Named boat of the year 2019 our 3 stateroom owners version has been extensively modified to make it a safe and fully self sustained “global predator” to quote the builder. Out of the factory it’s a lake boat so you’ll need a bunch of modifications to make it ocean safe including a life raft that is not made for a small town and a anchor that allows you to sleep at night.  Don’t worry all the folks in Florida and Leopard owners featured on their programs to make a lot recommendations and a few of them are good, I think I’m pretty sure.  

We were never asked to share our experience with potential Leopard owners and we still don’t know why since we were in town so ofter getting repairs on a new never used boat – I guess we forgot about the 7700 mile freighter trip from South Africa during hurricane season! 

Our Modifications include: Modernizing the galley (kitchen) adding refrigeration, removal of all gas systems after we watched a boat fire, improved counters so they glow, storage space we not Just cats added 4 cabinets to our boat!  Lighting don’t add red lights it is cheaper to change the cheap ones that come with the boat to multi-color from Apex and while your at it replace the $500.00 cheap dimmers for your switches. Plastateak to the decks (worth it), Enclosure (ask a Leopard owner recommendation company in Florida cuts to many corners, literally nothing they made us fit from the enclosure, to sheets, to hatch covers and skylight covers which blow off the boat in light wind! Do yourself a favor and don’t waste the money. This enclosure failed in the first year it was so poorly and un-creatively done with vinyl – who uses 50 aluminum snaps?), dinghy, communication systems, water makers (12 vote and 110 volt (we through the Spectra junk overboard), separated the water tanks into drinking (under 100ppm) and everything else water tanks, water collection system, lightning protection system (we were hit twice), sonar system, staterooms, electrical system upgrades including wire size and waterproofing, running rigging, mast and line organization, solar, including shower and oven, waste treatment plant (after our holding tanks were ruined by Leopard advice), interior cushions and foam (after Leopard warranty dude decided to paint (which pealed off in 8 months) not replace our stained cushions, cushion foam when we discovered that apparently in South Africa people sit on carpet padding with a few inches of foam filler (that’s why your uncomfortable) port lights because Lewmar does not know how to paint aluminum so we wrapped them, windows have been mechanically bonded throughout the boat when the Leopard Sika failed and out brand new boat have the windows fall off! The Leopard installation will eventually fail!), anchor and chain (we were tired of dragging all the time after all we are in the Ocean not a Lake) (No more Spectra ask us why) cooktop (all propane has been removed), solar oven, waste management system, Versper blackbox, global communication system, lightening protection system, forward scanning sonar, 5 refrigerator freezers to name some of the modification.