General Impressions: Wow, what a boat. Fast, fast, fast.
She is almost new and in pristine condition, having been out on only 10 charters before we got her.

See: http://www.cyoacharters.com/orana44_2011/orana44_2011spec.asp

Equipment features:

Upgraded main engines - 50 HP vs. the stock 30HP units.
Flat-headed Mainsail - power!
6.8kw generator
5 high-efficiency air-conditioners (including AC in forward singles and in the heads!)
Touch-screen chartplotter and radar
12-foot dingy on davits with 15HP outboard


Notable:

Large 92 gallon fuel tank. We bought 74 gallons of fuel, but believe we started about 15-20 gallons low (that's CYOA's best guess number after kicking things around) so lets say we used about 55 gallons of fuel in 10 days. We put 122 hours on the generator and 22 hours on the engines. So between the generator and engines we consumed about 0.4 gallons/hour. What this all means is that you can easily charter for 10 days and never have to put fuel in the boat.

Speed under motor: In a dead calm Moonshadow will do about 6 knots at 2000 rpm. Motor noise is low.

Speed under sail: Wow. This boat is fast. The main is huge. I got a taste of this on the first day when we raised the main and unfurled the jib in Pillsbury Sound. We took a big tack out towards Jost, and then tacked back into Francis Bay, loping along at about 7-7.5 knots. Once in Frances Bay we got a little gust coming off of St. John and the speed ran right up to 8.5 knots. I couldn't wait to see more. Running from North Sound, VG to Anegada we really got to see her fly. In 18-20 knots of wind we cranked along at 8-8.5 knots easily, and in wind-gusts into the low 20's the speed went over 9 knots and I swear one time I looked at my hand-held GPS and saw 10 knots. We were flying! Any more would have had me reefing the main. All sail controls are rigged to the starboard helm station. The winches are arranged in a triangle pattern, two close and one far. The far one is hard to use if you are less than 5 feet 4 inches tall. The upside is that once the sails are raised it's dead easy for one (tall/strong) person to sail the boat.

Motorsail: A couple of times we motorsailed downwind with just the jib out in and easily maintained 7-7.5 knots dead down wind with the engines turning 2000 rpm, even hitting 8-8.5 knots on a beam reach (motor & jib).

Layout: Salon - will seat 8 with a cooler aft of the table, but it really more comfortable for 6. We fell into a routine of feeding the two grand-kids first, and then the six adults had plenty of room around the table.

Layout: Cockpit - The two chaise lounges behind the helm station were almost always in use. Very nice. Plenty of room for 6 adults around the cockpit table, and sitting on a cooler let us crowd 8 around it.

Trampoline - However, the most favorite place for hanging out was the huge trampoline forward, between the hulls. The air flow through the tramp is heavenly, and spray from the occasional wave cools you down. Probably half the crew spent most of their time up on the tramp while we were underway. There's a nice seat on each bow that is suitable for lounging while sailing in calm waters.

The Dance Floor - the top of the main salon extends over the cockpit in one huge 18X20 foot expanse of gleaming white fiberglass. It seems like you could put a 3-piece band and 15 dancers up there. There are so many great places on this boat to chill-out, it's truly amazing.

Staterooms/heads - The aft doubles are very nice, particularly the starboard aft double with the bed running athwart ships. The forward doubles are slightly smaller but still fine for two. Each double cabin has it's own air-conditioned head, which we all loved. You can get a shower and not be dripping sweat right after toweling off. The ladies loved it.

Cheers: Too many individual things to mention. Simply a beautiful, well-equipped boat. Very comfortable for 6 adults and 2 kids. Thanks to CYOA for putting an electric winch on the dingy davits. This really helps raise the heavy end of the dingy and we found later it allowed us to rig a retaining line under the inboard dingy hull, up over the starboard davit and then to the winch. A tap or two on the winch control let us snug the boat down so that it didn't swing around in rougher seas.

Jeers: It takes 3 average people, or two strong people to raise the main. To get started, one nimble person has to climb a few feet up the mast holding on with one hand, pulling the main up with another hand, and clipping it in with a third hand. A prehensile tail would really help with this operation. Fortunately, this can be done in advance, while on the mooring, anchor, or at the dock. Once clipped into the halyard the 60+ foot tall sail must be threaded trough the maze of rigging holding up the stack-pack. It's very heavy and takes many turns on the winch to get it up and tight. Easing the main-sheet half-way through the operation is a must, else it binds up and will not go fully up. Fortunately we had several strong crew members aboard that helped us deal adequately with the main. Once up this prodigious sail provides incredible power, but on several occasions we deferred it's use, and motorsailed under jib-alone. The winch layout is hard for a short person to use.

Water tank gauge doesn't work right. Never goes above 3/4 full. On the bright side, at least it worked somewhat. And to be completely honest, I repeat the words "liar, liar, pants of fire" anytime I look at a fuel or water-gauge on any boat. None are to be trusted.

