One-ish Year Ownership Review - Leopard 45

January 25, 2022. The day we did the sea trial and hand-over of our new Leopard 45 in Ft Lauderdale, Florida. A little over 16 months later, and we are still going.

We were inspired to write about our first year of ownership by our good friends, John and Kym on SV Defiance. You can find their post here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/786590211515155/permalink/2065079503666213/?mibextid=Nif5oz

Like them, we wanted to write this in order to help others who might be in the process of buying their own Leopard 45, or who might be thinking about doing so. We prefer to learn from the mistakes of others when possible, so perhaps we can help others do the same.

We are a bit late on this write-up. We intended to publish it at the 12 month mark, but we have been waiting for the warranty reimbursement process to complete. More on that later…

Some background about us

This is our first boat. We did a bit of sailing on small boats in our youth, but certainly nothing of this size, and not with this kind of range and capabilities. We started learning to sail during COVID, first with a small sailing club on Lake Lanier, Georgia whilst taking the ASA classes, and then stepped up to catamarans via our friends at Bluesail Yachting (https://www.facebook.com/bluesailyachting/) whilst taking the NauticEd classes. Even now, 16 months into being full-time live-aboards on our boat, and having sailed a bit shy of 6000 nautical miles, we don't consider ourselves experts, or even all that experienced. We are always learning.

We watched all of the YouTube videos we could find, and did lots of research regarding equipment that we might want on board for full-time cruising. It helped that our house was largely off-grid, with solar, battery storage, and well water. We were well accustomed to living with limited resources, even if it was at a much larger scale.

At this point, we do have a reasonable sense for what has worked well for us, what hasn't worked the way we hoped, and what we would do differently if we were to start over.

Buying our boat

We started looking at boats during the latter part of 2020, when COVID restrictions had really ramped up. There was a curious confluence of events, where used boats were selling like crazy at elevated prices, and new boats were seeing a dip in orders. People wanted to go sailing "now", and didn't want to place a bet on future boat deliveries, I suppose? There were incentives on our boat that can't be had any more, we got very lucky.

We also lucked out with our Leopard broker, Doug Ullom. He has been a key part of us being happy boat owners and happy members of the Leopard family. He answers my text messages and phone calls and emails, and if he doesn't know the answer, he knows who to ask to get the answer. When we have needed dockage in Harbour Towne marina (Ft Lauderdale, FL) at the last minute, he has scrambled to find us a berth. We can't express how thankful we are to have gotten assigned to him.

There are a limited, but also confusing, array of options available for a Leopard 45 catamaran, and your broker will not only help you sort out which ones you can and can't get in certain combinations, but they will also help guide you as to which ones you should and shouldn't get, given the conversation you will have about how you intend to use your boat. This is the first step of a good buying process - figuring out which things you need, and which things are better done (and more cheaply done) at the factory during boat construction rather than later during the aftermarket part of the process.

Our boat is a 2022 model, with the upper deck lounge and long windows on the sides. We have the 3 cabin "owner's version".

Equipment and options

At the time, our boat configuration was atypical, and it made our broker and Laurent at Just Catamarans uncomfortable. Nowadays, it seems like everyone is going this route, so there shouldn't be too much push-back if you decide to go with a similar configuration.

We decided to go big with solar, ignoring the factory solar option, and skipped the genset, instead opting to have high power alternators installed. We also got rid of propane and have no gasoline on board (electric outboard for the dinghy). Our boat is mostly-electric, aside from the diesel engines.

