There are over a hundred pictures here. Mel apparently cannot make this obvious on certain i-Devices. So click on a picture for a larger view, and then you can see them all. Her WordPress theme needs some work.
MARVIN IS SOLD!
In November 2017, the Burnetts sold Marvin to new owners at the end of the fantastic, 2.5 year-long adventure detailed on this blog. Fair winds, Marvin, and happy wakes!
Mel is keeping this page for those lurkers who are curious as to Marvin’s specs. Basically, Marvin was, well, generously outfitted. If you want to know how to set up a boat for people who appreciated the good things in life in 2015-2016, read on!
Technical specifications on the basic model can be found here at the Leopard website. Note that Marvin includes numerous add-ons over the basic model, detailed below.
If you are mulling over getting a new Leopard 45 instead of a used Leopard 48, click here for some help with your decision.
Subsequent to this post, however, we learned that Leopard stopped making new Leopard 48’s, for reason unbeknownst to us. We see this as a tragedy. So boat-shoppers, you decide what you want, if this is what your budget dictates (an above-average-budget, to be honest, people.) As far as we are concerned, a used Leopard 48 would still be a beautiful, jaw-dropping, envy-inducing, well-appreciated, powerful, sturdy, awesome cruising boat/home. We felt safe, comfortable, and happy on ours. If you have the means, this is the boat for you!
While Marvin was in Fort Lauderdale during Hurricane Irma, with proper mooring and prep, he survived 70-kt winds at dock UNDAMAGED! Readers new to this blog may not know that he also survived a tragic offshore encounter at night with an unmarked obstacle, detailed here. This is one TOUGH boat!
SPECS: (Click here to get this as a .pdf)
The Amazing Marvin is an owner’s version 2015 Leopard 48, hull #086. Length is 48’ 5” and draft is 4’ 10”. He is USCG-registered (no import duty!) and has 3 bedrooms, 4 showers (one in each bathroom and one deck shower with both hot and cold water), and 3 Jabsco QuietFlush electric heads. The saloon table can be lowered and converted into a bed. We have slept a total of 7 adults (on mattresses) and 4 children (on the saloon bed) comfortably onboard!
Other upgrades from the basic model on Leopard’s website include:
- Two Yanmar 4JH57 57 hp engines with just over 100 hours on them (replaced due to accident; contact us for details)
- Factory-installed Northern Lights 9 kW generator
- Spectra Newport 400 watermaker
- Fresh water capacity of 780 L/ 206 US gallons
- Fuel capacity of 700 L/ 185 US gallons
- Black water/holding tank capacity of 170 L/ 45 US gallons
- Two 11-gallon water heaters
- Splendide Clothes Washer/Dryer (YES! DRYER!)
- Cruisair Air-Conditioning in both hulls and saloon
- Raymarine e125 Wifi chartplotter, dual i70s, AIS 650 Transceiver, VHF, autopilot with p70 remote, Fusion Bluetooth stereo and speaker system with two zones and helm remote
- Digital Radome radar
- Iridium pilot sat phone and internet system
- ENO gas oven and 3-burner hob
- Vitrifrigo front-opening fridge/freezer
- Vitrifrigo “beer fridge” in aft cockpit (your beer is waiting for you!)
- Zebrawood laminate finishes
- 4 custom latex foam mattresses, including one mattress (sleeping one person) custom-fitted to the port forepeak
- Runs on US standard 230/115 V at 60 Hz
- LED lighting
- Electric winches and windlass
- Electric dinghy davit
- Dive bottle rack
- Composite teak decking
- Profurl jib furling system (this has worked beautifully)
- Stackpack for Ullman mainsail
- Anchor bridle system with 165 ft of anchor chain
CUSTOM Improvements made over time to spruce Marvin up even more: (YOU LUCKY DOG!)
- Replaced factory props with 4-bladed Easy Max Props
- Replaced factory anchor with Rocna 55-kg anchor (Yes, the windlass can handle it, and that baby cuts through seagrass like butter!)
- Replaced boatside power plugs with SmartPlugs
- Replaced factory swim ladder with Garelick steel one
- Installed freshwater flush system for toilet (extremely useful when going on the hard to avoid deposit buildup in hoses and when in gross marinas)
- Installed fancy blue LED stern lights (because they are cool)
- Added extra storage cabinet built into kitchen
- Added an extra spice rack and sink rack in kitchen
- Bought designer outdoor cushions and pillows for fore and aft cockpits
- Installed 406MHz EPIRB
- Added block to dinghy davit to improve function
- Full cockpit enclosure made of 40 gauge Strataglas
- Forward cockpit curtains
- Rear privacy shades
- Custom helm cover
- Replaced factory helm seat with more comfortable cushion
- Replaced all factory mattresses with Premium Plush latex mattresses
- Fitted waterproof covers for new mattresses
- Upgraded Spinlock clutch for main halyard due to excessive slippage
- Installed CO detectors in aft cabins (never went off)
- Installed netting in bilges to increase storage space
- Installed Phillips InstantTrust UVC active water filter for entire boat and conventional Culligan RV-700 filter for galley sink
- Custom-built life raft stern mount (otherwise the life raft would take up the entire aft lazarette)
- Multiple electrical upgrades. YOU WILL HAVE THE MOST ELECTRICALLY SOUPED-UP LEOPARD EVER!
