations but par for the then course .All fixed by the factory btw .

Today they are all made to order @ Ferretti s Forli site , NW Adriatic on the same line as Pershings.They just insert a Itama mould if one comes through via the sales .
Interestingly re Vac bagging Ferreti use clear resin no coloured gel coats on anything from circa 2017/18 .
Every boat inc blue itama a are spray painted once the QC of the hull is done .
Even Ferretti beige is now paint .
Two reasons is was told .
1- No matter how good you think the Vac bagging is there are always holes air pockets or / and unset resin .You can detect theses and rectify with clear .Apart from massive errors coloured gel coat can hide a thousand sins .

2- Paint tech ….it’s really come on and I could not tell at the last show .Thought it was gel coat was told everything is paint .It’s that good .

The Itama market is split .
Those falling in love @ a show writing a chq for a new one and those in the know seeking out an Amarti .
The latter has spawned a whole refurb micro industry a few yards refurb them ….they come out like new .Interiors , motors , cockpit, dash + latest paint colours etc etc .

They say the older ones ride better because Marco Cassali the Ferretti designer went with V drives on the 62 ….usual mid cabin reasons .This has shoved the weight back a bit .
 
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The guys that look after my boat also look after a Khamsin 34.

They're not bowled over by the quality. I know that the teak is a complete mess and the whole lot needs replacing (BP, Cockpit and Foredeck).

Probably goes OK though.
 
marcochi76 said:
How does Windy compare to Itama, regarding sea keeping?
Not speaking of the outboard vs shaft drives
Just hull
In the 40feet range
Click to expand...
Its a different experience. A WIndy is more like a speed boat, an Itama 38 or Forty drives like a bigger boat, and likes to have friction. The shafts play a big role in this but the weight distribution and the extra Kilos does the rest. An Itama 38 just as an example weighs 12t in running order which is what a Fairline Targa 43 era 2000 weighs. A Windy 38-40 will weigh seven to eight tons.
 
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Chris H said:
We looked at used Windy’s until we decided on something bigger than their usual fair, one thing that really stud out at the 2019 Cannes boat show was the lack of head room in any of their boats.
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Agreed on every Windy I have stepped foot on (and by christ would i know), and expected the same on the 52 but it was actually fine.

i’m weighing up now whether to stick to my guns and buy a bigger boat which everyone tells me is pointless in the UK as impossible to use, or go smaller such as the Windy but possibly regret and go bigger later, all at cost of course. Although Windy’s do usually sell well and quite quickly.
 
I have many happy memories of my 1986 Windy 8800 moored at Porthmadog. The fun part was deliberately taking the boat out in high winds and rough seas with gun metal skies - its what it did best! Quite a few of the yotties in the local club would like to come along for the ride! It was a basic boat with a fabulous hull and it always delivered that feeling of safety. My boat - in terms of sea miles - had been round the world and back, because it was owned by "Beken of Cowes" marine photographers and I had the original paperwork from Keith Beken who bought it new from Windy - hull number 007. It had been re-engined with twin Volvo 205s converted to LPG and as such was fairly cheap to run. I went quite some distances in it, to Ireland and to Anglesey, but my favourite destinations were always close to the Llyn Peninsula. I bought it for £18,000 and 6 years later, sold it for £18,000. The original paperwork of sale to Keith Beken stated £22,000 when new. Not bad for all those miles!
 
The Windy 52 Xanthos and 53 Balios are a hidden alternative to the popular boats of the same size from that era; the Pershing 50, Fairline Targa 52 GT, Sunseeker Portofino 53, and Princess V53.
Windy was actually clever enough that they offered a fully enclosed hard-top with the 52 Xanthos, something which was not so common in that time frame 2006-2009.
Yes Sunseeker did offer the Predator 52 in that time, but that one was a hardtop boat without flybridge rather then a sporty boat without a patio door.
They actually offered the Balios in 2007. The Fairline 52 was the best seller (they made around 200 including the open version released in 02 if I am not mistaken, Pete could confirm) in this size due to it being smaller and cheaper to the other three. Pershing sold over a 100 of the 50 in a ten year production run, and Portofino 53 sold over seventy in a six year, and different hard-tops, with the much nicer mk.2 arriving in 2007. Porto 53 hard-top where an oxymoron
New Model: Windy 53 Balios
 
Dave_Snelson said:
I have many happy memories of my 1986 Windy 8800 moored at Porthmadog. The fun part was deliberately taking the boat out in high winds and rough seas with gun metal skies - its what it did best! Quite a few of the yotties in the local club would like to come along for the ride! It was a basic boat with a fabulous hull and it always delivered that feeling of safety. My boat - in terms of sea miles - had been round the world and back, because it was owned by "Beken of Cowes" marine photographers and I had the original paperwork from Keith Beken who bought it new from Windy - hull number 007. It had been re-engined with twin Volvo 205s converted to LPG and as such was fairly cheap to run. I went quite some distances in it, to Ireland and to Anglesey, but my favourite destinations were always close to the Llyn Peninsula. I bought it for £18,000 and 6 years later, sold it for £18,000. The original paperwork of sale to Keith Beken stated £22,000 when new. Not bad for all those miles!
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I have the brochure of Windy late eighties, when the doctor says the story of when he went to a house call in gale winds and the 8800 brought him home feeling safe. Everyone said the 8800 was the special Windy.
 
DrSpock said:
Was that on shafts or ODs?
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OD s VP D6 + DPH s
They did a grand bora in the run out years .
3.55 iirc beam .There we’re a few near me when I had my Porto 35 .The narrow beam thing I think was to facilitate some inland waterway locks Scandinavia way ? They looked well built well screwed together I had a 40 as a neighbours .
What put me off was the internal layout .Two cabins splitting the back under the cockpit and a fwd small dinette at the bow where traditionally another cabin the owners master is on the rivals .
 
Hi mine had kad44 diesels on sterndrives, great engines as long as you look after them, the Bora 42"s had D6"s and I believe made till 2013 !! Though you loose the portside side walk on the tender garage. Also the Bora 42"s are heavier. Cabin layout I thought was great considering layouts on other makes, they also lacked handling and performance!
 
Stewbabe said:
Hi ya Have you just bought the 52 at Berthon, if so beautiful boat (y):cool:
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No, it wasn't for me in the end. I was trying to convince myself to go for it because I was assured of the berth too. But inevitably I would have suffered buyers remorse all too soon so was faffing and in fairness, it went under offer later that same day. But yes, it is a lovely boat and is totally immaculate. A real credit to the current owner.
 
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