Fantastic boat. Not for the faint hearted though. Rember to retract the bow sprit. Can make the port/starboard games a bit interesting when you forget will plane off the wind in 25knts.
Hi I am biased and in the name of full disclosure I am currently trying to sell my Elliot 780.
They are fantastic boats and i dont agree with the comment about not for the faint hearted. They can be forgiving boats or they can be fllighty it depends on how hard you push the boat. Not sure about the one your mate is looking at but mine has a larger cabin, 5 good sized berths, galley and toilet. Its a great cruising boat when in deeper waters. We can quite easily and happily cruise the boat (with small cruising sails) with 2 young (2 & 5) kids just me and the boss. And its great beign able to cruise downwind at 9 knots.
Racing wise they are a giant killer. I beat 40 footers over the line and can often keep up with a Northshore 38 upwind in a fair bit of breeze but downwind we will horizon them. Not all E780s are the same. I have seen some absolute dogs and some good strong, fast and light boats.
Main things to remember about the boat is to make sure your going dead downwind before trying t get the kite up, then come up. Sail the boat FLAT. Know what point your rudder will let go.
If your mate knows the boat he wants then feel free to PM me to see if I know it and could tell you something about it. Otherwise if he hasnt chosen his boat yet then consider my E780 Troppo (see the advert here on seabreeze). Price is very negotiable. I am only selling because I have bought a 37ft cruiser and cant have two boats. If I was going to have a race boat I would keep it in a heart beat.
hello don and guys.. im sure its me Don is talking about... anyway i was looking at troppo and have looked more times than any but for me that is a great example of an extremely fast elliot 780 and would look so out off place down here.. but not taking away its a beautiful looking yacht with more upgrades than any i have seen but the biggest thing would be the price and the cost to get it to tas.... ontop of the price it would cost me 4k or so to get it from sa to tas give or take... having said that i have found a sleeper.. one that went on sale after i was looking via a few friends in the sport.. its also a carwadine built 780 but not modded or upgraded so extensively.. but more my price range and only a few hours drive... so i save a bit on the freight also...anyway your thoughts on these little rockets are well taken on board and im itching to get my fingers onto it.. but have to wait as the now owner had a miss hap when he took the keel out for a clean he tied the halyards to secure the boat and forgot and drove off bending the mast so now i have to wait till insurance gets onto the repair... so im hoping 2 weeks ill be sailing a nice elliot 780 Mick
