Mystery boat manufacturer

[Freesail99]

Thanks Dog,

It seems to be a very light boat at 36.4 ft long and 11.9 ft beam and only 11,000.

[Faster]

The Elites built by Kirie were pretty well comparable to the Beneteaus of the same era. Most of those in N.A, probably came in through Canada, I'm not sure but I seem to recall there may even have been a shortlived attempt to build them in Quebec.

I wouldn't be surprised if the line became absorbed by Beneteau (they also "own/build" Jeanneau and Wauquiez these days) and the line discontinued because there were so similar.

If it surveys well, I wouldnt be afraid to persue that one further. Good chance, though, that they were built with iron keels and for some that's a deal breaker.

[c40eb]

Originally Posted by Faster

The Elites built by Kirie were pretty well comparable to the Beneteaus of the same era. Most of those in N.A, probably came in through Canada, I'm not sure but I seem to recall there may even have been a shortlived attempt to build them in Quebec.

I wouldn't be surprised if the line became absorbed by Beneteau (they also "own/build" Jeanneau and Wauquiez these days) and the line discontinued because there were so similar.

If it surveys well, I wouldnt be afraid to persue that one further. Good chance, though, that they were built with iron keels and for some that's a deal breaker.

Thanks Faster...appreciate the info.

[Driver]

Feeling is alive and well in Europe and still producing boats. For some reason, they called the boats Kirie and Elite over here. We had an Elite 32 for a few years and the sail bags said 'Feeling 920'. Not a lot of info is available on the boats, but we liked ours. Some say they are tender (they are light), but ours was fun. She held up well for coastal cruising with basic maintenance and is still alive and well. There is an Elite Yahoo owners group with more info and a message board. Good Luck!

[c40eb]

Thanks Driver...good to find someone who actually owned a boat from this company.

Originally Posted by Driver

Feeling is alive and well in Europe and still producing boats. For some reason, they called the boats Kirie and Elite over here. We had an Elite 32 for a few years and the sail bags said 'Feeling 920'. Not a lot of info is available on the boats, but we liked ours. Some say they are tender (they are light), but ours was fun. She held up well for coastal cruising with basic maintenance and is still alive and well. There is an Elite Yahoo owners group with more info and a message board. Good Luck!

[Jeff_H]

Krie's had a pretty large presense on the Chesapeake in the 1980's with local dealers and boats at the Annapolis Boat Show. Krie is an older French company that, produced a variety of boats and had several lines, Feeling and Elite being two of them. I have sailed on several of Elites over the years (I was docked next to one for a while belonging to one of my former wife's friend). The designs were okay for that era, most were IOR based, had nice interior layouts but had pretty poor deck hardware and deck plans. I would agree that they were pretty much on a par with the Beneteau First Series, and perhaps a step up from the Oceanis of that era.

Jeff

[cpa2]

My experience with one echoes Jeff's post. I sailed on a elite 37 for a while out of Tampa. It was maybe 10-15 years ago. I never experienced the boat in rougher conditions, but it seemed like a pretty decent boat.

[Affirmance]

You might try contacting Bruce Hedrick with Northwest Yachting Magazine in Seattle. He used to rep the Wauquiez yachts back in the mid 80s and was pretty dialed in with the French manufacturers. I think there may have been a dealer in Seattle at one time because there is an Elite 32 in Seward, AK (it has been here since the 80s) and was most likely purchased out of Seattle.