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Buying a St Francis 50 Catamaran
We’ve been quietly shopping for a sail boat for months. But, this week brought some closure and excitement when our offer was accepted. We take possession of the boat on March 31st. We are buying a St Francis 50 catamaran, SV Aphrodite.
How We Compared Cruising Catamarans
We wanted a boat that was sea-worthy, suitable for ocean passages, and able to accommodate our family of six. To that end, we immersed ourselves in ‘boat’. We went to the Annapolis and Miami boat shows. We met with people and sought expert advice.
Advice From an Experienced Broker
Buying a boat was an important decision for our family. Throughout his working life, Rick was a big believer in hiring world experts and had made extensive use of consultants.
Rick connected with Pat Reischmann of Hytech Marine. Pat advised us during our purchasing decision and during our refit in Bradenton, Florida. The relationship with Pat continued for years afterwards.
Pat had over 30 years’ experience in the marine industry. He was one of partners, executives, and visionaries behind Manta catamarans.
Sadly, Pat died in an automobile accident in December 2023.
A Former Owner’s Yacht-Comparison Spreadsheet
We were also given an extraordinarily detailed yacht-comparison spreadsheet created by a former owner of a St. Francis 50 catamaran.
It was essentially a methodical decision-support tool for buying a cruising catamaran. Instead of asking which boat is “best,” it provided a structured way of asking which boat best meets a particular owner’s priorities.
Narrowing the Field
The spreadsheet begins with a list of all current sailboats and brands, and progressively narrows the list.
In this case, the owner was looking for an offshore catamaran. So, with that criteria being of high priority it is weighted as such. Then, the spreadsheet continues to refine the search, factoring in length and price, technical suitability, and whether it feels like home.
Some features are treated as essential requirements, while others are safety considerations, practical preferences or conveniences.
We did not create the spreadsheet, nor did we follow it as a formula for choosing our own boat. But it gave us an unusually detailed look at the kinds of questions an experienced owner had considered before arriving at the St. Francis 50.
Other Catamarans We Considered
We considered buying an Antares 44 in New Zealand — but we thought we wanted to begin in the United States or Canada. Our St Francis 50 was located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
In hindsight, buying a boat in the Mediterranean might have been an interesting idea because it would have allowed us to see Turkey and delayed the decision about whether to cross the Red Sea. But, at the time, a St Francis 50 was available in Florida and not in the Med.
That said, I’d be less inclined to start sailing in New Zealand as there are fewer cruisers than say, in the Caribbean, and the conditions can be much more demanding.
Why We Chose the St Francis 50
Offshore Design
We wanted a blue water sailboat. It had to be robust, safe and comfortable with all the features of a boat designed to spend weeks at sea. A catamaran made sense for us. It gave us opportunities for redundancy, including twin engines and duplicated systems in separate hulls.
We liked the boat’s speed under sail, the shaft drives and the construction of the St Francis 50. Its hulls are divided into separate compartments, helping limit flooding if one area is breached.
In 2019, when our code zero ripped a hole in our bow just above the waterline, we appreciated this feature.
Living Aboard as a Family of Six
We knew we would be homeschooling and having guests visit. We wanted separate study spaces for our kids, if possible. On a St Francis 50 we have a saloon table, separated from the navigation desk. [[cockpit and desk in master cabin – four study areas]]
The galley down gives us more room at deck level, and contains visual clutter. Some people consider the galley up to be more inclusive, as though a person in the galley down might feel more marginalized. But as someone once told me, “if you can find privacy on a 50 foot boat, take it!”
Our St Francis 50 has two small bathtubs, which is really quite unusual and decadent on a sailboat of her size.
SV Aphrodite is the flagship St Francis 50, and the focus of Neil Rusch’s “St Francis 50 Review” (Multihulls Magazine, May/June 2005).
Our St Francis 50 Specs
For a complete description of SV Aphrodite, see the detailed specifications, available to download in PDF format.
What Happens After Buying the Boat
Buying a boat has put some of our goals into sharp focus. Our first step is to arrange boat insurance and arrange for some refits, and then we need to pack up our house, streamline our affairs, and continue with sailing training. We plan to live aboard in July or August 2015.
It should be said that we didn’t buy this boat to test our abilities. We are not cowboys of the sea. My husband plans to attain the RYA Yachtmaster designation, and when we step aboard for the first time, we plan to sail with someone with experience.
Tick. Tock.
We’re going to be busy. It’s only four or five months before we depart.
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Congratulations! Mary will be so jealous that you got a cat.
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