Helia 44: Buying a Helia 44

[yeloya]

Having sailed for 4 years in Orana, having a 450 in our fleet that I occasionally sailed with ,I just want to give you my impressions on the new Helia (as objective as I can be..) vis a vis these two medels. I couldn't yet sail the Helia but talked in Cannes to the skipper who brought her to here and to various people in FP.

To say the last word at first; Helia is sitting just in beetween 450 and Orana. She is faster than 450 but not quite as Orana. She has more space than Orana but not quite as 450. She has a fly bridge that Orana doesn't, but, this is not comparable to the 450' one.
Most of the Orana's problems have been addressed to in this model. To name a few:
-the salon is much better ventilated thanks to two relatively large windows in front and takes lot of lights inside.
-the bridge height didn't look any better than Orana but the protrusions underneath the bridge that Orana was suffering have been eliminated.
-the reef lines are now back to helm station with a small extra. (I always hated the strange locks of Orana underneath the boom at the mast..)
-front cabins are almost as big as aft cabins and all of the four heads are almost equal and larger than Orana.(Orana had a decent head for the owner side but both heads on port side were very crampy for a 44 ft cat.)
Helia's front cabins are not only better than Orana but even better than 450. Nonetheless, the owner cabin of Orana was better and larger than Helia. (the model displayed in Cannes was a four cabin and I don't know if the owner version will be different)
-In Orana the kitchen was on the starboard side with the winches on top. Therefore there was no window in the kitchen. Helia has the kitchen moved to port side and finally got this window.
-The connection beetween the kitchen and the cockpit also is Lagoonised with a desk and small sliding window in beetween. This will also solve another problem of Orana; the sliding large doors which were opening even falling down in the Ocean..
-The finish seemed to me about the same or slightly better than Orana and 450.
-Since Orana's bank aft in the cockpit has been removed (this was being used for installing the genset and the life raft) there is now second and quite large compartment underneath the mast (next to anchore one). FP says that this is better because the genset is closer to the center of gravity the boat and far from the owner cabin..

Overall,Helia is a well thought and very elegant boat and I am sure will have a lot of success. However, I will give my final verdict once I sail her.
This boat will come to Istanbul and be exhibited in boat show in September 29 and I am promissed to have a ride If someone who missed Cannes would like do it, just let me know.

Cheers

Yeloya

[Cotemar]

Will be at the Annapolis Boat show on Oct. 6th.
Will take a bunch of pictures. Should be a good time. Lot of Cats there.

http://www.usboat.com/us-sailboat-show/home/

Helia 44
Lipari 41
Mahe 36
Salina 48

[Oliver66]

hi guys,

I'll be in La Rochelle grand Pavois this end of week.
does anyone want some specific picture of the new helia ???
just give me an email: picpus54athotmail.fr
for myself I'll be interested on design of the maestro "shower room".
I'd like to make separate taps on my Maestro Lipari

for simonmd there is a really nice FP dealer here in my harbour right about 25km from spanish border.
give them an email they will answer you in few days ( at that time Cannes and LRochelle shows make all boat dealer very busy...)
contact@canetboatplaisance.com
www.canetboatplaisance.com
;-)

[Sander]

We just confirmed our order for an owners version... exciting!

[Gordon]

Congratulations Sander, when will you be taking delivery?
We will be in La Rochelle in late April for our delivery from factory, would love to learn a little about the sailing in the area and around into the Med. This will all be new for us and would appreciate any local knowledge and some suggestions on which ports to visit that are user friendly for catamarans.
This will be a big adventure for my wife and I as we will eventually be sailing her home back to Australia.
Cheers Gordon.

[downunder]

Originally Posted by Oliver66

hi guys,

I'll be in La Rochelle grand Pavois this end of week.
does anyone want some specific picture of the new helia ???
just give me an email: picpus54athotmail.fr
for myself I'll be interested on design of the maestro "shower room".
I'd like to make separate taps on my Maestro Lipari

for simonmd there is a really nice FP dealer here in my harbour right about 25km from spanish border.
give them an email they will answer you in few days ( at that time Cannes and LRochelle shows make all boat dealer very busy...)
contact@canetboatplaisance.com
www.canetboatplaisance.com
;-)

Like to see plenty of photos of engine room/mechanical/electrical installations. rarely see that in glossy maerketing brocures and videos.

thanks

[Sander]

