Saba 50 vs Antares

[Heath68]

I'm soon to travel to France to look at a Saba 50. I'm also hoping to view an Antares 44i as a comparison. Has anyone got any opinions about the best? I know the Helia 44 is a more comparable size but I don't like it as much as the Saba.

I'm hoping to find a cat for the two of us to liveaboard for a few years and slowly circumnavigate. I've also looked at the Dean but can't see many reviews.

[Sand crab]

The Antares is probably one of the best built and best equipped cats made. Certainly best equipped anyway. They are backed up years on orders so that tells you how people feel about them. They are expensive but do hold value well. I don't know anything about the Saba.
Dean had some build issues with the 440 and some were very public. This episode has brought down the price for the entire line. The new D50 is a headturner but not necessarily in a good way. Aren't they changing the name to Dream or something like that?

[2Hulls]

I hesitated to reply to this thread. But I'm with sandcrab.

The Antares 44i was on my short list and very likely would have been my final choice had a used one been available at the time. I have a personal friend who owns one and I know that the owners are very loyal and love these boats. This was all when they were built in Canada, so I cannot speak to what has happened since. If they were just a little better looking....

I have been on the Saba and Helia at a show and have sailed several other FPs. These boats, like almost all the other mass produced cats, are primarily designed for the charter trade. They are not in the same class as the Antares I am familiar with, IMHO, which is a high quality build for the expressed purpose of being a live aboard.

It would be informative to look at the resale values of Antares vs similar aged FPs or other mass production boats.

2 Hulls Dave

[monte]

Check out the dean 500 at the upcoming boat show">Miami boat show, I believe the demonstration boat may be for sale. Very nice cat with luxurious accommodation. Also FP are replacing the Salina with another 48 that might be of interest

[yeloya]

I have just seen one Antares that had come for a repair (broken boom as a result of accidental gybe) and we did some other works as well on it. I didn't sail her but I wasn't impressed in overall look of the boat.
It looked narrower for her size (beam to length less than usual 50 % for this size) and must have huge windage with her bulky hulls + elevated helm station, not my taste..
I had talked to the skipper who sailed her in offshore several thousand nautical miles; all he said was "very solid, but veeerryy slow.."
The quoted price on their web site was > 1 mio USD.Can this be true or a just a kidding ?? At this price range you can buy a brand new carbon Catana 47..If you don't like Catana's, how about Outremer 51 ? If you don't like cats with dagger board , you can buy a fantastic Nautitech 54 which should offer more space and be much faster ..
Saba won't be very fast either, but faster than Antares anyway. Latest FP's are pretty good in finishing but I am sure Antares will be better than her in this respect and she's likely to keep her value better than Saba.

After all, this is yr call..

Good luck

Yeloya

[gelliott]

Yellow how are your Helia's holding up to charter...is the quality really better now? Would you say its better than lagoon? how is sailing comparison on Helia?
thanks

[DotDun]

My opinion of the Antares.... beautiful boat, old design. Hulls too narrow to support cruise loading, evidenced by bottom stern step underwater while motoring. Engine/transmission noise down in the hulls while motoring is almost unbearable. Backlog in delivery of new boats may be a marketing play.

[Catalysis]

DotDun, I was at the recent Annapolis boat show where they took a number of orders, take a look at their website "liveantares.com" where you will see that they're sold out through 2018.

Look for a used Antares 44, they sell in a few days - slow, noisy, old fashioned or fit-for-purpose ?

A recent boat (2-3 years old) made in Argentina sold for its original price.

The marketplace seems to be recognizing the combination of high quality,, liveability and as an owner for the past 5 years I can attest, excellent design and maintainability.




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[Heath68]

Wow thanks guys, lots to think about and I'll certainly check out suggestions (dean is now xquisite apparently). I thought the Antares would be quicker than that and was hoping to see one at the multihull show in Paris as I can't make Miami. If not maybe later in the year. No doubt fp will also be showing me the Ipanema but I think it will be too big for 2 to manage? I also don't understand about the ideal length-width ratio and will have to assume the designers know what they're doing

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by Catalysis

DotDun, I was at the recent Annapolis boat show where they took a number of orders, take a look at their website "liveantares.com" where you will see that they're sold out through 2018.

Look for a used Antares 44, they sell in a few days - slow, noisy, old fashioned or fit-for-purpose ?

A recent boat (2-3 years old) made in Argentina sold for its original price.

The marketplace seems to be recognizing the combination of high quality,, liveability and as an owner for the past 5 years I can attest, excellent design and maintainability.



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Whose purpose? Not mine!

The OP asked for opinions, I gave mine, you have yours.

Demand creation via limiting supply doesn't make a better boat. Again, IMO of course!

[gelliott]

sorry, damn auto type! I meant Yeloya how are your Helia' s holding up?

[sailor_pr]

Definitely go for the Saba 50. The 6 additional feet make a big difference in space and sailing speed.

[Rubikoop]

I just skippered a 7 day charter on a Saba, hull #2, 4 cabin version that was at the Annapolis boat show. Slow it is not. I spent hours sailing in double digits. Interior was very quiet. Many of the squeaks and groans from previous FPs were thankfully gone. The boat is in the CYOA fleet here on St Thomas and available for charter.


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[MIRELOS]

I never liked the design of the Antares; high top sides, narrow beam, crowd feeling inside...however very well equipped and seemed like a good finish at least at the show. Very expensive in comparison with other cats of the size.

[gelliott]

Rubikoop that's interesting didn't realise they were already out on charter. Can you go into a little more detail on the sailing performance? Did you get chance to sail upwind, wondering how close you got to the wind, and what were the wind speeds/angles when you were getting double digits?