Our Boat

By Mark

Antares 44i - Sailing Vessel (s/v) Field Trip

Why Antares 44i?

Which boat to buy??

We get this question a lot from friends and family. In short, the answer is easy. Antares is the BEST boat on the market that met our family needs and personal criteria. Getting to the answer took a lot of time and research...but were are confident this boat will serve our family well.

Key Criteria in our boat search:

Safety at Sea: With a family, it was really important for us to find a boat that would not be over powered (too much sail), have water tight crush zones, and be engineered with safety the primary consideration. In our opinion, this is one of the best engineered and safest catamarans in its class.

Comfort: From the beginning, we expected at some point to spent a lot of time on our boat. It was very important for both Sarah and I to have a boat that was comfortable and 'felt like home'. A lot of the boats we spent time on were very 'plastic like' in the interior...and it felt like frankly a cheap RV. A cheap RV feel may be OK for a week, but it certainly was not OK for any time longer than this. One thing for sure about the Antares, when any wife steps aboard, be prepared to get out the checkbook...

Great finish and light!

Fit and Finish: This one item cannot go understated. Having grown up with a grandfather who was a master woodworking craftsman, and spent plenty of time in his wood shop, I learned to appreciate well done joinery. When I buy furniture, I always look at the details, and make sure it is well made. This is no different when we were boat shopping. The joinery and attention to detail - especially in Argentina - is unmatched. Simply take the time when on the boat to look at all the woodwork, edges, joints, varnish finish (multiple coats all hand applied). Not only is the woodwork beautiful, it is also light. This is VERY important to a catamaran is weight is a key consideration. See this video.

Ease to Sail: In buying a boat, it was also important for Sarah and I to have a boat that could be sailed easily by a couple, and single handed if necessary. A key feature for us is all the lines are neatly organized and run to the cockpit with powered winches. In addition, the mainsail was not so large that it would create additional dangers if we were caught is a sudden squall. Still need to be reefed, but at least there was not a massive amount of sail to handled when the going gets tough.

Building the Boat

Building a boat takes patience. In our situation it was unique. We actually put a contract on our boat years before we actually thought we would be sailing it consistently. Given this, we moved our hull # out multiple times to accommodate Antares and other owners that wanted their boat delivered sooner than us. So in this sense it was great, and we will have waited almost 3 years for Field Trip to splash.

Depending on who builds your boat, there can be many items that you must research and study to figure out what is best for 'you'. In our case, Antares has been nothing short of excellent to work with. We have made a number of tweaks to the boat, including equipment, ladder designs for the port forward bunk beds to techno-geek items like underwater video cameras in each hull.

A complete list of items we have changed/added to Field Trip are:

Upgrade to twin Volvo Penta D2-40 HP Diesels

The port forward cabin to have an extra berth with additional storage

The boat shall be equipped with a conventional Selden mast with MainTamer

Supply 2 x Selden shroud covers

Replace all Harken winches with Radial Harken winches

Install two additional 80W. Solar panels on arch

LED Upgrade

Install SSB system including Dynaplate, Icom M802 radio, AT-140 tuner and antenna

Supply and install Pactor Modem model 1063-PTCII-USB-BT w/P3 for SSB email use

Install second Furuno NavNet 3D 12.1” Multi Function Display

Install remote for Fusion stereo mounted at helm

Upgrade watermaker to Sea Recovery 25 GPH

Install flat chart storage cabinet below saloon television

Install Corian type "A" countertop over entertainment cabiner and fridge/freezer

Install flush mounted ice maker in saloon under bar sink Model U-Line BI-95

Supply and install Titan 11' RIB

Supply and install 20 hp 2 strokeYamaha outboard

Install complete canvas package

Replace primary standard anchor with Rocna Anchor 33

Spare Part Kit Includes

Install KVH M5 antenna

Install Glendinning power cord reels x 2 as per drawing

Raymarine Underwater cameras x 2 - drawings to follow

Vesper Marine WatchMate 850 AIS unit with antenna

Install protection enclosure around fridge and freezer compressors (as per 4432)

Install manual sea water pump mounted for galley sink

Dimmer switches on both LEDs in Kitchen

Move power outlet in SB head inside cabinet

Harken Battcar system for main.

Secondary fluke anchor, 50ft of chain

Nordac Radian

Switch fuel/water capacity

Radar reflector - Echomax 230

Bookshelf in master

Cellphone/WIFI booster - TBD

Sharkshaft

Factory Tour!

Antares is build it Buenos Aires Argentina. This is a great country, and Sarah and I have been privileged to spend time with the wonderful people of Argentina and Antares. A special shout out to Memo and Santiago!!