Hi Gordon,
I'm waiting for confirmation today but expect a late March delivery. We will then head for the Caribbean end of May.
You will find cats are not so easy to get into marinas in the med, especially in July and August. Marinas are just not as big.
We cruised the Balearics in a Lagoon 400 this summer and found we needed to book marinas well in advance but I don't suppose everywhere is as busy as there.
We planned one night per week in a marina and booked them 2 months in advance. The problem was that in high season many won't take a booking for just one night and want you to pay for 3 nights minimum. And it's not cheap either, I think we were paying €100 per night.
Some marinas have a daily waiting list so you call in the morning and around midday they confirm if you have a berth.
I think the best is to have your boat set up in order to not need water or electricity too often. Ours was a charter boat and we needed to go in once a week.
The other thing is that it's not always easy to get ashore by dinghy. In the Balearics it's great as there are bays and pontoons everywhere but there are many places you need to beach the dinghy and it's not always safe.
I would advise that at least from July 15th to September 1st you have a pretty well prepared cruising plan including marina bookings. Outside those dates you should be fine.
Regarding cruising areas I don't know much of the med but I wouldn't bother too much with southern Spain and would avoid North Africa. (although you should visit Seville). The Costa Brava, France, Balearics, Sardinia, Corsica and northern Italy are beautiful. Then I hear Croatia and Greece are stunning but I have never been there myself.
When are you planning to fly to France for commissioning?

Originally Posted by Gordon

Congratulations Sander, when will you be taking delivery?
We will be in La Rochelle in late April for our delivery from factory, would love to learn a little about the sailing in the area and around into the Med. This will all be new for us and would appreciate any local knowledge and some suggestions on which ports to visit that are user friendly for catamarans.
This will be a big adventure for my wife and I as we will eventually be sailing her home back to Australia.
Cheers Gordon.

[Oliver66]

Hi sander congratulations !!
just in case here in Canet there is always room for cats.
there is more or less 50 cat berthing here all year long ...
Here are built the CATANA and the FP dealer have 10 private moorings for FP cats.
most important cat harbour in french med' coast.

so do not hesitate to come here.
and give me a MP if you plan to come so I can arrange you with the harbour's chief or FP dealer

-> downunder OK I will !

[Kiral Karabuk]

I am about to buy a new catamaran and comparing Logoon 45 to FP Helia44 would you please share your thouhts and experiances about Helia 44

thanks

[Sander]

Helia 44 vs L450...

There are a few things I didn't like about the 450, namely:
- the bridge deck (too isolated for my liking and I think FP got this feature just right with a raised helm and sunbeds on the coachroof)
- the overall weight of the 450, I sailed on it and found it not the quickest of cats, you can feel it's a boat that needs to gather momentum
- the mast is too far forward inmo and causes hobby-horsing (the Helias mast is further back)
I did love the space on the 450 as well as the forward seating area. I think it's weight is probably a benefit when anchored. Also, the 450 just feels much much bigger and I found I could not imagine myself handling her shorthanded although I'm sure that's a feeling you would get over.

I spent a long time in Cannes going over both boats again (and also the Leopard 44) and I saw a clear difference in the quality of finish. The finish of the Leopard seemed much worse than when I saw one of the first models last year. The Lagoon looks better and I think it's a well priced boat for it's size. The Helia was just all round better assembled.

The 450 I think is more robust and will handle wear and tear maybe a bit better.

Of course not everyone will agree and these observations reflect my personal preferences. I also have to admit that I ordered a Helia without having sailed her... which may seem mad but it's FP and there is a certain philosophy and experience behind her which I think can be trusted.

Originally Posted by Kiral Karabuk

I am about to buy a new catamaran and comparing Logoon 45 to FP Helia44 would you please share your thouhts and experiances about Helia 44

thanks

[Nasa]

Congrats Sander. We bought the Helia for exactly the same reasons you have outlined. And we have not even seem one let alone sailed one. But the only other comparable choice for us was the 450. On sailing the 450 it felt heavy, and my wife did not like the height of the boom. Further we really liked the salon/cockpit layout of the Helia, particularly as we are divers and the thought of stepping up and out of the Lagoon cockpit wearing dive gear was not appealing. Thanks for the photos. Every shot we see just confirms our decision.

[Oliver66]

Hi guy,

coming back from LR, here are some photos.
engine room and some more from the inside.

A maestro version will be in Nautic Paris in December, so if you also want to visit our Eiffel Tower, Champs Elysées... and an Helia owner version....
just come to Paris !

[Gordon]

Some more of Oliviers photos.

[Gordon]

A few more pic's.

[capcook]

Or shall I say, I think I have a new love.... this Helia looks just about perfect for me.... I am looking forward to hearing some impressions from folks who get to sail her... I didn't like the isolation one has on the helm of the 450 and it looks like FP has fixed this problem so it has the pluses of the 450 without the negatives... I can't wait to see one in person but unfortuantely cannot make it to the show in early Oct...so anyone going please post impressions....I will have to wait for Strictly Sail in Miami in Feb.. hopefully they will have one there...

Cheers