Checking out a Privilege 515 / Series 5, first at the Miami Boat Show, and then one under construction:
And photos of some lucky family’s Privilege 5 under construction
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A little perspective on size (I’m 5’7″) |
various outside shots of this Privilege 5 under construction:
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approaching the Privilege 5 in the boat yard from the rear |
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looking up from the under the rear of the boat |
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the bridgedeck seen from the aft angle |
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I took this photo from a walkway behind the boat |
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View of the cockpit (under construction) from various angles:
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This will become the saloon’s dining area |
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view from cockpit doorway toward galley on port side of saloon |
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It’s easy for someone over 6′ tall to walk into the saloon from the cockpit without hitting their head |
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Master berth in half-owner’s version (cabin is not open all the way across as it would be in full owner’s layout) |
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once you’re up on the level of the bed in master cabin, you have to duck |
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These owners installed a safe in a closet in their cabin |
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one of the side windows in owner’s cabin |
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looking down the starboard hull’s interior walkway |
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view into the unfinished queen-bedded cabin |
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the cabin containing twin bunks is very “snug” but it’s nice to have this set up as an option
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very nice woodwork and finishing – here rounded corners |
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footprint of the galley on the saloon level |
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What you’ll see at the helm |
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standing on the front of the boat looking backward |
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standing on the mid-front of boat looking forward |
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Navigation station inside saloon |
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back side of the boat from below |
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I also just finished looking at the 5 series privledge at this years Miami boat show. I’m curious, why you bought an antares 44 rather than a 5 series. Obviously cost is one reason. Any others?
Roger, The Privilege is a fine, seaworthy vessel, but there were a few reasons we went with the Antares (and have been very happy we did, not to knock the Privilege, but just because of how much we like the Antares).
The Antares has shaft drives and the Privilege has sail drives. We are going around the world and this feature was very important.
The fully encloseable helm and cockpit on the Antares that is so cozy and quiet and comfortable in bad weather, was also a large advantage over the Privilege’s “almost” enclosed helm and cockpit.
We thought we would prefer the Privilege’s forward owners’ cabin that goes across the full beam of the boat, but once we actually experienced it, we found the ceiling height far too low and didn’t like that we couldn’t stand upright inside by the bed.
Similarly, we didn’t like the sloping salon and the fact we couldn’t stand upright at the back end. we found the woodwork on the Antares, especially the floors, which are real wood – as opposed to the thin laminate in the Privilege – were a big aesthetic factor. The Privilege interior felt more production/charter-like. The Antares felt more solid and higher quality.
We much prefer the galley in the Antares, which is much larger than the Privilege’s. It is half-down, so it’s the perfect combination of open to the salon, but just removed enough to keep heat, splatter and dirty dishes and mess away from the entertaining area. The Privilege’s galley, especially with the back end having that sloping roof, was very small and partly unusable because of the ceiling height.
We spent time on some privileges and found that the sloped windows didn’t give as good visibility and also brought too much heat into the salon. We roasted! The Antares salon has huge well placed windows.
Antares has a large, loyal owners group who help one another and owners of the company who stay in touch, run Antares Universities, provide after-care, and add to the value of owning an Antares.
I could go on, but the last factor was resale. Used Antares tend to sell extremely fast – sometimes before they go on the market, and many owners have gotten out all they put in, or more, even after several years. You don’t see that with Privileges – or any other catamarans I can think of.
Good luck with whatever boat you choose. Catamarans are wonderful and I wish you fair winds.