Hey thanks for that. Trying to be useful on here. The world doesn't need yet another sailing channel. :) Appreciate your support! Nick

Thank you Steve. Some hard-won wisdom here and there I hope. We love love love the west coast and especially Sea of Cortez/Banderas Bay (we were married there in Bucerias), but I gotta tell you, for the clear, warm water and mostly good sailing wind....well, it is pretty nice over here... Hope we see you out here. Let me know if I can answer any specific questions. BEst, Nick

Thank you! Sailed great, but yeh the bridgedeck slamming was a no-go! Nick O

Aww thank you so much, totally agree with you.

Appreciate that Henry. I figure if you can come even close to breaking even with boats, you've done really well. Just add sweat equity! Thanks for the feedback. Hope it helps someone out there! Nick

Yeh this boat is plenty fast enough for us. The FAST boats? We would need crew to do more than one hour watches. Thanks for the comment Michael.

The O'Kelly's oh that’s interesting to know! Thanks!

Glad to be of some assistance! Hope we see you out there. Soon!

Thank you!

Hey thanks Richard. I just uploaded a followup on outfitting the boat. A few more lessons learned... Appreciate the feedback. Best, Nick

Thanks. That's what I was hoping I could help with. Good luck on the search! Nick O

Thanks Kyle. More difficult to be concise than long winded, which is my default.

Keith, you won't guess who is moored a couple boats over from us right now down here in the Abacos, but your other favorite couple (plus child)! Quite a coincidence and their boat is a stunner for sure! The 80 year old sea captain....hahahahaha... That's funny! I am feeling a bit long in the tooth these days! Race boats are a tough sell, my friend. Anymore, I think we spend a lot more time trying to slow down than to go fast! Thanks for your note and I hope you enjoy what's coming up. We are not the polished show quite yet, so bear with some experimentation. Best, Nick

Thanks Phil. Always trying to ask myself: what would I have wanted to know before doing this?

Thanks Scott. Appreciate it man.

Thank you. Glad to have you with us!

That sounds like a blast to me. I still like monohulls for the very reasons you describe. But now, for living on, I will take a cat! Thanks for the comment Fran!

Our pleasure

Wow, thanks Arthur. Good luck! See you out here!

Yeh it's tough at any price point. I guess it was harder for us this time since we didn't have any real catamaran experience.

That's really nice of you to say. We know there are a lot of good channels out there right now.

Boats are like people: all individuals with unique stories. With patience and a critical eye, a former charterboat can work out very well. Good luck!

Wyatt Family thank you. Yeh I don’t quite understand why money is kept so quiet on KZfaq, etc, as most cruisers we meet out here are quite open about boat expenses. Income....well not so much, which is fine. Hope we get down your way in two or three years. Cheers mate, Nick

Thanks for the note Peter. Appreciate it. Nick

Appreciate that, thank you.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Thanks Jason. The build quality of Sea Level (the Schionning) appeared to be very good. The interior finishes were decent, but not yacht quality. The systems components were high quality, but the design was definitely amateur, with a mixture of 12V and 24V for house needs. The boat is EXTREMELY light, and it is a very very fast boat. Too fast for us. Almost all Schionnings are owner-built, so the build quality is going to vary from boat to boat. Also, their kits come in either balsa core or foam core, and that will make a big difference to longevity and resale.

Thank you for the nice words. Never know just how detailed to go with these things. So many comments saying lose the glasses. I don't get it. It is bright out! Yeh we are going to do more videos. A boat tour next I think so I can show everyone how it turned out!

Cool! Wrote that a long time ago, but I stand by those words. Hard-won wisdom.

Thanks David. Glad to be of some help! Nick

Awesome. Let me know how it goes.

FYI to anyone looking to buy a cat, they pound and it can be very...uncomfortable

Danielle Brown do power cats pound ? Any that don’t?

Thanks for the great questions/ideas, will give it some thought for either a podcast or video!

Alex Hage you’re welcome. Hope it saves you time or hassle.

We are privileged to have you along. Thank you

Appreciate that Adam.

Thank you John. I've liked Deerfoot since George Backus went around on his 62, Moonshadow - cool boat! We looked at Catana 43's, but no video of those. Aside from the headroom, I liked them. However my wife didn't care for the outboard helms, so that was that. While we didn't finance, given the strength of the market, relatively more predictable depreciation curves for catamarans, and a more firm exit strategy than we now have, a larger cat like a 50 or 52 is about the only boat I'd ever consider taking a mortgage on...and I'd have to! Those are pricey!

