Marlow 97E

RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As fast and as far away as possible.
The three early models were all put on the market in less than two years. Miss B Havin, which is one for sale now is touted as Hull #5, (Original name might have been Casamar) built in 2014. Irish Rover went on the market quickly after it's original sale, as did Kakawi and the other, If you want to see the worst of it, read Kakawi vs. Marlow for the litigation on one of them. Perhaps they've had enough work post-sale to make them acceptable boats, but nothing more, and I wouldn't trust that. You may read something about Veritas. If so ask to see the certification. Doubt you'll ever find one. People don't build 100' boats to turn around and quickly resell. Irish Rover has 725 hours and Miss B Havin 565 hours. You build a 2014, it's already on the market in early 2016. That makes your opinion of it fairly clear in most situations.

One other reason you'll see prices that look good is that Marlow sold them originally at surprisingly low prices. Again, if you want to dig in the Kakawi legal paperwork you can see what it sold for.

When we decided to move to Fort Lauderdale, this was one of the first boats that caught our attention. We then began to read and research. The more we did so, the more we knew we wouldn't be interested. On paper, they look like incredible state of the art, well designed boats. In actualilty that wasn't the case.

Also, I know range was reported by the owners to be far short of what Marlow was saying.

Yes and no. Can many of the issues be corrected on the boat? Yes, Kakawi spent a lot of money getting that done. If there is a range problem, however, that's not something easily corrected and the boat is sold as an ocean crossing vessel. Also, if it wouldn't pass Veritas, then those problems may not be easily corrected. Maybe some have gotten Veritas Certificates since, they would not approve Kakawi when it was delivered. I wouldn't buy without a stability test either. Even a full class survey might be good.

I think probably it can be made into a decent coastal cruiser. However, I think that may well be it's limit. Marlow has made boats capable of more, but I wouldn't do it in this model, unless some major improvements were made between #3 and #5. David Marlow is a bit like a mad scientist. He's in some ways a genius on ideas and design of a boat. He's always trying to pick up a little speed and a little more economy. I think this boat was a bit of mad scientist gone too far, trying to make it unique and the best and not compromising.

Just important for you to be aware this model had issues and not blindly trust what you're told by sales people.

One other comment. Anytime I see a very recent build for sale, I want to know why the original buyer is selling it. He knew the boat well in using it. Did his business go belly up or did he die or did the boat not meet his needs? If it didn't meet his needs in what way did it miss? Often this is very difficult to find out but I'd try if at all possible to talk to him. Sometimes also there's been a settlement not allowing the original owner to speak.