buying a victory 35

docsteeleosteo · #1 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

my husband and i plan to be full time live aboard in the next few months. This will include winters in the Chesapeake Bay. We are currently looking at a Victory 35 Cat. I can not find any info (other then one owner review on sailnet) about the company, seaworthiness of the boat, and cruising capabilities. Primarily for the next three years we will be sailing the chesapeake, but it would be nice to know if we could venture out along the ICW. Also does any one have experience living aboard a cat in the winter?? Can you stay warm enough (my vote was for a Tayana 42, but I do see my husbands concern about feeling enclosed)..... Any advice and info would be appreciated!

Thanks, Christina

camaraderie · #2 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Christina...welcome! Don't know anything about Victory Cats and hopefully on e of the multi-hullers here can fill you in...but I will say that any boat that is suitable for the Chesapeake can ALSO quite easily handle the ICW...as long as it has good engine(s). It is 90% motoring and only a few spots are open and unprotected enough for sailing.

docsteeleosteo · #3 (**permalink**) 04-02-2008

Thanks for the info. Since my posting I found that only 48 Victories were made, so there my not be a lot of info out there. Our other choice is a tayana 42, so I wont even ask how you feel about that decision

BeachCruiser · #4 (**permalink**) 04-03-2008

I own a Victory 35 and it is fine for the Chesapeake and ICW. We are currently in Abaco, Bahamas with ours and we have traveled from Florida to the Chesapeake and back. We have lived aboard for almost 4 years and it is a very comfortable boat. There we only 28-30 built between 1995 and 2002 . There is a Yahoo owners group at groups.yahoo.com/group/victorycats. It is not very active, but you will find more answers there.

Barry

docsteeleosteo · #5 (**permalink**) 04-06-2008

Thank you so much! I have been all over the web and have found it very difficult to find info. I have a lot of other questions if you have the time? One of the reviews I read said that the wave slapping noise was an issue, as well as the lack of trampolines. Have you had any issue with either of these? Also our survey is coming up next week, anything you have noticed on yours we should be aware of. I love the way the Victory is laid out, and we will be live aboard so the space in wonderful.

Thanks again for the reply,

Christina

BeachCruiser · #6 (**permalink**) 04-06-2008

The slapping is not a problem for us, it is like white noise, we don't hear it. The lack of a trampoline is not an issue, as we don't go out in really bad conditions. The Victory is what I consider a coastal cruiser. I have not had any major problems with the boat other than leaking salon windows and a improperly installed thru-hull, which have been repaired. If you have a list of questions I will try to help you as much as possible.

You can email me bbcruiser at gmail dot com.