Yeh the L46 seems to have developed a bit of a cult following. It's the only Gino Morelli (Gunboat, HH, etc.) design that's within reach of us financial mortals. I made another video with tips for saving money when buying a boat. I thought the brokers would be mad, but instead have received positive feedback. Thanks for the note Pete!

Yeh this L46 is pretty sweet

@@TheOKellys I first fell inlove with moorings leopard 47s over a decade ago... Sadly about the largest boat I can consistently get enough wind to sail in my neck of the woods is a 14' canoe :) I have loved and dreamed of the sea since gradeschool, but family and other life related issues have kept me land locked most of that time. Short of a large horstman tristar, I can think of no boat I would rather have than a leopard 46... They took a bit of getting used to the design changes in my mind, but they really grew on me. Just discovered your channel... Ye may not be as showy as some other sailing channels are, but I love how you present informative episodes. I have been greatly enjoying binge watching you... the two-parter you did on "Top Secret" was great... what he has done with the way he electrified his boat, is almost exactly what I have dreamed of for my hopeful retirement project :)

If I came off as down to earth, I got you fooled. I'm a dreamer for sure. Thanks for the kudos. Appreciate it!

@@TheOKellys ...lol...Your not just a dreamer Nick, you are actually going for it despite the odds, and that is as real and down to earth as it gets! Good luck to you and your family and we will be watching your adventures until we can start our own!

"Can be" a good deal is right! All these charterboats boats are individual cases. Thanks for the kudos. Appreciate it. See you out there.

I agree! I've been looking at Cats for a few years now and I'm still getting a FEEL for reality. Good stuff Nick!!

And you definitely need to be held accountable for the promised extra videos that you "may" make.. To quote the words of a great captain: "Make is so!"

Merci. Les français construisent de beaux catamarans. Nous aimons la France et allons faire une tournée quand notre chien ne fait pas partie de l'équipage, probablement à vélo. Peut-être suite à La Tour.

@@TheOKellys I'm delivering a Bali 4.1 next week to the catamaran boat show in the south of France :) then another Catamaran down to Greece :)

Ah the life. How you like that Bali? Respond offline if you like. Have a safe trip!

The Bali4.1 has some great features especially the door opening up the galley and cockpit! But is a little bit slow. Full main and gennaker with 12knt of wind = 3.8-4.0 knts. An outremer 5x passed us at 7 knt!

Thank you for the comment Tim. Yes, I tried tried to follow the patterns suggested by others, but didn't have much luck, and we looked online for a year, then looked actively in person for 10 months. The best deal, which we couldn't take because our dog isn't welcome, was a Voyage 50 for sale in Australia far BELOW global market, which defies common wisdom. We found NO slump in prices during hurricane season. We did not consider the eastern Mediterranean, so I can't really comment about prices there...perhaps there are deals, but I've heard first-hand that getting things done is a slow painful process if you need professional help. Another area I didn't really consider because of the dog is the South Pacific. And, yes, I couldn't agree with you more about the unrealistic sellers testing the market... but also, as a seller (which I have been three times now), I kind of get it...you have all this money spent that didn't necessarily increase the value and maybe you still really like the boat... Anyway, maybe I can do another video about boat shopping. There is a lot of hard-won wisdom out there. Maybe I will talk to some of my cruising buddies. Best, Nick

Thanks Dillon. Hard-won wisdom. Appreciate the feedback. Nick O

Yeh I don't quite get it. I've never sold a boat by setting up unrealistic expectations. Also try to keep my boats up... And what is the deal with sellers/brokers posting terrible photos... makes no sense to me.

Thank you Craig, appreciate your note!

