Fountaine Pajot Louisiane

[djeeke]

Hi all,

Anyone here experience with the Fountaine Pajot Louisiane ?

We own a 27 ft monohull but consider switching to a Cat.
We have found some Louisiane catamarans at very affordable prices.
It is obvious they are older type catamarans but since we are on a budget buying one of these might be a good idea. (after thorough survey)
It would leave us with some spare budget to install improvements and/or cover unexpected costs.

It does not seem easy to find any specifications or brochures on this boat. We would appreciate any information you could find and supply us !

How well does it sail? Anybody has a polar or can tell us how she does windward... (after all it is an older cat)

We also understand that the central bridge deck cabin is not connected to the hulls but we guess this is one of the main reasons for the relatively low pricing !

We are considering moving to live aboard, the above could be a major drawback for doing this, any opinions on this ? Especially feedback of anyone who lived on one would be appreciated.

If we decide to live aboard, next future step after some coastal sailing we finally would leave for a circumnavigation...
Would this boat still allow us this or would that be the time to move to a bigger Cat?

At first I was no so OK about the outboard engine setup (some single, some double) but after thinking a bit of this we might even consider installing a dual electrical outboard setup. Batteries could be recharged through solar or wind energy. Worst case a generator could allow them to be used for a longer time if needed... So actually after thinking it over, we would even be in favor of a boat without outboard engines... Does this sound crazy?

Ending my initial post on this one, hope to get interesting feedback and comments... Anything on the Louisiane will help us

Djeeke.

[sailingdog]

The Louisiane was the first production catamaran by FP. It has cored hulls and the earliest models were centerboard equipped, while the later models were equipped with stub keels.

They're considered fairly fast for catamarans of their age, but have relatively low headroom (about 5.5') compared to some of the more modern catamarans.

You are correct about the main bridgedeck cabin being separate from the hulls. This makes moving from one to the other in inclement weather less than comfortable.

Given some of the idiosyncracies of this boat, I wouldn't recommend it for a circumnavigation or liveaboard use.

If you're planning on circumnavigating, an outboard engine setup is less than optimal, since you can't add engine driven accessories, like larger alternators, hot water, airconditioning or RO watermakers to such a boat. Also, with the exception of some particularly ugly units, most outboards are gasoline-based, and gasoline can be a bit more problematic to deal with on a long cruise—especially, the modern formulations that have a significant portion of ethanol added.

It would help if you said what your budget for the boat is. I would also recommend you read the post in my signature to help you get the most out of sailnet. Welcome to sailnet.

Finally, be aware that these boats were built using a cored laminate for both the deck and hull IIRC, as almost all the FP catamarans have been built, so you do need to be careful with making sure there are no core delamination problems with the hulls. IIRC, the core is foam, not balsa.

BTW, I have not lived aboard one or owned one, but have sailed on many multihulls over the last 25 years, including some FP cats.

[djeeke]

Thanks for the feedback Sailingdog :-)

My budget for the boat... good one... in the range of 100 to 150k Euro...
Seen some Louisianes for 50-60-70k...
So there would be room left for some improvements...

We intend, once we have the boat, to move on and start sailing, we would not want it as a day or weekend sailer, I have my Jaguar that does this job perfectly, it easily allows us to go on extended weekends or longer vacations...
Once liveaboard we will be dependent on our investments income and I want this on the safe side...
So every Euro spent is a Euro away from our liveaboard plan, if we are able to get a cat ready to go for 100k that's where we will go, want to to the sooner the better. (but will not compromise on safety, maintenance, equipment etc... the boat should be in great shape when we leave)

We would plan on doing some coastal sailing as a start, region and schedule undefined, could be here in Europe, Africa, or US... Does not really matter, sailing is great !!! Last year we talked with an English skipper who had been sailing for 7 years, initially left the UK and now sailing Turkey, but hell he enjoyed every minute of it... So a timing on planning to start the ocean crossings we can not give. But if the cat we buy would be capable of doing so it would avoid us having to trade boats when we decide to go for it.

But I get your point, Louisiane is probably not the best choice for liveaboard
-headroom would be short as we are 5' 8" and 5' 9" and that will be very annoying indeed...)
-Moving between main bridgedeck cabin and hulls... Maybe a (fix) bimini could improve this just a little but still far from ideal...

One thing we really consider however is using outboard electrical units, as we see these as space savers compared to inboard engines, instant access to silent power, no need to bother about thinking of emergence engine start in case something happens, just move the throttle and motor off...
Would put one on the dinghy as well so no gasoline required! A diesel gen unit could be used if we really drain the batteries down. (otherwise battery charge through wind/solar system or shore power) And since a diesel gen would bring Mr Diesel on board, Mr webasto will nicely heat up our entire boat as he does on our monohull !...

I should consider changing the header of this thread into 'looking for small liveaboard cat' or so...

[djeeke]

Hmm looks like the Benetteau II might be a better candidate !

Will repost a new thread, more general header as I can not edit this one !

Sorry for the overhead !

[sailingdog]

Given your budget, you might consider getting a new Gemini 105, with the current exchange rate, it would probably be within your budget, and you wouldn't have the issues of dealing with a 20-year old boat. You could definitely get a fairly recent model in your price range.

If you're really interested in living aboard and owning a catamaran that is capable of coastal cruising with the occasional bluewater passage, the Gemini might be a good choice. Once you start looking at catamarans above 35' LOA the prices are such that you're either looking at stuff way over your budget or stuff that is very old or in bad shape.

IMHO, it isn't worth buying a boat in bad shape, since repairing and upgrading it is often far more expensive than the price difference of buying the same boat in good shape.

[Wankel]

or if you like the fountaine pajots, go for a used maldives. 32' and theres one for sale i just found in britain for 65.000 euros

[djeeke]

Hi Wankel,

Thanks for the feedback, we are wondering however if 32 ft is not getting on the small side for us as liveaboard.
We will try to limit in equipment and load but when you leave for extended trips, the 32ft might get overloaded...
Especially since we probably would take the kids with us when they are on vacation.

If really nothing shows up within budget, our only option would be to wait and work some more ...

Thanks anyhow, one never knows, if you guys contradict me (load on the cat) we might consider