Missed you comment until now - sorry! Glad the thread helped your decisions. I agree 100% with your rationale - we had the same view. As we get close to delivery, I wonder if I would choose far fewer factory options on next boat and have a lot more done after market to have more control over specs.e.g. Turned out FP only offer one water maker on Astrea so the debate on 12v V 120v was irrelevant! We wanted everything to be ex-factory to avoid debates on warranty issue ownership.
Next boat might be different.

Thank you for posting the info on the FP Astrea 42. Fell in love with that boat as soon as I saw the advertisements for her. I have always wanted a FP Saba 50 but it is way out of my price range, so my hubby and I decide on the Lucia 40 but I was quite "Sold" as there were just a few things that I really liked about the larger vessels that were not offered in the 40 that were offered in the others. We looked at the Helia but just thought it was too much money as well. Now comes along the 42 and well I feel like Goldie Locks at the Three Bears House - I found just the right fit! I really do appreciate the post - it has helped us decide on some options - specifically the watermaker. I can't wait to see photo's of some of the vessels of the cruisers from this post to see and hear their first hand experiences of the vessel.