Need advice buying 45 to 50 yacht

We bought an Azimut 46 last May had I have been very satisfied with it.

Like you we have two kids and cruise a fair amount. This is my first flybrige and I have been very satisfied. I have owned numerous speed boats before this change in boating.

We brought the boat up from Florida to Vermont last May and did all of it outside apart from Morehead City to Norfolk. The boat ran very well and I did not have any complaints.We did run into some 12' following sees for about an hour off from SC but we came in at Morehead City and were not worst for wear.

I have also made a few trips from Lake Champlain in Vermont to Montreal in June for the Grand Prix and the boat performs flawless.

I cruise the boat at around 4200rpm on Cat 3208's and cruise around 21 knots. We have done runs of up to 14 hours and used 410 gallons of fuel.

I am getting ready to bring the boat back to Florida for the winter in order to cruise the Bahamas and the Keys this winter when the kids are out of school. It is a terrific ride and I have not had one second guess about ownign an Azimut.

Sea Rays of the same size would of been less expensive to buy but I am very leary about owning the "Chevy" of any kind of boats. When it comes to re-sale you get creamed then. When I had speedboats I always chose to buy "Cigarette" Brand instead of Fountains (Cigs were a lot more expensive to purachse for the same size) and have been rewarded whenever I would sell them by having offers very fast and almost never loosing any money in depriciation.

There is a couple videos on you tube from the Azimut running among my video posts over here.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=glh64

Here is a couple of pics of our ride. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Hope this helps.

If Navigator isn't too slow, then may as well add Offshore and Symbol to the list ...

Kelly Cook

Welcome to YF, Silver Lining.
Before I'd read through your entire post, I had a boat in mind for you...and glh nailed it in the next post.
The 46 AZ comes in 2- and 3-stateroom versions, and a 2000-ish boat should run under $300K.
A good broker in your neighborhood should be able to find you the right boat.

4200 rpm??

I believe glh meant 2200 rpm, a very nice all day long number for 3208's. If he ran at 4200 for 14 hours, bartender, please give me what he ordered .

Indeed ... 2200 Pardon the remnants of running Cigs for so long!!!

The specs form Azimut are here:
http://www.****************/gallery_azimut46.htm

Here is a PDF of the specs.

Attached is a boat test also of the rig done on the model in your price range.

http://www.thelog.com/BoatTests/theBoatTest.aspx?x=221

Couple pics of the layout.

We have the two room upfront layout...

This is from the information I gathered when doing my homework shopping back in the spring.

Hope this helps whichever boat you end up purchasing.

"I am surprised how few comments I have received on the VSC."

You might find more info if you search under Princess Yachts as that's the manufacturer. Viking imports them and then does some very good upgrades, but most are in fact sold in Europe as Princess.

I used to have a Fairline Phantom 48 until a year ago and only had great experience with it. You might be interested in having a look at the model.
Below is a picture of the P48 which I used to own........good luck.

I apologize Silver Lining........I did not notice your US$300k budget. Unfortunately the Phantom 48 is a very recent model, it was only launched in 2007, therefore, second hand boats will still be on the high side.

You might be interested in looking at the Fairline Phantom 46 which is the previous model.

I am off and on a lot of boats of this size. I do not own one but do hear what owners and captains say.
Azimuts are nice, but to order any parts for them is an act of congress.
This is not to put down the boat, you just might have to wait awhile for any parts that need to come from Italy.

Ferettis from what I have heard are great boats. I have never heard anything bad about them. I know this yacht was not one of your choices...but maybe you could take a look at them to compare.

I am currently managing a 50' Azimut and have managed a 70' Seajet and 68 Plus. Azimuts can be a little tricky to get parts for, however if you know how, most parts can be bought in the US. I'm located in Fort Lauderdale and bypass the local Azimut dealer altogether because they stock nothing even though they are one of the largest Azimut dealers in the US. I call Surfside (marinemax) in New York and Rob in parts is great to deal with. He usually calls the warehouse in Fort Laud. and I just drive by and pick up the parts. 90% of what I need is found this way, the other 10% can become a little tricky.

Of all of the boats mentioned and your budget I would choose the Searay and run with it. It is BY FAR the simplest to maintain, has the least amount of systems on it, least amount of monthly maintanence, most parts can be had at your local marine store, and searay does stand behind their warranty.
Parts for both the VSC and Azimut by far are double and hard to find, maintanence is heavier between the extra stainless, teak, and systems. All of the vessels mentioned with diesels will have tremendous range if you run them at hull speed. I am happy with the way the 50' Azimut runs and rides, but maintanence is quite a bit heftier then the Searay's are.

Oh boy, is Rob's phone going to be ringing.
When my boss was looking for a new boat U.S. representation was the big thing that I pushed. There are lots of good boats out there, but if it's laid up for the whole summer waiting for a part it's not so great.

The list is legion. Everything from bowsprits, cleats & rails to door handles, glass and tanks. Sure, most can be fabricated or ordered after market, but that could take as long as waiting and cost more.
Pascal's last paragraph should be considered serious food for thought. There are a lot of very good boats out there that are older, but with very few hours.