Maje thanks for the post. Here are some candid comments. In full disclosure, I spent about a year looking for the right cat. Looked at the
Leopard, St. Francis,
Privilege, etc. and recently entered into a
contract for a new Antares 44i. This was not without exhaustive
research, multiple boat trials/visits, trip to
Argentina, etc, etc.
Side by side, I tend to like the looks of the Leopard over the Antares. I do prefer the sleeker visual. For me frankly, that was the only item I preferred over the Antares.
Incidentally, I spent some time in
Annapolis looking at the Leopard with another potential Antares buyer - doing some more 'side by side' comparisons. He ended up moving forward with the Antares, and entered into
contract that day.
Key factors for me and my wife to
purchase the Antares vs any other cat were:
-- Fit and finish. We will be living on the boat. Circumnavigating. I pay particular attention to the build quality, squeaks, etc on a boat. There is frankly no comparison in the joinery
work between the two boats. Antares is exceptional in their quality. No plastic laminated
wood, no squeaky floors, just solid/light (sandwich wood) construction.
--
Galley down/Kitchen. This was a big deal for my wife. The kitchen is excellent, tons of
storage, and still visible to main guest in the living space. Best layout IMO for the boat size.
-- Working lines organized in
cockpit. Big deal for us given we may at times be short handed, and want the simplicity of managing the boat easily from one space, while keeping the
deck clean and clear of lines.
-- Glass
dodger. In bad
weather, this is a plus, but we will still have adequate ventilation. Again, we will be on the boat year round...so this was important.
--
Furuno as standard on new boats. While this can be easily changed on any boat, it is nice to see Antares doing
research and moving with the
Furuno radar, plotter (NavNet 3d), etc. I was going to have this be my standard setup..and was pleasantly surprised to hear from Rob that they too came to a similar conclusion as had I, and already had this in place for future new boats.
--
Safety features. We felt overall this was as safe if no safer boat that some of the other cats. Sealed crush points, enclosed
cockpit, etc, etc. were key. We will be having two
kids with us on our
cruise.
-- Performance. While not the fastest cat around, in our sea trials and researching others that own the boat, felt very comfortable we will get good performance for a cruising cat. Similar size in
Lagoon as an example -- the Antares has better performance. Probably not a big difference compared to the Leopard.
-- The People. In deciding to move forward with Antares, the people (Rob, Jeff, Todd, Salwa, etc) are great. Every piece of feedback we have received from owners and our own personal experience has exceeded expectations. For us we wanted to feel comfortable with the folks that will be supporting us if problems happen...and we will have problems as with any boat. Frankly, this may seem like a trivial item, but this did influence us towards the Antares. It is a relationship vs. a transaction when you buy an Antares.
Bottom line, I am very happy with our selection, and look forward to taking
delivery in Fall '10.
Good luck in your search and don't hesitate to ask me any questions.