Galeon yachts: the good and the bad?

No, it's not just you.

Oooo, oooo, I want to play.

In post #8, the OP, SJB, says, "... I noticed the 500 only has 3.5 draft, does that affect the ride when on open ocean? I would feel it gives a bumper ride?" It seems that johnnry is addressing the "bumper ride" by talking about the effects of what he thinks is a small dead rise.

For limited deadrise/slicing through the fun stuff I proffer Palm Beach/Grand Banks (the current 60’).

I bought a Galeon 425 HTS in August 2022, within the first 11 months, I have encountered these issues: A/C making loud noise, water sensor not working, failed ZipWake Interceptor, both engine starters having difficulty to start, leaking transmission.

I have only used 30 hours after the delivery, the boat spent 90% of the time waiting being fixed, it's an absolute nightmare.

That sounds like third party stuff on the boat, is this just shoddy installation or poor design or off brand components?

Most of the components are 3rd party for sure. Moving from 24V battery to 12V system might contribute to the starter problem, or maybe it's just an example of shoddy production quality during the pandemic era.

Grand Banks 60 is like double in price to an equivalent sized Galeon. Off course she is better, but I do agree Galeon has in recent years made flatter V-hulls. Its a pit cause Tony Castro hulls are renowned as being very good, and the first generation 640 for example is a very good riding boat.

Do you mean that the boat has a 24V domestic battery bank, but the engines are fitted with a 12V starter (hence, I suppose, also 12V engine battery and 12V alternator)?
That would bebeyond a joke, rather than just shoddy.

Subject: Personal experience with a new Galeon 480 – feedback for potential buyers

I’d like to share my personal experience as the owner of a new Galeon 480. This is not meant as a general statement about all Galeon yachts – I can only speak for my own boat and how my individual case has been handled – but some prospective buyers might find it useful.

On my particular boat I have encountered, among other things, the following issues:

• Warped cockpit door
  Shortly after delivery, the cockpit door became very difficult to close and appeared warped. The proposed “repair” involved spraying marine paint onto a powder-coated door and trying to straighten it. After around two months of use, the door was, in my view, back to closing just as badly as before – only now with a visible “repair history”.
  
  
• Household extractor fan instead of marine-grade equipment
  In the galley, my boat was fitted with what I would call a simple household extractor fan rather than a proper marine-grade solution. Even after a replacement, it was still noticeably loud with limited extraction performance. Yard staff told me that this approx. 80-euro model is used on many of their boats – I cannot personally verify this statement, but it certainly surprised me on a yacht in this price range.
  
  
• Furniture and alignment issues
  On my yacht, several cabinets and doors were visibly out of alignment. For a new build in this segment, that’s something I found quite disappointing.
  
  
• Specifications and promises vs. reality
  I had been assured that the TV system could also be operated on 12 V – in practice, this turned out not to be the case on my boat. Some elements of the equipment also differed from what I believed had been agreed.
  In addition, I was later told that certain solid woods (for example iroko) had supposedly not been used “for years”, although that very solid wood is still shown in the official catalog, which I found confusing.
  
  
• Gelcoat and fittings
  In some areas, the gelcoat on my boat gave me the impression that it might not have been fully cured when hardware was installed – certain fittings were extremely difficult to remove without risking damage. This is, of course, my layman’s impression and not a formal expert opinion, but it added to my concerns about build quality.
  
  
• Proposed repair locations and routes
  For significant repair work, I was offered options such as taking the boat to the North Sea in October/November (with 3–5 m seas being common at that time) or returning across the Baltic to Gdańsk. Both options would have meant several days of travel with what I considered substantial risk to boat, crew and value. From my perspective as a private owner, these proposals did not feel reasonable.
  

I could easily list many more points (I keep a fairly detailed defect log), but at some stage any forum post just becomes too long to read – and I don’t want to bore everyone here with a full technical report.

I am currently in the process of returning the boat. As of today, I’ve been waiting for my refund for several months, and from my point of view the dealer appears to be stalling for time. I’m curious to see whether he will actually honour his latest written promise.

Of course, I can only describe my hull and my experience – other Galeon owners may be completely happy with their boats. My intention here is simply to add one documented user experience to the overall picture.

If this has caught your interest, you’re welcome to have a look at a LinkedIn post where I talk more generally about yachts and how complaints are handled:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7398010585294209024/

If there is further interest here in the forum, I’m also happy to go into more detail about individual defects and technical points.

Best regards,
Christian Freund