Thank you. Hope you can learn from my mistakes! Nick

el gusto es mio

What a thoughtful comment. I really appreciate it. In the spirit of interesting discussion and with absolutely no criticism of your decision (because I’d have done the same if we could have afforded it), let me say that in my opinion, it depends most importantly on what specific boat you choose to invest in. I’d like to question a couple of assumptions: one is that all owners versions are in better condition than charter versions. In my limited experience, the condition of owners versions varies widely, as do charter boats. While the charterboat may have more scratches and dings, they are inspected and serviced regularly (even if not to the standards you and I would choose), while owners versions can (note I didn't say all or even many) spend long periods completely inactive, which is just terrible for a boat and her systems. Owners versions can (there is that word again) have much more costly problems over time due to lack of use: corroded fuel tanks because they were filled only once a season, engine and saildrive problems because of stagnant seawater, electrical corrosion from lack of ventilation, refrigeration problems from settled coolant in the lines, pumps gummed from never cycling, etc. etc. etc. from lack of use. I think it's better to consider each individual boat because I personally know of two owners version L46s that have had tons and tons more show-stopping problems than we have ever had. So that is one premise I'd like to question. Second is the notion that a charterboat is going be worth next to nothing in 20 years. Two problems there: we don't yet know the longevity of many of these modern cat builds. Privately some surveyors laugh and cringe at the techniques used to adhere and assemble some of the giant boats being built today. So to say that a newer Lagoon 600x (or whatever, I don’t mean to single them out) is better than a ten year old FP…I just don’t think we can say that…yet. Secondly, I don’t think the data really supports an infinite depreciation curve for charter cats. It looks to me (and I am generalizing) that used cats tend to settle in the 50% of replacement value if maintained. A new L45 ready for Moorings is going to set you back about $550K, and a 2000 L45 (in yacht condition, so we can compare apples to apples) is going to be about $260K. That’s a 20 year old boat right there. I think you are smart to go for the owners version for one very important reason: liquidity. The owners versions are less common and are perceived as a rarer species. That will always make them more sought after. So while I might question the overall cost of ownership differences, I believe that the owners version is always going to be easier to sell, which is important. Megan and I chose the charter version because we couldn’t afford the owners version. Had we been able to, I certainly would have. This has got to be the longest response on a youtube comment, ever. Thanks again and I hope to see and hear how it goes down for you. I am always wanting to learn, so correct me in my own assumptions.

@@TheOKellys thanks for your prompt reply! And yes, my surveyor plans to pay special attention to the items you identified, as well as hull/rig integrity, etc. I was referring to charter boats being more likely to have hull issues due to grounding, along with standing rig/sail/mast issues due to the fact that the charter customers are often 1) only occasional sailors, and 2) are not schooled in the fine workings of the boat as there is only so much that can be accomplished in a quickie 30 minute briefing prior to charter kickoff. So I guess the owner's version would imply a more serious sailor that has actually read all the operations manuals and knows how NOT to damage the boat or its associated equipment. But thanks much for your feedback!

I agree with what you are saying. Having seen this stuff with my own eyes, things like glasswork needed for dock dings or even collisions or groundings....that stuff is actually pretty easy and (relatively) inexpensive to repair - it doesn't really even take that much skill. Rig, sail, mast issues....that is more expensive, but usually a binary issue: either it works or it is damaged and needs replacement....there isn't a ton of "maintenance" required. Buuuuuuuutttt...when it comes to engines, mechanicals, electrical, plumbing, etc., etc., etc, there is a huge spectrum of skill needed to keep those systems up. If anything, I would say that private boats suffer more with system maintenance and integrity. So, again in my very limited experience, I have seen many private, owners version boats that look much much nicer than charter versions, but have more problems with their systems. What you need to find is the owner who is absolutely meticulous, uses the boat continuously or lives aboard, and is willing to let you adopt his/her baby. Lol. But it sounds like you are on the right track with the surveyor. Let me know how it all turns out!

Thanks Raymond. If I knew a thing about power yachts I’d be covering them too. Seems like the same stuff really, without all the rigging to check. Appreciate the note. Nick

Raymond, being in the business for a while, I would like to advise you to choise a cat, there is a lot of nice power cats out there. You can write to me for more information irene@sailingwithirene.com

Thats awesome Seth! Thanks for the nice words. NIck

Hard-won wisdom! Happy to share.

Lemme know what you are looking for. I meet people.... good luck Stu

I hope so Tarik. Best to you.

Thanks Mike!

Thank you Edna. Appreciate that. Nick O

Yes, good question. We actually did look at a couple of Lagoons. I believe it was a 47 and one of the smaller ones. I've got no experience sailing them, so I can't comment other than to say that it seems to be common knowledge that Lagoon really emphasizes livability in their designs. Since we've been out cruising this time, I met a Lagoon owner who says his boat sails poorly. That being said, they are enormous and extremely comfortable. Headroom is great, doors and beds are spacious, etc. Also, those vertical salon windows have now been copied by most manufacturers...it's just the right way to do it...the visibility is amazing. We aren't sailing purists or anything like that, but we really enjoy making a boat move well under sail. The L46 was designed by Gino Morrelli, the same guy who designs HH66 and the Gunboats. He puts performance first, and this boat sails really really well. It's not the biggest or fastest 46 foot cat out there, but also not the smallest or slowest. Yes, no deals, unfortunately. That could change of course, depending on the overall economy. Good luck and I hope we see you out here soon. It's pretty amazing.

lagoon describe thier boats as apartments on water and no real surprise they sail like an apartment. I got a friends who bought one and lived on it at a marina for 12 months before heading out for 2 years sailing australia and the pacific, not being in a real hurry the a relatively poor sailing characteristics didn't phase them, but its design and build quality is exactly what you expect from something from the Beneteau group