Review Detail

Four of us had a great 10 day, one-way charter from Nassau to Staniel Cay in the Exumas. The Palm Cay base they use is very new with many great amenities. Vanessa in the main office was great from NavTours/DYC. They also gave us access to the Palm Cay pool, bikes, restaurant, tiki bar, and beach.

We chartered a Bali 4.5 earlier this year and sailing the Bali 4.0 was pretty similar. My feeling is that they are great for charter/group comfort, but not great sailing vessels. The 4.0 sailed pretty slowly just over ⅓ wind speed. In ~16 knots of wind, we averaged 6-7 knots. It could maintain about 8 knots with 2,300 RPM from both engines (no sails). This isn’t a major surprise knowing it’s focused on the charter market.

It seemed like the main overpowered the jib quite a bit. It would pull to weather and overpower the autopilot if both sheets were tight when pinching into the wind. We let out the main a bit and that balanced the boat.

Some worry about the hard foredeck. In larger swells, we did experience some slamming but nothing brutal. I wouldn’t be excited about larger crossings in heavy weather.

The layout and seating are great but we did all feel like getting around the saloon was a bit tights. There’s one main walkway from the stern to the galley so people did have to squeeze around each other quite a bit. With four people this wasn’t an issue but six or certainly, eight would feel tight. No big surprise with a boat this size.

Pros:
-The garage door created a nice indoor/outdoor space. It was a bit tight when closed up.
-The breeze through the galley and saloon was great. The large front window and garage door allowed a ton of airflow.
-Good space for Galley, the location allowed forward windows to be open without killing flames.
-The beds were larger than most charters and great for a 40-foot yacht.
-The pads on the upper deck near the helm were great for congregating during the day, for sundowners, and stargazing.
-There was a nice “lip” in the shower that kept water from going into the main bathroom floor.
-Cup holders near the sunpad were handy.
-Very easy to maneuver under power.

Cons:
-Fridge struggled to keep up. Froze up in the back but didn’t keep everything consistently cold.
-Limited food storage space vs similar Leopards and FP yachts.
-It was hard to see anchor without a trampoline to look through.
-There were no cup holders on helm which was annoying when maneuvering.
-The DYC sail bag was too small IMO.
-Don't store trash I'm engine compartment (smells inside rear cabins).
-Main wouldn't come down on its own. You had to pull the halyard through the clutches to get it to move and even then it would only come down ¾ of the way before someone had to pull it down with a boat hook.
-There was no air conditioning in the galley/saloon. Only the cabins below. The thermostats were annoyingly bright.
-The bathroom sinks are large and flat so they don’t drain well.
-The generator seemed louder than the other boats we’ve had.

Additional thoughts:
A watermaker would be welcome for longer charters. With four people on a 10-day charter, we just made it. We were very careful with water because the Exumas don’t have many places to get water.

I’m torn on the self-tacking jib. It does make tacking very easy, but it takes some of the fun/sport/challenges out of sailing!