"Good" factory options

Ignoring options that are personal preference (fabric type and color, 110V vs 220V, etc), here's what we got from the factory that we are happy with:

• Interior and exterior saloon blinds - helps to keep the saloon cooler
• Raymarine equipment - we prefer the Raymarine user interface more than B&G and Garmin, and the software quality has improved dramatically with recent software releases
• 2nd Raymarine I70S display at the helm - we like to have one of these show Apparent Wind and the other one True Wind
• HD Color Radar - this seems to be one of the best units out there, providing clarity and detail that we haven't seen from other units that are typically installed during the aftermarket process
• 330 ft of chain - deep anchorages need more chain. In Panama, we anchored in 35' of water and used 250-ish feet of chain. And Leopard seems to be able to get good quality chain, no issues with excessive rust or corrosion so far.
• 110V Sea Recovery Watermaker - it has been trouble free so far and produces almost twice as much water per hour as the 12V model does
• Fridge in the aft cockpit - great for drinks and extra food that just won't quite fit in the main fridge
• Shaver outlets in heads - it's always nice to have 110V power in more locations
• Fans in the saloon and cabins - the fans themselves aren't that great, but having the wiring done at the factory saves a lot of time and money; replacing the fans with good ones is relatively cheap and easy
• Windlass up footswitch - we have yet to need it, but it could be a lifesaver if the handheld windlass controller is broken or the cord gets snagged in the chain.
• Electric main sheet winch - it's a luxory, but worth it
• Underwater lights - these are bright, a nice color, and high quality
• Pop-up lights at coach roof lounge - this one is marginal; I can count the number of times we have used them on 2 hands, but they are nice when you want them
• Extra water tank (58 gallon) - with 3 dogs on board, we go through a fair bit of water rinsing them off after a good run on the beach
• 110V Clothes washer/dryer - it works really well, even the dryer (we have heard that the 220V version of the washer/dryer doesn't work as well)
• Deck wash system - super useful for rinsing off the anchor and deck (and dogs)
• Hot/cold stern shower - this one is also marginal, but nice to have on cooler days
• Forward and aft cockpit cushion seats and backrests - these are good quality and comfortable
• Stainless davit system - I can't imagine hoisting a dinghy any other way
• Square top mainsail with Karver Hook - this one is controversial in the L45 owner's forum on Facebook, but we like it
• Brunton folding props - we have been very happy with these; some sort of folding or feathering props is highly recommended
• Freight delivery - we chose to have our boat delivered via a big ship rather than being sailed; from the stories told by others who had on-water delivery, it sounds like freight delivery was a better choice

"Bad" factory options

The factory options we wish we hadn't gotten, and would do differently:

• Rear-view Raymarine camera - I expected to use this more than I do; it's kind of sort of useful as a security camera, but there are better ways to get a security camera. It doesn't give a good view of the stern of the boat for docking purposes because of where it is mounted.
• Lounge cushions on the forward lazarettes and upper deck lounge - the inner foam material degrades quickly and pollutes the sea. Instead, we would just have Creative Canvas make and install them using high quality foam. We do like having the lounge cushions.
• The factory helm seat cushion is the least comfortable place to be on the boat. We had Creative Canvas make a new one, and it has transformed the helm!
• Fusion marine stereo - the sound quality is fine, but the Bluetooth connectivity is buggy and problematic. We tend to use portable Bluetooth speakers or ear buds more than we use the Fusion stereo.
• The Dometic aircon units are fine, but they use a lot of power. We have replaced them with Mabru 110V variable speed units, and they are working MUCH better. I would recommend getting the factory provision for aircon units (ducts, power, plumbing, and through-hulls) but get the actual aircon units aftermarket. There are much better options available these days.
• The factory anchor option - we knew we were going to install a Mantus 85lb anchor. I have no idea why I didn't think to remove the factory anchor option. Maybe it was necessary in order to get the chain from the factory?
• Convertible saloon coffee table - we leave our table down in double bunk mode all the time, so we could have been just as happy with the standard saloon high/low table.

