Can the Arcona 385 live up to the reputation of it's much-loved predecessor? - Yachting Monthly

10 years ago, when Yachting Monthly sailed the Arcona 380 it was the best boat our tester had sailed in over 30 years on the water. Did the updated version of that performance cruiser, the Arcona 385, leave the same impression on YM editor, Theo Stocker?
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[@brownnoise357]

Must admit, if I was 30 to 40 years younger, she'd be right up my street. But as I'm Not, She isn't, and sadly radically different to it, is what I need to keep having a Sailboat rather than a Motor boat. Thank goodness for developments this past 5 to 10 years, that can allow people like me to keep Sailing. So nice still to see boats like this, that others can enjoy to the full. Bob. 👍🙂🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇲

[@davidrockefeller2007]

How old are you ?

[@shaneriehl223]

Beautiful boat! If I didn’t have a J/133, I would likely have strongly considered an Ancona. The biggest smiles I’ve had after sailing were when you throw a lot at a boat, and it just eats it up, no problem, and is easy to handle while doing it. This Ancona looks like that kind of boat.

[@FXPL9277]

Spray hood should strech further aft and she could have an up and down swim platform, closing the cockpit, avoiding losing your stuff to the sea. Other than that, the Arcona 385 is a near perfect balance between performance, livability and style. I want one! Too bad it is desproportionally expensive...

[@peterihre9373]

Great review!

[@lucasspaniard8430]

Great work on the review, obvious sailing skills onboard, and nice to hear some criticisms as well. Only area of improvement I could see is a gimballed camera especially when sailing or down below. Good work!

[@atakd]

What a superb review, detailed and unbiased. I have a Dehler 38 and wanted to compare. The Arcona has the edge but not sure it justifies the extra ££ though the steel matrix would be worth its weight in gold if you hit something hard.

[@august3777]

Nice review on a great looking yacht. Hope you all get the chance to do a review on the Solaris 50, the Amel 50, and the Kraken 50,

[@mikekcarey]

Looked at a 380 seriously a few years ago but ended up buying a Finngulf 391 older cheaper but same design ethos sails fast rewards fine tuning has a beautiful wood interior so we get very fast sailing with a gorgeous interior and we spent half the Arcona cost

[@bravofighter]

Not cheap, but worth every penny. Considering the utter garbage on offer on the lower end of the 35-40 foot spectrum, and what they charge for it with a straight face, I’d say this is actually a good solid value.

[@karelvandesande9848]

XP38 adjusted for hyperinflation :)

[@CurroBlanquer]

Good review, good insights. But does your camera man know what is a Gimbal? Please use a gimbal and the we will enjoy so much. 😀

[@thoxipe]

Galvanized steel beam in the bilge?! Are they crazy? I have a Cal boat with a galvanized beam from the 70s under the mast. Guess how the beam is doing? It's essentially rusted away.

[@brownnoise357]

That is Sobering, given the Superb quality of USA Steel and galvanising, so much so that on my trip to the USA to buy my last boat, which was gorgeous apart from a Rubbish Anchoring setup, after seeing the Chandlers loaded with atrocious quality Steel Chain, with Crap Galvanising, I ended up getting Superb Chain triple galvanised from a USA Truckers Supply company, for an all Chain setup that got the Boatbthrough multiple Tornado hits, that one in particular was so severe, I'm convinced that Chinese Rubbish Chain would have snapped like soft liquorice.☹️

[@marktilley7222]

Exposed galvanized steel in the bilge?! Please explain to me how that’s a good idea?

[@brownnoise357]

Actually that's the only real Negative I could see with the Boat. Me, if triple galvanised properly, I'd weather it until colour Change, then thoroughly epoxy seal it before installing. A bit likevone of the Luxury Csr makers used to do with Aluminium Castings to age them to stabilise them many years ago. I think Hispano Suiza ? from memory. 🤔

[@atakd]

I delivered a Grand Soleil 43 with a steel frame. It had previously hit a wreck at hull speed. The collision broke the helmsman's ribs on the destroyed steering pedestal but the boat sailed back to port under its own power. Any fibre matrix would have lost the keel and almost certainly sunk. The frame was removed, rejigged and refitted. There's a reason that X-yachts and Arcona use steel and it ain't ignorance or economy.

[@adrianvalbuena8158]

Very nice review... from my point of view i'ts a nice sailboat, and really appreciate that it sails almost like a racer but... when you check the price they ask for it.... my lord... Don't missunderstand my comment but while watching the video I thought it was a mid price product, an interesting one, by the way... but I think i'ts a bit overpriced....

[@en4ce_]

could some one be so nice and elaborate on the stronger wind and tightening the back stay he mentions? thanky!

