Simple Luxury

Name: Simple Luxury
Brand: LAGOON

Launched alongside its larger brothers, the 421 and 620, the 39-foot Lagoon 400 is a good entry point for the monohull sailor who has decided that two hulls are better than one or for motor boaters who realise that fuel isn't getting cheaper and still want the creature comforts of a roomy vessel.

LIKES

Simple, effective sail plan
Functional accommodation layout
Innovative design, overall
Competitive price

DISLIKES

Quality of some fixtures and fittings
Overall Lagoon snub-nosed shape – you either love it or hate it.

OVERVIEW

-- Volume at the expense of windage?

The first one of the newly-designed Lagoons recently arrived in Australia to coincide with the marque’s 25-year anniversary. With more than 2000 boats launched during its long history, this snub-nosed range of cruising catamarans have earned a global following. And it’s easy to see why after a windy day spent sailing the new baby of the range, the Lagoon 400.

Comfort and ease of handling are the two obvious stand-out features that even the most cynical of marine journalists can see as one approaches the towering topsides of the L-400. Volume at the expense of windage some may say, but remember this is a cruising cat and with the legendary Lagoon shape – upright saloon enclosing a cavernous interior – windage is not the most important measure, especially when most sensible catamaran skippers prefer a following breeze or beam reach.

PRICE AND EQUIPMENT

-- Room to manoeuvre

At under $700k, you undoubtedly get a lot of boat for your investment. The L-400 is equipped from the factory in a way that should keep most skippers happy, and this is apparent from the helm outwards.

The helm has a sturdy seat and on the test boat the optional array of new Raymarine ST70 instruments and wide screen C120 plotter take care of all navigation and autopilot needs. This new C120 unit comes with a built-in GPS and uses the latest self steering software from Raymarine, combined with a gyro compass that is designed to anticipate helm movement.

Handling, especially under power, is what cats are particularly good at. Push the port engine lever forward while pulling the starboard engine back and watch the boat spin around. Twin diesel Yanmar 40hp engines (29hp is standard) ensure plenty of power. The voluminous hulls have allowed ample working space around these motors with easy access to the impellor, filters and oil ways.

When steering, the skipper sits above the hard top bimini but has his own covered headspace with the great benefit of 360-degree views. He can also keep an eye on his guests in the spacious single level rear deck. With the petite coffee table taking centre stage (which is interchangeable with the main interior one) guests can lounge about under the shade of the bimini while galley crew pass out cold drinks from the adjacent windows. Locker space here is pretty good and the midships storage can house the optional generator.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMODATION

-- Thoughtful design

Below decks, or more correctly put, walking in from the rear cockpit, you are confronted with the U-shaped lounge, and on your right, against the stern cabin bulkhead, the galley. For me, topside galleys make sense because it leaves both hulls for accommodation and is also safer in case of cooking fires. It also means, from my experience on racing cats, that crew will more likely do the washing up because they feel they are still on-deck. This setup has allowed me in the past to sail a catamaran and make a sandwich, without worrying about leaving the helm.

But on the L-400 you can do much more than make a sandwich. With its three-burner LPG stove, separate oven and optional microwave that sit beside the starboard-side twin sinks, you can cook up a veritable feast. Storage is adequate but overhead lockers might be nice (the builders sacrificed them to ensure clear views astern from the big galley windows). Another quirk here was the cutlery/kitchen drawers being located at the forward-mounted navigation station. Back at the galley the work surfaces were adequate and below them the combination of good-sized 110L fridge and separate large freezer looked excellent for hot-weather cruising.

The navigation station allows 360-degree views and ample chart space while housing the C120 Raymarine plotter and there is space for other bulkhead electronics. Seating here comprised of a moveable stool that cleverly can clip into the floor anywhere in the saloon – handy for watching the optional flat-screen TV perhaps which mounts portside above the main electrical control panel.

Switch gear felt functional to the touch, as you’d expect from a company owned by the world’s biggest yacht builder. Electrical power comes from two 140a/h batteries.

Stepping down into the narrow corridor of the port hull gives access to the two twin cabins with ensuite bathrooms. Both cabins used the ample hull space well but the forward one had a unique feature of changing from a double into two separate bunks, via a handy infill arrangement. Again, good thoughtful design that can win buyers. Window space and natural light are excellent and, with the one-way view larger windows, combine to give privacy as well. Clever stuff.

Moving right along to the starboard hull gave the most impressive surprise though. The test boat’s three-cabin layout (also available in four) means that the starboard side is totally devoted to the owner’s cabin, allowing a large walk-in shower forward, spacious study area midships and a good-sized island bed arrangement snugly fitted at the stern. This hull is closed off via a neat sliding door to give the feeling of seclusion while not being stuffy. This is thanks to all the overhead hatch space and large hull windows plus the escape hatch’s natural light, the latter an essential safety feature on all multihulls. Lightweight doors and laminated bench tops hide plenty of storage, though some of their catches could be better quality perhaps.