Generator will run all 5 AC units but no more. If we ran the blender, microwave, or toaster we'd have to drop power to one of the AC units. This is only a small pain, and of course the up-side is that the generator is 'right-sized' for the average load which makes it more fuel efficient.

Summary - we'd charter Moonshadow again in a heartbeat. Very nice boat.

Here's a couple of photos of Moonshadow

I am reminded of a few more nice features installed by the staff at CYOA...

There are two custom aft deck sunshades at the back of the cockpit to shield you from the late afternoon broiler. On windless days this is a particular Godsend.

There are twin DC and AC outlets at the master bed and the single set at each of the other beds. This makes it easy for everyone to keep all of their personal gear charged up. We probably used them all.

There is both a refrigerator AND a true freezer. The freezer is divided into horizontal compartments and located at chest level. It provides the easiest access of any freezer I've seen on a charter boat. It also worked great!

There are steps at the bottom of the mast that allow you to climb and stand on two feet while struggling with the main sail top batten. I should have mentioned this earlier. The steps also provide easier access to the coachroof.

The helm station has it's own Bimini top to sheild the helmsman from the sun. We found it easily large enough for one adult and two grandchildren who loved to sit with their "Wally-Pop" (me) and help steer the boat.

The stereo has inside and outside speakers and an Aux input so you can play your favorite sailing tunes right from your iPod.

Honestly there are probably dozens of other notable features I could add that CYOA has added to this boat to make it a joy to charter. A lot of thought went into it.

Added:

Dang, I keep thinking of more stuff.
CYOA let us try out a wifi hotspot about the size of a pack of cigarettes that plugs into a 12V recepticle.
It works in the BVI (only) and let's you connect up to 5 devices.
It worked great and we had good service almost everywhere, the exception being Cane Garden Bay.
Evan on Long Overdue said that he could hook up to it several boats away when we were both moored in Great Harbor.

Great post Twanger. We're chartering the Moonshadow from CYOA on 2/16/13 - Can't wait. It looks like the dinghy may be 12' - How many adults will she carry?

We had 6 adults and 2 kids in the dingy on occasion. We all did the trip from Great Harbor to White Bay & back. We shipped some water on the way back... one of my favorite quotes of the trip was from that dingy ride. Both kids were in the bow wearing their mask and snorkels. We were all soaked to the skin. My son in law was driving and says "Well, we're more than half way there and not quite half full of water... I think we're gonna make it!"

We've had 9 in a dinghy one time. It moved along ok - better than I've seen some run in the past with fewer people.

Additional comments after charter of Moonshadow 1/22-2/1.
Fuel- we used 42 gal on a 9 day trip and ran the a/c a lot and the generator. We ran into a challenge with the batteries hold ing a charge overnight, couldn't use the electric coffee pot with timer. (Poor us) but ran the generator more often because of the batteries discharging over night and only ran between 5-15 amps.
Love the salon and cockpit. We had deck chairs and were able to sit 8 in comfort.
Speed under power ranged from 4.5-6knts depending on sea state. We saw 12.5 knots in 25-30knts of wind at one point.
Stateroom are great for 8 adults. Thought space was comparable to the older Belize and Bahias in the cabins, beds seemed larger.
Heads- we all felt that by putting in the shower stalls that the heads seemed much tighter than when it was all one room. The sink is a pain to use as seems very small and hard to brush your teeth or wash your face.
Sail plan and line handling as stated by Twanger leaves something to be desired. The positive is that the winches are larger than on previous boats.
We had no problems with the water tank gauge, it seemed to work fine. Generator works great.
Sunshades are wonderful
The outlets are all convenient except for the one in the galley which is too high for the cord on the coffee maker or toaster to reach.
Loved having the refrig and freezer. With 8 adults on board we bought another ice chest for water bottles and soda. Still had to get ice every day for adult beverages.
Dingy can carry 8 passengers easily. Power winch is great but can be a challenge to get over the stern platform, need to push out while winching up.
Galley equipment, need fry pan or sauce pan that is larger. Other than that the pots, pans and storage bins are great.
Oh, loved the chaise lounges in the back.
The biggest complaint I had was that the storage for 8 adults, was storage. We ate out every other night but 9 days of food, drinks, clothes, snorkel gear, electonics left something to be desired.
This is a great boat with a lot of comforts. No system problems but just little things. I am putting down my thoughts quickly as I saw that one of our TTOL members is scheduled for 2/16. Have fun...

Thanks for all the information. We have 8 adults so carrying all at once back and forth would definitely be a plus. Can't wait to get down there on the 16th to check it out.. I'll make sure to share our observations also.

Rick we found two bad batteries and replaced both of them so the battery issue should be resolved. There is an additional outlet behind the stove that we installed in the galley to make the coffee pot easier to use. The coffee pots won't work on the inverter and we still put percolators on board as well. It was great to see you guys again. Glad you had a great trip.
Jay

Amazing that we (us charterers) killed those house batteries in about a year.

We is tough on stuff.

No wonder you won't let us loose on the running rigging with power winches. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Blush.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Laugh.gif" alt="" />