We had Stella Blue on the water for better than 4 months now. Let me start out by saying we love this boat!! There have been a few glitches, as there would be with any new boat, but the dealer has been very responsive to all our concerns. We have met some 390, 400, and 430 owners and have had a chance to compare. We have had the family out for weekend cruises and have had as many as 8 persons overnight. Our trips have been short local hops in protected waters but I have had the boat in beam seas with 4-5 footers. I will report on these and other findings, from an owner's point of view, unaffiliated with Mainship (or magazine publishers with more concern for their advertisers than their readers.) I will also report on my electronics, but in a separate article.
When shopping for a new boat, there is a certain amount of trepidation. You wonder if this is the right boat for your intended use. This was absolutely the right boat for us for many reasons. Not in any particular order of importance, but first is value. When I look at the quality of hardware, materials, workmanship and dealer support, Mainship has put together alot of boating fun in a very cost effective way. We are not talking one-off or high end, low production, yachts with meticulous attention to detail, but a yacht of very good materials and production techniques making yachting for an average family a very real endevour. In shopping for a boat, we looked at a few 390's that seemed to be holding their values very well. So well in fact, that it made the little difference in cost, to step up to a brand new 400, a "no-brainer" for us.
Next was the boat going to serve our intended use well? Coming from a cruising type sail boat, we were looking for a trawler type boat that would be fuel efficient, comfortable for our growing family and would eventually be a seasonal live aboard when we retire. Lisa and I spend every weekend on the boat through out the summer with visits from the kids and grandchildren. With two staterooms and a convertable sofa, 6 can overnight very comfortably. Our flybridge is completely enclosed and can sleep two more on the 6' seats. If more room is needed for the childrens friends, two more can bunk in sleeping bags on the flybridge floor. It's rare that we would have that many, but it's possible to sleep ten if you need to. When breakfast time comes, the table on the flybridge and the dinette below can handle the whole crew.
The flybridge was a big factor in our decision to buy this boat. With a full enclosure of the seating area, it's like having that additional family room back home. We have had up to thirteen seated around the room for after dinner conversation with friends, these were adults, not children. The space is incredible. Underneath all that seating is storage space we will be needing when we move aboard for those winter trips down south. The table consists of two wings that hang from a stainless steel frame. It works for now, but a little more thought could have gone into this design. I have had to move the support attachment points to make the table more level, and it is very difficult to move past the table, to and from the helm, with both wings up. There is adaquate space on the instrument panel for flush mounting electronics, and the whole panel is hinged to allow access to the back of the panel. The hinge is a long piano style hinge that is not fastened as well as it could be and shows signs of pulling away when the panel is opened and resting on it's support. The forward facing seats each side of the helm could have been raised about 3 inches to afford a better view for passengers, but an extra cushion also works. I have put nonskid shelving liner under the seat cushions to keep them from sliding around. This helps alot when the boat rolls in heavier seas.
We have the summer kitchen option on the aft deck of the flybridge. This is a great feature we use often. This includes a built in grill, cold water sink, and icemaker. Our boat, was a dealer stock boat, that was ordered all electric. Although I like the safety of the electric range in inside galley, I would prefer the propane grill on the summer kitchen option. Having to start the generator in a quiet anchorage to do some grilling is annoying, and the propane would heat up better outdoors. There is also enough room to set out a couple of chairs and relax in the sun back there.