Creka,
Please note that the
Lagoon 440 has a great
interior helm set-up at the nav station. Also, in the analysis of the
mast heights (which I doubt worries you, but may be of concern to U.S. buyers), it's true that the standard rig for the
Lagoon 440 is 70' above the waterline. However, Lagoon offers an
ICW version - which I DO NOT recommend as it reduces the sail area of the
mainsail by 160 sq.ft. and also the headsails as well! The reason for this is that in their ICW option, Lagoon simply lowered the whole rig.
I worked with Lagoon and the Doyle Sail loft in Ft. Lauderdale to solve the problem in a much better way. I had noticed that all of the shrouds and headsail
rigging are approximately 8' below the top of the standard rig. Lagoon sent a schematic for the local
rigging shop to take 7' off the top of the standard mast and re-attach the masthead,
instruments, etc. Doyle cut the top of the main in a squared-off configuration, supporting it with a diagonal batten (just like all of the America's Cup boats in the recent races near Barcelona). We ended up losing only about 30 sq.ft. from the main and nothing from any of the headsails (in addition to the standard
genoa, we carry 2 different sized gennakers and a large asymetrical spinnaker). In short, we basically changed our rig from a "fractional" rig to a "masthead" rig.
I heartedly concur about trying any
boat you are interested in. Most of the popular cats are available in the various
charter fleets. Enjoy the process.