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Which 50' coupe with Volvo pod drives best?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Aqua, Mar 29, 2017.

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  1. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    My first time here and not sure if this is the right forum for my question but here it goes. If you were buying a 50 foot MY with Volvo pod drives and didn't want a flybridge which builder is the best?

    A little bit about me ... I do my boating year round in south FL, Bahamas, Caribbean and cross the Gulf Stream several times a year?
  2. Fishtigua

    Fishtigua Senior Member

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  3. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    Fishtigua ... I mean an enclosed boat express cruiser style with a hard top from model year 2015 to present. Open as to budget because I really want a quality vessel which would fulfill my cruising needs and handle well in rougher offshore waters (see above).
  4. Maxwell

    Maxwell Senior Member

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    I have a lot of helm time on the 50 Tiara Coupe. It's designed on their proven open hull and the boat handles well when things get a little rougher than some of its predecessors in that size range. If you're able to buy new, the 53 they replaced it with this year does have a better interior layout topside...

    If IPS isn't an absolute necessity, the Viking (not Princess) 52SY is high on the list for our next boat.

    Max
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    My first choice would be a Sunseeker Predator in that style boat. The Tiara 50' is also a good choice, I ran the FB version, it cruised around 27 knots.
  6. ScotL

    ScotL Senior Member

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  7. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    The Delta looks nice but has an loa of 60' and I wanted to stay with 50'
  8. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    Yes, she is 60' with the Hi-Lo platform and 54,6' (16,6m) without it. This is how she looks today with two IPS D8/800 which replaces the three IPS D6/600 and gives the same top speed of 38 knots...

    /Lars

    D54 NEW 2017.jpg
  9. sgawiser

    sgawiser New Member

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    We just took delivery of a Sabre 45 Salon Express. Sabre builds the Salon Express in 42, 45,48, and 54 foot lengths. The 42,45 and 54 are made with IPS as well as the 66 which a bit larger than what you were talking about.
  10. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    Let me begin by saying that I have always owned boats with the master stateroom in the bow of the boat - my latest boat being a 44'. In my years of boating experience I find that while at anchor in waters that are not calm or while underway at a easy pace such as a 7-10kt cruise sleeping is challenging at best. I have a feeling that this wouldn't be a problem if the master stateroom was mid-ship full beam. Can anyone out there who has a boat with that type of layout give me some first-hand advice on that?

    The Delta while being a beautiful boat once again only has a master stateroom in the bow. Now if your definition of boating is sleeping on your boat while it's at a dock or going out on day trips or perhaps a weekend trip then I suppose you can deal with the bow slap while trying to sleep. But if you're definition of boating is going out on trips at a minimum of 10 days at a time you'd like to have some basic comforts.

    What say you oh knowledgeable big boating public?

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    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 31, 2017
  11. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Full beam midship stateroom is usually completely quiet at anchor. It is also a lot less pitching as it's closer to the stern. Underway, depending on the boat you may hear a teeny bit of engine room noise underway, some you may not. Like the 62' Predator, at cruise you don't hear the engines at all in the master, other ones you may hear the engines slightly, it just depends on the boat.
  12. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Aqua

    You're going to have problems sleeping, I'm not. Now I'll explain. If you go in thinking you'll never be able to sleep with wave slap or engine noise or anything else then it will be a self fulfilling prophecy.

    I prefer a mid stateroom to bow, but even where the master is mid, the VIP is bow, and we have those using ours all the time with no problem. People who can't sleep at first in a bow stateroom soon grow accustomed to it and miss the friendly splash of waves sleeping elsewhere. Some boats are worse than others. I know some of the Swift Trawlers because of design have a lot of wave slap. However, I also know owners of them who have no issues sleeping in the bow stateroom. They were detemined to adapt. New York City is never quiet. Sirens at night. Jackhammers early morning. Yet, New Yorker's don't hear any of that. Our mind adapt if we want them to.

    Every boat we're on has a bow stateroom and our guests have no problems with it. The only one we personally sleep in is our 44' Riva and we sleep just fine in it.

    Sleeping on the water is different than land. It's that simple. It's strange sometimes to go from having even slight movement at night to a bed at home that never moves. However, unless one goes in with a mindset determined to find it problematic, they'll adjust.
  13. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    Sabre boats have a lovely old school look and I wish you many successful voyages in your new 45. I see the 45 has the master stateroom in the bow which in my experience at anchor will not be comfortable in anything other than flat seas. The 48 has the master stateroom opening into the galley which I find aesthetically a bit off. The 54 is closer to 60' loa and too big for me. I would really like a 50' loa as my max which would check all the boxes in comfort, range and handling in other than calm offshore conditions ... which builder hmmmm
  14. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    The 50' Prestige has the master midships and a ton of room inside for it's size and a 3 stateroom boat with all staterooms pretty well sized. It's not the best sea boat, nor very fast with it's 21 knot cruise (flybridge). But has IPS.
  15. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    I appreciate your thoughts and agree with you for the most part. I used to be able to sleep through anything but unfortunately I find that as I get older in the past couple years I've become a light sleeper. Now I've been sleeping on boats for years without any problem so I'm not going into it with a poor attitude it's only this new reality which has been this way for the past couple years. Frankly I love my boat (a 2011 44' express with master stateroom in the bow) and most everything about her but this new sleeping issue is causing me to rethink my situation and look into the purchase of a bigger boat because I like extended cruises.
  16. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    While at anchor do you use a snubber so you don't have any chain noise? Funny enough I ran a 50' Tiara FB from Fort Lauderdale to Naples. I even slept on it one night, and cannot for the life of me remember any of the below sleeping arrangements. Boat was fun with it's 27 knot cruise, quiet inside the salon at cruise, and rode good, was a 2015 and had ips. I HATED the glass bridge on it for all of the engine gauges or autopilot.
  17. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    Thank you for your input but that's just it - I cross the Gulfstream several times a year and need a solid reliable seaworthy boat since I also spend a lot of time in the Bahamas and Caribbean and as we all know parts and good service is tough to come by and that part of the world. Although there are many times where I only cruise at 7-10kts I also enjoy being able to cruise at 25 without pushing the boat to her max. My current boat a 2011 with twin Volvo ips D600 can do 33 if pushed but my definition of fast cruising is between 20-25 although it's nice to know she can run if she has to.
  18. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I have run that boat 2000 NM in the ocean. It's not going to fall apart. But I wouldn't take it out in more than 3-5'. But then again neither would I in just about any 50' MY. You can run IPS at 80% load all day everyday.
  19. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    At anchor I use 50' of chain leader and the rest is line so no issues with chain noise at all. It's really the bow slap that's the big issue.
  20. Aqua

    Aqua New Member

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    I prefer calm seas like most but there are times one gets stuck in less than perfect conditions especially crossing the Gulfstream. Princess, Prestige, Cruisers (I imagine there are others) are a few I've found which have the layout I'm after but I question their seaworthy, performance, speed and dependability. I appreciate all first hand experience input.