[@bryan333333333333333]

Tightening the backstay pulls the tip of the mast back, bending the mast and tightening the forestay. This has 3 effects on your sail shape 1. Reduces lateral forestay sag, results in a flatter jib 2. Reduces mainsail leech tension, twisting the sail out and spilling wind off the top 3. Mast bend also flattens the main (reduces draft) There's more to it but that's basically why you put backstay on when it gets windy.

[@en4ce_]

@@bryan333333333333333 thank you for the explanation. would you say this is the general rule for a Bermudian rig, right? I am more used to gaff rigged vessels or two mast boats and we never did such a thing.

[@bryan333333333333333]

@@en4ce_ That's right. I've only really sailed bermuda sloop rigged boats with modern flexible masts. I don't have the knowledge to speak on any other kind of rig configuration

[@simondalzell6108]

It's high time BMW release a 325i for the smart sailor to keep in the local marina!

[@driveitorsellit4137]

I have a Bavaria Cr 40 from 2012, and except from the the steel condensation maker under the floor, there isn’t much difference, to me. I like my boat, a lot. And I can buy three more for this price. Nope, I don’t need three more. But still.

[@samianttilampela6384]

Yours is 2000 kg heavier, wet laid, mass production caravan. This is a vacuum infused performance cruiser. Absolutely no comparison

[@driveitorsellit4137]

@@samianttilampela6384 oh really. You do know they made an S edition of the cr 40, too? The Bavaria cruiser 40 S has an S number of 3,25, quite close to the Arcona 380/385 that both are listed with an S number of 3,85. So these boats perform within the range of racer-cruisers and compare in most ways. Obviously they are produced in different ways, this is not a reason for denying similarities, it is actually the opposite, as this is how to show how little you gain from producing in a way that makes the boat so much more expensive. Neither is the fact that Bavaria makes a lot of boats a logic argument for claiming that they make low quality. The budget for development and techniques for quality control raises with a higher number. Not the opposite. FYI: The S Number is a formula that assesses relative performance of sailing yachts, giving values that range from 1 to 10, with sub-ranges of these values assigned to Racing Machines (5-10), Racer-Cruisers (3-5), Cruisers (2-3) and Lead Sleds (1-2). The formula for monohulls is: S# = 3.972 x 10^[-DLR/526 + 0.691 x (log(SAD)-1)^0.8] DLR in the formula is Displacement-Length Ratio and SAD is Sail Area/Displacement Ratio.

[@grahamlongley8298]

All those windows in the berths are a damned nuisance when you want to sleep & you cannot because the sun shines in your eyes. They all need blackout blinds. Also the silly low headroom is dissappointing

[@mtrezaie]

I really like their speed but bumping your head everywhere is a bit too much. And there is no secure way on the back to not drop stuff in yet sea. I wish they would innovate a bit instead of reiterate the same design. Monohulls are really needing more innovation.

[@brownnoise357]

The innovation in ease of usability the past few years, has been an absolute godsend for crippled old farts like me to be able to keep Sailing tbh. I thought I was condemned to have a Motor Yacht. Ugh ! Still got to use a Professional Delivery Crew though, to keep Insurance Company happy. Still, things could be worse. Best Wishes. Bob. 👍🙂🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇲

[@robertward9837]

Not worth the money ! Good review

[@tom1-]

Half milion dollars for 38 footer 😂 ridiculus 😂

[@testicool013]

It’s not 1980

[@tom1-]

@@testicool013 😂😂😂

[@brownnoise357]

High Quality Never Comes Cheap, and I suspect that will always be the Case. Secondhand there can be considerable savings though, I imagine ? 🤔 Best Wishes. Bob. 👍🙂🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇲

[@atakd]

People pay that for a watch which keeps poorer time than a £10 Casio. At leadt this boat dors the business.

[@brownnoise357]

@@atakd I like Casio too, plus cheap watches with Seiko Quartz Movements like Current Sekonda watches. But for me, as I'm disabled and don't drive (Sailboat means I'm mobile again, hopefully soon ), changing batteries is a oita, so enter the Citizen Eco Drive with up to 15 years real quartz Chronometer accuracy which on Sale can be incredibly Cheap for what you get. Plenty good enough for length of day Navigation plus sextant use. +/- 10 mile accuracy isn't hard to get to quite fast with daily and nightly practice, if all the GPS Satellites get CME'd. Hopefully that never happens, or there'll be a lot of lost Boaters doing head scratching Out there. Best Wishes and Fair Winds. Bob. 👍

[@zezoka]

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[@jabjab1010]

Your shoes don’t fit. LOL

[@zezoka]

1