TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Comments? New 50 for charter

Curious to hear comments on the new 50 to replace the Moorings 4800. Personally I don't care for the flybridge as it kills a lot of useful sail area. I do however love the cabin arrangement and the fact it has a true owners cabin in the 4 cabin configuration. First boat arrives in June to the BVI. It's a big 50 and is certainly a charter condo. Will be interesting to see if it can sail.
https://www.leopardcatamarans.com/catamarans/Leopard-50/multimedia#&gid=1&pid=10

https://www.moorings.com/yachts/sail-fleet/catamarans/5000-4-cabin

I don’t care for the space ship looking interior but it has great amounts of room.

I just cant get past the giant "airbrake" upfront. I cant imagine this sails well close to the wind and, God help you, if you are ploughing into big seas with that balcony out there..as a floating condo I'm sure its fine..as a sailboat..YUK.

I tend to agree on the airbrake however it seems to be a feature of almost every new cat except the Voyage boats. The downside of sleek however is the Voyage boats shape between the hulls is almost like a aircraft wing. Lots of potential lift there and judging by the photos of the hurricane hole they got airborne more than the other boats. Still I loved sailing upwind in a Voyage 440. Don't love it near as much in a Moorings 4800 or Lagoon 450.
G

When I look at the pictures I see sharp corners everywhere. Personally, I think that is an indication of poor design.

On the one hand I like the owners cabin in the 4 cabin version, but on the other I don't like the 2 sets of stairs. Also having one set right in the middle of the galley seems odd..

It looks like the flybridge is an option and I'm not sure what I think of it. I'd have to see it. I'm does mean anyone up there will have to watch there head when tacking.

The forward galley is great - We took out a Moorings 4000 and that was a nice change. Really felt a lot more spacious because of it.

Nice that the flybridge does not completely isolate you from the people below. When I did charters on Lagoon 440s I would often be totally out of touch with what was happening below. On the Leopard 4600 with the semi fly you could talk to people with you upstairs or below.

I like the helm station. It's essentially the same as the 4600/4800. Going to be tough to see the left front of the boat docking however. The square corners on the 4800 concerned me but seem to be a non issue in practice even in rough water. The stairs in the galley however could be a big issue. That did not register with me until the post here. Looks really easy to step off accidentally perhaps holding something hot.
G

I am not impressed with the design of the interior. The "owner's cabin" requires the 2 staircases to the port hull and may cause some friction among charter guests. I lost my 4800 in Irma, but I think I will go with a 4500 as a replacement.

Kevin

Kevin,
Believe that is the starboard hull with the two stairs!
Personally, having chartered many Moorings sailing cats from 38' to 46, I can see my family on one in a couple of years. The 58 footer is definitely a floating three story condo, and too big for me! But We love the front porch for sundowners, and especially when the heat of the setting sun is behind us!

And a water maker will be a big hit for the ladies.

Sorry for your loss due to Irma. Haven't read any stories of how the insurance and financial aspect of that has worked out for owners. Care to share?

Starboard!

My documents were just filed with Moorings since I was down in the Grenadines for the last 3 weeks. We were aggressive in paying down balance over last 4 years. All money from sold owner's time was sent to reduce principal. So I have not seen a check but assuming it is forthcoming, the mortgage will be paid in full and we will have the entire downpayment for a 4500 or almost the full downpayment for a 5000. So it actually worked out fine, since we were sailing 7-8 weeks a year. More next year on a new boat, since I am not working too much anymore!

Kevin
S/V EVENT HORIZON (destroyed)

Interesting new design. Overall it seems to be a continuing progression in amenities, comfort and creature comforts in the bigger boats. For those of you who care much more about pointing into the wind and getting from Norman’s to Cooper really fast, there are other boats that you can charter for this purpose. But I suspect this new 50 may surprise us in the performance dept. For me, I like my crew of 8 to 10 to be HAPPY ‘MON, and I think this boat will be a nice experience. Perfect? Certainly not. I would prefer a galley that joins the aft cockpit, with a pass through window. And I fail to see the logic of putting an owner’s cabin boat in a charter fleet - what a waste of a single fifth cabin, and introduces uncomfortable decisions about which crew couple gets the penthouse. My wife thinks the stairway in the galley is unsafe for those preparing food in rolly seas. And some of us hope for a built-in wifi hot spot for the whole crew. But overall, this sweet boat will give many hundreds of folks a great experience in de islands,

I, too, wonder about an Owner's Suite on a charter boat?? Who gets it? How do we decide? Could be uncomfortable situation.

I think the point of the owners cabin is resale when the boat exits charter. I am not sure how much better it is than the other cabins. If you look at 50 footers most actually have one nicer cabin unless they try and cram 5 or 6 cabins in the boat. There will be a 5 cabin version of this boat but will be for crewed fleets. I guess I am going to have to head down to the Miami show to see the boat in person. The galley and stairs there worry me.
I am not sure on the sailing performance. There will also be a version without the lounge top and more sail area.
G

It's just a cabin. With a little more space. It is not as if anyone is spending so much time that it will make a huge difference.

I think there's a pretty simple way to handle it though. Whoever is handling the arrangement of the charter, gets the owners cabin.

(4) equal cabins is a newer thing for the the charter boats. Thousands of charters were very successful long before the equal cabin feature hit the market. Many boats leave the dock with one person funding the entire charter(Dad, GrandPa, GrandMa, even some moms. We never share the cost of the boat itself. We treat a rented boat just like a vacation home where we may invite guests time to time.

At the end of the day. The admiralty and rules of the sea say the name of the person on contract decides everything. On and equal split charter? He or She may decide to draw straws for the bigger space. Or maybe the person who agrees to cover all the bar tabs ashore could get the bigger space? Auction the cabin of privilege off to the highest bar tab bidder.... Yes, some will always whine and may find themselves not invited back. No such thing as a bad day in the islands south of Miami.

all thsi time ,i am looking for a mono that has 2 maybe 3 full cabins ..i had a benneteau 473 but two of the three couples felt liek the trash onboard .i am the capatain and spent all these years sailing and learning and then getting certified so i deserve the main cabin ..but they don't desreve the crappy quarterberths.. the next year we got a beneteau 45 center cockpit and it was wonderful .. a full forawrd cabin and the aft cabin even had a bathtub ,so i was able to get back some credibility by using that boat ...it doessn't seem to be around .. I'd love to find a Hylas 49 or 54 but having trouble finding one ..any thoughts would be greatly apprecaiated <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Woof.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Woof.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Woof.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Woof.gif" alt="" />

This may be a option for you. I am not sure of their post hurricane status but they had a good reputation prior.
George
http://www.iyc.vi/bareboat-charters/

We have chartered from them a number of times. Great company and comfortable, high quality, fine sailing boats.

Soooo .... call me selfish but .... if my wife and I are going to organize crew, shop for food, find and contract a boat,sail the boat etc etc etc AND pay the same as everyone else, I wouldn't think twice about claiming the one enhanced comfort feature of the slightly better cabin. No guilt at all.

That said we've always looked at bareboating as either a sailing vacation with some shore stuff or a caribbean vacation with some sailing. If you (and your crew) are more into the latter (and we've found that describes most of our crews) then this boat will be great. The fact that it doesn't point well up wind will be a minor blip to most of the crews we've seen. They'll be thrilled to be on the water in a gorgeous boat with a drink in their hand!