ETAP- any good?

[h20ski]

been researching and ETAPs seem perfect due to unsinkability, smart features geared towards sailors (not just lounge chair skippers), etc.... Anyone have any experience with ETAPS or heard of anything good or bad?

[SailorMitch]

h20ski,

Email me directly and I''ll put you in contact with a fellow I know who owns a very recent vintage Etap 34. His boat was in the Annapolis show a couple of years ago.

Etaps are not for everyone but they are one of the few builders out there trying some new things -- check out there EVS steering system for example. It works like a tiller but steers like a wheel (sort of a joystick in some ways.) I really like the boats and would''ve bought an Etap 39s a couple of years ago if I had hit the lottery.

You''re about the 3rd person lately I''ve come into contact who''s interested in Etaps. The east coast dealer needs to give me a finder''s fee.

[WHOOSH]

ETAP is a Belgium builder, not the place you would expect to find a boat so full of the innovation & technology. However, the larger boats are more viable as cruising boats since a fair amount of hull volume is consumed when installing the foam between the hull and interior liner.

In addition to the innovative EVS steering system, they now offer a shallow draft version that is a tandem keel. The Practical Sailor review of the 37s (last year?) was favorable but seemed to lack a full appreciation for the boat. ETAPs are quite a different boat but IMO very worthy of consideration if they meet your needs. (BTW don''t forget that boats which can''t sink can still have a fire or suffer a collision; there are still some reasons to carry a raft if crossing an ocean...)

Jack

[SailorMitch]

Jack,

My friend with the Etap 34 has the tandem keel. It''s perfect for the Chesapeake for gunkholers. Etap does put a lot of thought into their boats. The marina I''m at now commissions all the Etaps that come in through the Port of Baltimore and the marina owner is very high on the boats also, and he gets to see parts of them none of us can see at boat shows.

[PCP]

Blue Water Sailing Magazine chose the Etap 39 as one of the boats to be in his short list of " 2002 Annual Gallery of blue water boats".

They have said:

"In a 400mi sea test of the 39... BWS encountered conditions that ranged from banal to furious. Our observations of the boat''s behaviour offshore were generally positive".
...
"We came away suitably impressed with the Etap 39s. She scores high in the usual categories - performance, livability, style- and stands mastheads and shoulders above any other production boat in the realm of safety".

Paulo

[Johnno]

The truth is there is nothing particularly unique about ETAP boats. In fact I am not convinced that in the USA they hold their value either. Other boats notably Saddlers in the UK have "unsinability" - it really is not hard to engineer into a boat. But if it is something that appeals to you then go for it. These days there are not too many "bad" boats around. Ultimately you buy what YOU want.

[cgschaefer]

Originally Posted by Johnno

I am not convinced that in the USA they hold their value either.

I will agree with you on this point but I think the reason they don't hold their value has nothing to do with quality of the build or their performance, but, rather, that hardly anyone has heard of them and that there are very few of their kind in the states. The quality of the build is first rate and far surpasses, IMHO, that of a comparable Catalina, Hunter, and some Beneteaus.

Carl Schaefer
Etap 30, Hull 100
"Cadence II", USA108

[joeasburyp]

Not sure where I read this, but all boat's in the near future will have to live up to the standard of being positive in bouyance...therefore, unsinkable in theory. Not sure if it is a US standard or EU. I don't know if this is true, but hope that it is. I only hope that the education requirements are increased, seeing that this idea will put some of the "darwin" crowd into our waterways.