- Replaced lead-acid AGM’s with 900 A-hr Lithium Ion batteries and upgraded wiring
- Factory 2 kW inverter replaced with two Victron Phoenix 12/3000 parallel inverters 6 kW continuous/12 kW surge capacity
- 300 W factory solar upgraded to 1300 W of solar with seven BlueSky networked MPPT controllers
- Single factory 100A inverter/charger replaced with two Mastervolt 100A networked chargers
- Factory fixed alternators replaced by Electromaax programmable adaptive 160 A alternators
- Sterling starter battery isolators used to properly charge and protect starter batteries
- Mastervolt and Victron networks monitored via graphical displays and configurable via USB
- Electrical system allows up to two air conditioners to be run on battery power alone or on one engine with the new alternators (very nice under sail in the tropics)
- Victron ATR-32A autotransformer used to allow full inverter output to any system onboard
- Two Victron 3200W isolation transformers installed to allow worldwide operation
- Smart Masterbus shunts and distributors used to track and fuse DC systems
- Electrical system allows plug-in operation of every device on board in any marina in the world
- Air conditioning temperature sensors relocated to aft cabins with curtain made for main cabin to minimize AC run time and energy usage
- Electrical panel upgraded and reorganized
- Two 11-gallon water heaters relocated to bilges in aft cabins (more storage under beds)
- Yanmar NMEA-2000 engine harnesses installed – can monitor engine parameters on Raymarine network
- Replaced novelty factory anchor bridle hook (you should’ve seen it – it bends when you look at it askew) with Mantus bridle hook
- Modified forward reefing system to work without chafing
- Modified mainsail to fix aft reefing line to eliminate chafe
- Mounted Iridium Pilot system on roof for internet, phone, and weather
- Installed ICOM IC-M802 Single Sideband Radio
- Installed two IP docking cameras on mast for forward and port views
- Replaced factory Rule bilge switches with Jabsco Hydro Air pneumatic bilge switches (which have been soooo much better!)
- Replaced 12 mm jibsheets with 14 mm poly jibsheets
- Replaced stock 10 mm halyard with 12 mm Dyneema
- Replaced stock 14 mm spinnaker halyard with 12 mm Dyneema spinnaker halyard (never used – no chafe!)
- Added AC outlets to aft cockpit, saloon, kitchen, and master bedroom
- Put in anchor chain markers
- Lower shrouds replaced after originals developed stranding in January 2017
- Had the wooden supports in our saloon cushions replaced with larger ones so that the cushions sat better in their mounts and were stronger when you stood on them
- Two flatscreen LG TVs with speaker systems
- Internal LAN plus WAN with MicroTik Wifi extender
- Many spares for the engines and generator
- Many extra lines and sheets
- USCG-approved safety package with 8-man Viking liferaft
Extras available for purchase (not included, all bought new in 2015 unless otherwise stated, inquire for pricing):
- Eleven foot Brig Falcon 330HT rigid-floor console dinghy with 20 HP four-stroke Yamaha, spares, paddles, two anchors, fitted chaps, and fitted offshore cover
- Two large bins stainless (316) hardware, SAE and metric
- WestMarine deckbox in aft cockpit
- Dometic CF-110 portable fridge/freezer
- Custom-made Quantum A3 heavy-duty 1.8 oz asymmetrical spinnaker with lines, dousing sock, and blocks (purchased new in 2017)
- Para-anchor, unused
- Fortress FX-85 storm anchor
- 4 steel dive tanks
- Electric 230V three-phase dive compressor, spares, and associated drive electronics (installed in aft lazarette)
- Electric Airline Scuba Hookah system (great for cleaning the bottom!)
- Most-likely-useless-but-stocked ditch bag complete with flares, flashlights, knives, etc. Leopards don’t sink.
You’ve made it through all of this and still want more information? You are going to make a great Leopard 48 owner! Check out Marvin’s maintenance history on this page. You will quickly learn that we have FIXED EVERYTHING for you. There you will find full disclosure on our accident, with a detailed list of repairs found here.