Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnRPollard
Those Arconas are hot looking boats. Personally, I haven't seen them over here yet. What's the "word" on them? Less costly than an HR, but how do they compare quality-wise? Where would they fall in the HR/Malo/Najad spectrum?
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Arcona's (Arconae?) are cool and surprisingly well priced. If I've listened correctly, the bulkheads are tabbed to the hull during the construction process, instead of fitted into a liner, and they use a galvanized steel structure in the hull running the length of the keel and taking the load of the rig:
We've talked with an owner, and the response was that the strength and stiffness of the boat was what sold them on it, along with a spirited sailing ability and easy of handling. In rougher conditions, the boats supposed tuck into a groove and hold it (with none of the flexing and popping that can occur otherwise).
What I like about this concept is that the boats are said to be much stiffer and stronger than the typical mass produced model, but they aren't exceptionally heavy. They appear much "racier" than the typical HR or Najad, and they mostly have aft racing-style cockpits with the mainsheet right in front of a large, central wheel.
The cabins, however, are more like a comfortable cruising boat. Not heavy wood, but not acres of plain fiberglass either. We both preferred the interior to a Dufour.
In the end, I think the HRs and Najads are great, but they are very expensive over here (maybe 2.5 times the cost of a production Dufour or Jeanneau), and heavy, and typically center cockpit and maybe not perfect in light airs. In contrast, the Arcona's could be a nice step up from a typical production boat, stiff and nice below, but lighter with a performance bent and a more active cockpit. Fun, in other words, but safe and possibly easy to handle.