On Aug 26, 5:51*am, wrote:
Frank wrote:
Even old time lurkers like me are still around - kinda. Just got back
to Seattle after a two-week delivery of a Fountaine-Pajot Athena from
St. Augustine to New Orleans, behind Eduardo and before Fay.

What did you think of the Athena?
I have not sailed that many big cats this looks like one of the nicer
ones.
Glad to hear from you Frank, and the other folks just checking!
FB- Doug

Hi, Doug,

Good to hear from you.

I, too, have very little experience on big cats. My other significant
experience besides the Athena delivery is hanging out and doing after-
work-round-the-buoys racing on some friends' Lagoon 380. With that
caveat, I'm happy to give my opinion.

I loved that boat.

Starting with the negatives... If I were tall, I might have some
complaints. The headroom is not all that great. But I'm not tall so I
found the ergonomics of the boat to be fabulous. I'd like to have more
visibility of the mainsail from the helm. The rigging prevents the
boom from moving as far forward as I would have liked. Coupla quibbles
like that.

Generally, that boat was very comfortable, easy to handle, and fast.
We saw 12 kts. reaching. Woo-hoo! Granted, that was our top speed but
it's a pretty damned good top speed. In terms of practicality, we were
in delivery mode and couldn't just wait for wind to be purist sailors.
Those little 18-hp engines were marvelously efficient and power was
sufficient. Against a 30+ kt. squall we had to use both motors for me
to feel comfortable but for making time on a flat ocean we could use
them one at a time, alternating them.

Ceteris paribus, I'd buy a cat as my next boat rather than a monohull.
Of course, it's never ceteris paribus, is it? Money is always a huge
(if not THE critical) factor and cats ain't cheap.

But I had a helluva time!

See ya,

Frank