Would love to hear from anyone who has one of these or who has experience in one of these any info good or bad would be appreciated . Its for a family of 3 and for NZ waters mostly weekend cruising.
Steer clear of Azimut. I have a 45 Flybridge. Purchased new last year and I have spent more time with it in service and waiting on parts than it has been in the water. Every system has issues and getting parts is at least a 1-2 month affair.
I would also love to hear about peoples experiences with this boat for a family using it in the Long Island sound.
I'm afraid I can't offer experience based knowledge but I was very intrigued by this line when it first came out and had been looking in the range of the 53 at the time. Having kept a 47 footer on the Sound for several years I always felt a sharp entry like the Magellano design provides was well suited for the short chop often experienced in those waters. My criticism or, rather, disappointment with the design was that the interior volume naturally suffered from the tradeoff for wide side decks (which were nice to have). It felt much tighter than I anticipated when I finally spent time on one at FLIBS. If the 53 felt like a small 53, much less voluminous than my 47 Sedan, I can only imagine that the 43 will feel small inside for its size. But I do think they're cool looking boats for what that's worth
Thanks Cruz. Everything is a trade off, right. You do lose the open feeling but I wonder if you think the gain in seaworthiness is worth it?
The boat is very much a hybrid of types of boats. It calls itself a passagemaker but most definitely is not. It doesn't have the range and certainly not the seaworthiness of say a KK or Nordhavn in the same size range. It will probably take rough water better than some day cruisers. It does somehow cram three staterooms into a 43'. Now, in the US, and US only, buying new you're subject to the same issues as any Azimut. They tend to have problems and your only resource for warranty work and service is Marine Max. That often leads to dissatisfaction. There are many other boats in that size range I would choose over it. KK, American Tug, Nordic Tug, Helmsman, the Sea Ray flybridge models. Azimut calls it the Italian Long Range Yacht. It's range at cruising speed is less than 300 nm. At 10.3 knots it's only 349 nm. Even a Beneteau Swift Trawler in that size range had a much longer cruising range of 350 nm at cruise and 589 nm at 10.3 knots. All boats are compromises. I'm just not convinced the Magellano 43 is a good compromise. It sacrifices but other than the extra stateroom, I'm not sure what it gains.
I hear you. I would be buying a 2014, not new. But from MarineMax, as a trade in. Don't you think that the Magellano would be dramatically more stable than a Sea Ray? With a lot less banging?
Go for a test drive in rough conditions. Less banging, yes. More stable, perhaps a little due to weight. Better able to handle rough seas, I doubt it, Don't underestimate Sea Rays. It depends on what I was looking for, but wouldn't be my first choice.
Was there a reason that a 2 year boat was traded in? Can you contact the previous owner? Do a Doc search to find the past owners name and call him. Most certainly, Marine Mush would not give you anything truth full on this. Any extended warranties in place?
Yes, do a google search looking for the Azimut Warranty. Try to find it on their website. Last I knew they did warranty against blistering and delamination for 5 years but I'm not aware of anything else other than engine and equipment warranties by their manufacturers. The question of why it's traded is very good, but don't trust to sales speak.
He traded it in to upgrade to the 53 magellano. I spoke with him, and he says his wife wanted more room. I didn't see the boat he bought at MarineMax, and I met him. He seemed very positive on the boat. And I think it's good sign that he bought another of the same model.
Well, it's both a good sign and a bad sign. Very good that he wanted to stick with the line and just move up. Speaks well for the product if that was it entirely and no problems with the 43. Now, the bad. You need to look at the 43 in light of the reasons it didn't fit his needs and he felt the need to move up so quickly. See if you share his objections or find them not so relevant to you. Much of it could be number of guests or length of cruise. There is a lot packed into that boat, maybe too much in some areas. But then some comes down to needs. If you only need one or two staterooms then packing three into it hurts it. However, if you need the third then you're sure glad they did it. You asked if it wouldn't be dramatically more stable than a Sea Ray. I compared to a 460 Fly which is about the same size. I'm not convinced it would be more stable. However, I did notice one unique advantage and that is draft. The Magellano is 3'11" and the Sea Ray is 5'7". The Magellano is designed to be a good coastal cruiser and for that purpose the shallow draft is great. I think the draft on the Sea Ray is insane for a boat that size.
So the draft for the Sea Ray 460 Fly is 57" or 4' - 9" in the v-drive configuration, one more inch for the Zeus version: http://www.searay.com/page.aspx/pageid/160944/pmid/355031/Fly-460.aspx Still a bit much, even though both versions have propeller tunnels.
I seriously looked at the 53 Magellano when deciding on a coastal cruiser. Seriously considered a Ferretti in the same size range, briefly looked at Sunseeker and the 50(53') Tiara. Ended up deciding to go for a new Searay L550. Just as background, I'm not a new boater having had a Sailboat, a 48' Sea Ray, 36 and 54 foot Bertrams and an Intrepid over the last twenty odd years. Here's my reasoning: 1) Seakeeping. The Sea Ray is heavy. Heavy is good in a seaway. They may not be as good as a Bert in a head sea, but they are just fine in a following sea. I'm not looking to go out in 10 foot seas anyway. 2) Speed. The Magellanos are slower than I'm used to and they don't gain much in range or economy in trade. 3) USA built. The Europeans build a good product and their factories are neater and cleaner than ours - but there is something to be said for the factory being a phone call away and in the same time zone. My experience with factory support with my last Sea Ray was very good. I have heard horror stories about parts waits for European boats. 4) Straight shafts. This is a big one. I'm a traditionalist and didn't feel comfortable with pods. That (and a tiny engine room) took the Tiara out of contention. 5) Price. In my experience, you will negotiate a better deal with the SeaRay. The parts used are high quality even if the installations aren't the neatest, so the savings aren't in cut corners in components, you just need to negotiate well - the freight from Italy/England/France plus the high price of labor in the EU means, to me, that American manufacturing can be competitive if not cheaper. In my final assesment, the Magellano was taken out of contention by the performance and service aspects mentioned above. I wanted a real world 22 knot cruise and was uncomfortable with having to deal with Marine Max exclusively, having the factory so far away (plus my Italian is limited to 'Hello' and 'I'll have the Nebbiolo, please'). If in the US, I would seriously look at Tiara and Sea Ray. If in Europe, I would go with Ferretti or Sunseeker - (depending on what part of Europe).