Orana 44

[DtM]

I think FP had fixed the osmosis problem by 2008.

[yeloya]

The Lavezzi I am referring to should be 2006 or latest 07. I agree with DtM, never heard anything similar form recent Lavezzi 's. So no reason to worry about..

Cheers

Yeloya

[asb]

The boat Show in Istanbul is over today. I was hoping to visit Lagoon 400 and Lipari but they were unfortunately absent.

So instead I have visited The Orana 44 and Lagoon 440. Here are my obsevations:

Well, the Orana 44 is very elegant, spacious and comfortable. I must say I am impressed. It was 3 cabin Maestro Version.

Saloon, cockpit are also big and comfortable. Especially the cockpit area is nicely designed and the table holds 8 people easily. Finishing is nothing special, but I would say acceptable. I am 6"5' and I could easily stand in the galley. Especially master cabin was very comfortable.

Before visiting Orana I always thought, above 40ft you couldn't sail a cat single handed easily, but with Orana I changed my mind. All the lines brought to helm station, plus electric winches, you could sail without moving from the helm seat. That makes the life of a skipper very easy, I must say.

UnfortunateIy couldn't sail with the Orana, but Yeloya has given very detailed info about the sailing charateristics. To sail under 11-12 knots wind you certainly need a Gennaker. (or start the engines)

I have added Orana in my buying list. But it is around 80-90K € expensive than Lipari or L400. Is it worth it? I will fly to France soon to see both, then I can evaluate better.

I also had a look at Lagoon 440 at the show, but as the flybridge helm station isn't for my taste, it was a short visit. The design of L440 shows its age, and if I had to choose between the two, I would probably choose Orana. It looks nicer for my taste.

[henryv]

We have bought an Orana and will be heading out for her maiden voyage on November 11. We did not sail the boat before purchase however we chartered a Belize for 10 days last April and given that the two boats have very similar specifications we felt that our experiences on the Belize would give us a good feel for what to expect. We found the Belize to a good sailing boat in a variety of winds including light air. Of course we were probably easily impressed as our previous boat, a Leopard 38, was no speedster. With the more recent boats being fitted with the square top main light air performance should also be improved.
Your photos appear to show the Maestro layout with the mid ship head. We have the new layout option with the head forward. See photo with funky looking orange/red sink ( the French do have their own style). For some reason FP are no longer showing this layout on their web site.
Henry

[Kicha]

Hi Gents

This is for Gordon, my wife and I will be in Sydney over xmas and if your offer still stands to have a chance to look over and possibly have a sail on your boat would be great.

We have been looking at mant boats and Orana is on our list. We are hopping to get on a boat at the end of 2010 and go cruising so for us it does not matter were we by the boat as we currently live and work overseas in the middle east.

Its good to get this type of feedback on boats from owners so this forum is great for that.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Gordon

As our delivery skipper put it "One Horn Bag of a Boat"

This gent is a monohull man (16 times Sydney- Hobart) and he was so impressed with the sailing quality and handling abilities along with the great ride he is tempted to jump ship(so to speak). On delivery over four days and two nights from Mooloolaba to Port Hacking we experienced beautiful 15-20Kt breeze from 120' and then into a 35-40Kt southerly on the nose with close spaced 3m swell. We hid in port two nights and a day to wait for weather to improve.
The boat is a delight to sail an performs very well.With the following N.E. we were moving along at 12-14Kts. and pointing into the southerly of 14-18 Kts we sailed along at 8-9kts. The ride in the larger swell and 35-40kt wind was impressive,we had main on second reef and jib to first reef dot,we were still managing 8-9kts with no slamming, this required a workout on the helm.

Finish on the boat is good just minor things like screws instead of bolts on hatch hinges and using 304 stainless instead of 316 for some of the fasteners.Great galley,so cook happy.

At present this is the only one down here in Australia and am only too pleased to show off the new toy so please send e-mail via forum if you would like more info or come for a sail. We keep our boat "La Rochelle" on a swing mooring in Yowie Bay, PortHacking just to south of Sydney.

Gordon

[sailvi767]

Is there a option on the to get square instead of round hatches. I see lots of issues with the round hatch design. I will be in the market for a new charter boat in 2 years or so and I am looking at everything. So far I have not seen anything yet that might make me want to upgrade. The Orana or its follow on design might be a contender but the round hatches are a deal breaker for me.

[yeloya]

Hi henriv,

Congratulations on yr new Orana.. As an owner of Orana and as someone who sailed quite a bit on Belize, I must warn you; they are two quite different boats..

Orana hasn't got the light air sailing ability of Belize being way heavier. However, Orana is much more predictable and easier to sail on heavy wheater and tough conditions. I have taken mine last week after the boat show from Istanbul to Marmaris (500 nm) in following seas and the winds beetween 20 to 40 knots. She behaved extremely well. The situation would have been quite different with Belize..
You will have to add definately a spi furl or genneaker of any kind for light airs in yr Orana if you already don't have it.
Nice sailing

Yeloya

[barnakiel]

All fine. But why oh why these 302 bolts and silicone where 316 & polyurethane should have been???

Have seen the same attitude even in some formerly top-shelf EU built boats. It is a disgusting practice by manufacturers - after all we are not paying them with money which is defective in any way, do we?

grumpy b.

[henryv]

Thanks for the congrats yeloya.

When I first looked into the Orana the weight was listed as 8 T. This number is still listed on dealer web sites. When I looked up the Belize it was listed as 8.6 T so it seemed the Orana would be lighter. This is normally what buiders hope to achieve with new models as a little less weight means less cost and a better bottom line. That said the FP web site now lists the weight as 9.8 T. Of course we can't be sure as to what the Belize actually weighed and of course the true weight difference will depend on how the boat is equipped.

We will see how she performs when we head out next week.

[yeloya]

Hi Henryv,

I didn't weight neither Orana nor Belize. But the way they behave on the sea, it's probably right : Belize app. 8 tons and Orana close to 10 tons. Orana is therefore a bit slower than Belize on light winds but much more stable and comfortable on rough seas. Light air problem can be solved out by a furling genneaker which I am planning to do this winter.

Rgds

Yeloya

[Gordon]

Hi Kicha,

FOUNTAINE PAJOT ORANA 44 boat details - BoatPoint Australia

This is a link to some more photographs of the Orana 44 if interested.

Gordon.

[Lucky]

When I lifted my Belize after one and ahalf year in the water it weight in at 10,2 tons including all cruising equipment but with 1/4 tank diesel and water.

On the comments re the behaviour of the Belize in high winds I do not fully understand the claim that the Belize is overly lively. I have a lot of experience with the Belize in storm conditions and she is safe and show a very controlled manner.

Believe all cat producers weight claims should be verified with actual load weights when lifting. The empty weights do not specify what is actually included. To mention the Belize' first claimed weight was 7 tons, this has since increased to 9 tons. So the weight claims from most producers should be washed down the drain and the real McCoy in the kobile cranes should be the actual weights.
I would also ask all producers of cats to clean up their act and give us buyers the real truth about the weight and clearly specify what equipment is included in the claimed weight. What about a standard for all cats re weight?

This was a bit to the side but seems to be a very important issue for most, if not all cat owners. What if all all cat owners could agree on a standard of included equipment for a standard weight!

Happy lead free sailin