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dinocuri,
If you haven't had your bottom paint done yet, take a look at a product called "Coppercoat". It costs more, but it lasts as much as ten years. My partner in our 440 has used it on a previous boat (an Island Packet) and it lasted at least that long. We will be having it put on our boat in late summer.
Concerning the speed of a 440, we have been more than pleased with our boat's performance, regularly reaching 9 or 10 knots on a beam reach with less than 20 knots wind and 13 knots downwind with our spinnaker up and an apparent wind under 10 knots.
The best part, however, is the sheer comfort of cruising on our 440, as opposed to our previous boat, a Hunter 450. It's a pleasure to sail. I concur about the flybridge steering station. The view and sail handling set-up is incredible. It's no wonder over 400 have been sold in less than five years.
Regarding a previous comment regarding steerage, has anyone heard of the new invention called an "Autopilot"? We rarely have ours on "Standby", except when motoring in tight quarters.
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