Professional Aftermarket Options

These are the aftermarket options we paid to have installed:

• We had Just Cats install 8 rigid solar panels (5 on the solar arch, 3 on the coach roof). I kind of wish we had more, and we may yet add one or two. That said, they've been great, and they provide plenty of power for our mostly-electric boat except on rainy days.
• We went with a big 48V lithium battery bank, nearly 29kWh. This is analogous to 2400Ah at 12V. The inverters (2x 5kW Victron Quattro units) provide 110V AC power from this bank, and can trivially run everything on the boat (aircons, dive compressor, stove, microwave, kettle, water heaters, watermaker, and so on). We can run both aircon units all night and only use 20% of the battery capacity.
• Early in 2023, we also upgraded the 12V house bank to lithium, going with the standard 900Ah configuration (almost 11kWh). This bank gets charged from the 48V battery bank.
• We had high output alternators from Integrel Systems installed, one per engine. Each alternator can produce 5-6kW directly into the 48V battery bank (and we get hot water as a side-effect). When running both, we can fully charge the 48V bank from 10% to 100% in about 3 1/2 hours.
• Just Cats removed the nav station and installed an Isotherm fridge/freezer; extra cold storage is super useful.
• Just Cats removed the Vitrifrigo fridge/freezer from the factory and replaced it with another Isotherm unit
• Just Cats added or improved various cabinets and drawers in the saloon and both hulls
• Just Cats removed all propane equipment (stove, oven, gas pipes, etc) and installed an induction stove
• Creative Canvas installed helm and aft cockpit enclosures, plus created a new helm seat and replaced the foam core of the lounge cushions
• John from Stailess Steel Fabricators installed the "J-step" on the side hand rails of the sugar scoops, a folding foot rest at the helm seat, scuba tank holders, and a safety bar at the top of the helm steps.

Aftermarket options we did ourselves

• Install a FLIR camera at the top of the mast - very pricey, but provides great views for docking, picking up mooring balls, etc
• Install improved antennae for VHF and AIS at the top of the mast, plus run better coax cable to them
• Install spreader lights
• Remove the marine heads and install composting heads (also remove the holding tanks to gain more storage space)
• Replace the OEM fans with better ones, and add fans (one in the galley, and replace cabin reading lights with fans)
• Add clutches for the Code 0/spinnaker sheets
• Add clutch and fairlead for the Karver Hook downhaul
• Replace the mast head sheaves (the small plastic ones wear out quickly and chafe your lines; we had brass ones made and installed them ourselves)
• Run a separate power cable and breaker for the microwave/induction oven
• Install 110V AC outlet in the aft cockpit
• Install 110V AC dive tank compressor (Bauer Jr 2 with yacht package)
• Install RGB LED rope lights
• Install home automation system to assist with monitoring and control of things

Of course, we are still doing things to the boat to make things easier or otherwise improve the quality of life on board.

Problems and Warranty

No boat is problem-free. Brand new billion dollar yachts have problems. The Leopard 45 is no exception. What matters is the nature of the problems, and how well the manufacturer supports the owner via the warranty process.

Generally speaking, the problems that we have experienced have been minor. The boat is quite capable, taking us through the Florida Keys, over to the Bahamas, down to Panama, up to Mexico, back to Florida/Bahamas again, and now through part of the Greater Antilles (Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico), as we make our way down to Grenada. We should have more than 6000 nautical miles under the keel by the beginning of hurricane season.

The warranty process is slow and a bit painful. We finally got reimbursed for warranty work done in September of last year and January/February of this year. It's possible that the purchase of Robertson and Caine by the PPF Group led to extra delays, it's hard to tell. I can say that once the warranty work is approved, payment takes a few weeks to go through, but is generally trouble free (they wire the money directly to your bank account).

Your broker will work with the factory, being your advocate, throughout the process. They can only do so much, but a good broker will keep pushing on your warranty claim until it is resolved to your satisfaction.

A partial list of issues we've had:

• Window delamination
• Leaks in deck hardware
• Cracks in the gel coat in 2 areas
• Blisters in the gel coat in 3 areas
• Leaking hoses
• Corroding porthole frames
• Sliding door latch issues
• Misaligned latch for lazarette
• Water leak in helm roof

Boats lead a hard life in salt water. There will be more problems that pop up, it's just the nature of things.

Conclusion

Hopefully this helps spark some ideas for discussion between you and your broker when buying your boat. Going mostly-electric is not for everyone, but if you are inclined to take this path, the technical challenges have largely been solved, and the process is fairly straightforward.