Orana 44-Final verdict

[yeloya]

I had posted some time ago my early impressions on Orana 44 that I bought in June. Having sailed enough, here is my final verdict on some basic aspect of the boat..I have sailed her with 4-6 people on board full of fuel and water. I have 2X40 HP Volvo with saildrive , standard propellers.
No gen set, water maker, A/C, etc..

1-Incredible space.. I am 6ft 3 and have no difficulty nowhere to move around. Owners cabin is spectacular. Finish is not exceptional but acceptable for this price range, no squalling whatsoever.

2-To my surprise and despite her weight close to 10 tons + bulky hulls, she sails extremely well. This is probably due to genereous rigging. Very stable on water and feels safe and stable. (I have seen up to 52 knots, nothing to be scared of) The problem is in light wind, below 11-12 knots of true, it isn't worth trying to sail.

Down wind performance also is quite good. (up to 35 degree apparent, 25 knots of true, 1 reef on the main easily rerached 9-10 knots of speed on relatively calm water.
From 120 at 28 knots true, with 2 reefs on the main, we could maintain 11-12 knots easily.
Note that the performance is significantly compromised if the sea is high, probably because of bulky hulls.
Tacking is not easy again in choppy seas and below 5 knots of speed..

3-Slamming under the bridge is not an issue unless the conditions are really bad.

4-Standard engines of 30 HP would never work on this boat. Due to very high windage, monoevring over 20-25 knots is already challenging with 2x40 HP that I have. Moreover, if you motor down wind with swells of 2-3 meters on the nose, reaching even 5-6 knots reaching even is tough. So, standard 30 HP's are out of question..

5-Single handed sailing is relatively easy with all the winches at the helm. Would be nice to have one extra winch though..

6-Bank battery is not sufficient unless you add solar panels and or wind generator.

7-Hard bimini is just great. So is the helm position; perfect view of every corner of the boats and the sails while you are still in touch with the crew.. The sunbathing space behind the helm station will be very much appreciated by the admiral and the guests..

Overall, it's a boat to be considered seriously for this price range, with reasonable performance, outstanding space and quite good seaworthyness. Build quality and finish is not exceptional but more than acceptable.

Cheers

Yeloya

[Stillraining]

Great write up...better then most so called pro. journalist..


Maybe you could do one on my boat so I know how I like it...

[fastcat435]

Hallo Yeloya

I am glad you like your boat , you do a nice write up on it , Did FP ever come back to you on the weight issue ? just curiosity on how they handled it.

Happy and safe sailing

Gideon

[Southern Star]

Thanks Yeloya, very helpful. I am impressed that you can give such a 'balanced' review of your own boat - most seem to suffer from 'cognitive dissonance' after any significant purchase, and accordingly, offer opinions that are exceedingly biased/optimisitic. The performance you cite is indeed decent; I suspect it is in line with the true performance of a number of cats for which the builders and owners make greater claims.

Brad

[yeloya]

Hi Gideon, I didn't make any claim because the performance wasn't as bad as I thought. I'd doubted that much would have changed if I had done.. In short, I've got much stable cat at higher seas and wind at the expense of light air performance, which is OK...

Brad, thx for yr comments. I think making biased comments doesn't help anybody...even vendors.
On the other hand, there is no perfect boat and every boat is a compromise. You've got to live with what you have.
Cheers

Yeloya

[Gordon]

Hi yeloya, I was pleased to read your 'final verdict' as I must admit I have been guilty of 'cognitive dissonance' as Southern Star has indicated, but as you know this is a very comfortable and well laid out boat in this size and price range. We remain very happy with our boat # 4 build, and have been slowly adding components as we see the need, the latest a Furuno NavNet 3D chart plotter at the helm, and the Navpilot-520 remote in the salon. I fitted solar panels on receiving the boat,these were the frame mounted Shell Solar SQ85's which I discarded the frames and junction boxes and flush mounted the panels onto the cockpit roof aft port side, the panels are only 2.5mm thick and will conform to the compound curve of the roof when glued down.A very neat finish and you can even walk on them when dry if up on the roof top. We have fitted a Victron Pheonix 3Kw inverter/charger. As a backup for A/C also have a Honda 2Kw petrol generator to plug into our shore power, but have had no need to use it as yet. We leave our boat on a swing mooring and the fridge is on all the time and so far have had no power issues. The next project will be to install more refigeration/freezer as this is not adequate for extended cruising.
A very good review and continue to enjoy the Orana.
Gordon.

[DtM]

Hi Gordon,

What do you think of the Honda 2 KW generator.

Is it noisy?

Where have you put it?

daniel

[Gordon]

Hi Daniel,
There is a large stowage area under the aft seat in the cockpit and when needed the plan is to place it on the aft steps or if necessary place into the tender and let it sit out behind to get rid of any noise or smells. We have not had to use it as yet but on trial running the motor is very quiet and smooth running not intrusive at all.
Seasons Greetings
Gordon and Louise.

[marisleonardo]

Hello fellow FP owners. We have hull #30, Orana 44, sailed it from LaRochelle, FR was in the Annapolis Boat show and are presently in Hope Town, The Abacos. Is there a forum of FP owners, besides this forum? I appreciate and agree with Yeloya on most of his observations. I sailed hundreds of miles in 10-12 kt winds abeam at 5-6 kts of speed... of course seas were pretty low at the time, but the boat moved at a brisk steady pace. Thanks for all the comments on this forum, this is great.
S/V Mari's Leonardo

[yeloya]

Hi Mari's Leonardo,

Congratulations on yr new Orana and glad to hear that you are happy with it. Yes, we do have one google group for Orana owners, but I would not recommend it. It's not active at all + now under the invasion of porno material..

In this platform, we have many threads going on for ages on Mahe's, Lagoon's, etc. I think we can exchange our views on this forum as long as the administrators agree with it. This way, we can also hear the feedback of other forum members, as well.

Cheers

Yeloya

[fastcat435]

Maybe some advice , why not start a Google forum for all Orana owners like we have for FastCat 445 owners , it is closed for all others and works like a charm and you can really help each other with lots of info

Warm Greetings and a good Christmas season and happy sailing in 2009 etc.

[DtM]

In my view it is better to have a long thread on this forum (like the Mahe thread) where those who can't find the dedicated forum can view and perhaps add useful comments.

The Mahe thread contains a great deal of information so pick one of the Orana threads and keep it going as your Orana thread.

daniel

[imagine2frolic]

Isn't it great when you pick a big ticket item. Then it turns out you actually like what you bought.....HAPPY SAILING & BEST WISHES in sailing bliss......i2f

[Ex-Calif]

Feel free to create a social group for Orana owners. You can make social groups private or public.

You can reach the social groups area from the quick links menu or here.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/groups/

[Therapy]

Yeloya,

Are those light wind speeds with just the main and jib? No screacher, asym spin, spin??