MECHANICAL, HULL AND RIG

-- Simple sailplan and uncluttered decks

A tall rig with a racing-style fully-battened square-top mainsail ensures that the L-400 will be no slouch. Managing it via simple slab reefing, all controlled from the port steering position proved easy during our windy test sail. Combined with the furling, overlapping genoa there is enough power to keep the 9.74 tonnes of the L-400 moving, but for lighter airs I’d definitely have the optional gennaker aboard.

I confess to having a soft spot for simple sail plans and control systems for running rigging so the L-400 setup appealed to me. The mainsheet track is on top of the strong bimini, which is supported by thick stainless legs running down to the rear deck, leaving this entertainment area completely uncluttered and safe for small children to roam around in while sailing.

All lines run back to the single steering position where hefty two speed Harken ST 46.2 winches control everything. Port and starboard headsail winches sit easily at hand from the steering position alongside the mainsheet/main halyard winch with all jammers positioned to ensure that all the running rigging really does run.

Down at the skipper’s foot, near the wooden toe rail, the roller reefing outhaul is also at hand. Also at foot height are four buttons to control the electric two-speed winches which again worked well on the test sail. My only gripe here was the question of managing all the running lines when in sailing mode, to avoid a mess of tangled sheets and halyards. Also on the subject of feet, a foot rest might be nice when you are giving the autopilot a rest.

The uncluttered foredeck with its one-piece trampoline attached by innovative u-clamps is a great place to lounge and there’s enough space to store a few sun lounges in the enormous foredeck locker. This space houses the 300L water tank and has plenty of room for another one, as well as hiding a handy pressurised pump for washing the anchor gear. The remote-controlled windlass has a well-defined gutter to run the chain to the Delta anchor. Beyond the dolphin striker a small bowsprit is fitted for hoisting a multi-purpose sail (MPS) which is sheeted from a single winch, the only running rigging intrusion in the rear deck area.

ON THE WATER

-- Easy handling in a good breeze

Where’s the downside to all these great features and the seemingly no-comprise quest for comfort and ease? I thought I’d find it on the water when we took the big cat for only her second sail since arriving in Sydney. Mark from Vicsail showed excellent skills in spinning the L-400 around in the windy marina to allow us to venture out in a stiff 20kt easterly. I revved up the twin 40hp Yanmars and watched as the speed maxed-out at 8.3kt with 2800rpm showing on the tacho.

Hoisting the mainsail proved very easy, with the lazy jacks ensuring that the square-top main was guided off the boom and the electric Harken 46.2 winch did the hard work. From my steering position I easily locked the halyard on the jammers before reaching for the genoa outhaul which was eased as Mark used the headsail electric Harkens to unfurl the genoa.

Without further ado we headed off up the harbour under a light-feeling helm and with the wind gusting to 22kt the starboard hull ever so slightly lifted – a sign for prudent catamaran sailors to reef. Again, this was easily done from the steering position with the three big jammers holding the reefing lines.
Tacking proved quick and I oversteered several times – after racing fast cats in recent years the L-400 was by no means a slouch, I began to realise. My notes showed a top speed of 8.1kt in the 17kt breeze while holding about 55 degrees to the true wind. I know lighter wind would have been a truer test but such is the sailing life.

With Mark’s advice to centre the main and to keep the sail angle at 150 degrees or above we then went into a series of gybes as we sped back down the harbour. As the stronger gusts hit I’d push the bow downwind to ease the pressure on the rig and felt totally in control with one reef in and the full genoa. Lowering the traveller to windward also was easy from the helm.

As the afternoon wore on and our sailing manoeuvres earned the ire of the Manly ferry, I took us to the lee of Clark Island and Mark showed me his L-400 de-rigging trick involving flaking the main halyard along the deck then smoking it as the mainsail collapsed neatly into the safety of the lazy jacks. As I already mentioned, ease of handling is the Lagoon 400’s forte. This feature, combined with a competitive price, make the Lagoon 400 a double winner.

RATINGS

Overall rating: 4.0/5.0
Mechanicals/Equipment/Rig, etc: 4.0 /5.0
Packaging and Practicality: 4.0/5.0
On the water performance: 3.5/5.0
Value for money: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 3.5/5.0

COMPARABLE BOATS

Seawind 1250 – Australia’s leading catamaran builder has introduced this new model recently. Good features include twin helms and various layout options.
Fountaine Pajot Lipari 41 – Another recent design with lighter displacement than some competitors. It also comes in four or three cabin versions.
Lightwave 38 – The Australian builder is offering a revamped 2010 version with an optional forward ensuite with separate shower and toilet.

Lagoon 400 Specifications

Price (review boat): $690,000
Length overall: 11.97m (39’3”ft)
Overall beam: 7.25m (23’9”ft)
Draft: 1.21m (4ft)
Light displacement (CE): 10.22 tonnes
Sail area: 95sqm (1022 sq.ft)
Engines: Twin Yanmar 29hp saildrives
Fresh water: 300L
Fuel: 400L

Australian Distributor:
Vicsail Sydney
D’Albora Marina, New Beach Rd
Rushcutters Bay, Sydney 2027
Tel 02 9327 2088, Fax 02 9362 4516.

Simple Luxury

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