Hi Bodo, in your quest to find out about the Beneteau 473; I own one and can tell you from my experience with one, and arrange and possibly arrange an opportunity to sail one, that is if you are willing to go to the BVI's. First there is to much to write about, so I'll tell you a bit briefly and then give you my personal email address if you want to continue. I have not owned a lot of sail boats, I have sailed others, mostly Beneteau's, some
Jib n Sea's, etc. I love the boat, for me she handles very well, I can sail her alone all through the BVI's, I can
anchor and pick up a mooring all by my lonesome. The dual wheels make life much easier, the captains cabin is fine and the head is a decent size, the galley needs a bit of upgrading like microwave, and a host of other persaonl choices, the nave table is more then adequate. I have Doyle Sails and find her nicely responsive, at 10 people she starts to get crowded but 8 is the perfect max. The fridge and freezeer are good, though the drain on the fridge needs to be a drain down than a suck up bilge type. The only thing that I still in the process of trying to figure out is where-n-how to get a generator that will power the boat at sea. Oh, it comes with A/C that will run off dock power which is a very nice feature, very nice! indeed. To me her name says it all... Splendour In The Wind -O-___/)__~~
Hope this was some help... Cheers!
Todd
Sorry the website won't allow me to post my email address, hopefully Sailnet will alert me to when you reply, as I will accomodate as well.