Design and Construction
The Athena 38's hulls are molded from multifoam core-fiberglass-resin, with foam placed in the stern, transom, and forward areas so the boat is unsinkable anchor. Perry's design review singled out the sculpting of the hull-and-deck intersection as the most interesting aspect of the new design: the sheerline tucks in with a large, soft radius before stepping up to the true deck level, and the hulls terminate in another highly sculpted detail at the swim steps anchor. Beneath her, low-aspect, 3-foot-deep keels are paired with nonstructural, sacrificial components intended for accidental grounding. The critical bridgedeck-to-water clearance appears to be 28 inches, a dimension that bears directly on her behavior in a seaway.
Rig and Handling
Her rig is a fractional sloop with a deck-stepped Z-Spar mast extrusion and a total sail area of 914 square feet shared between a full-batten main and genoa. The main is a large, roached 538-square-foot panel on recirculating ball-bearing cars, fed by a mainsheet to a self-tailing Lewmar 44 winch on the tested boat, with an 11½-foot double-ended traveler just aft of the cockpit. A ProFurl headsail furling system handles the foretriangle. Under engine, twin 18-horsepower Yanmar saildrives pushed her at 7½ knots on flat water at 2,600 rpm anchor, burning roughly four-tenths of a gallon per hour on fixed two-blade props. Under sail, test sailors found her jumping to 10 knots on a beam reach across the Hauraki Gulf and tacking at close to 40 degrees.
Accommodations
The layout is symmetrical: four double-berth staterooms occupy the ends of the hulls, each separated amidships by a head and shower, one per hull. The saloon spans roughly 13 feet with average headroom over six feet and a pedestal-mounted four-foot table seating six to eight. A large horseshoe dinette and U-shaped galley define the central space, though the galley counters carry no fiddles. Owners in the hulls enjoy 6-foot-3 average headroom, with master cabins at 6-foot-4 and berths roughly 4 feet 9 inches by 6 feet 6 inches. The galley holds a two-burner nongimbaled stove and oven under an opening hatch, a wedge-shaped top-opening icebox, and an 80-gallon fresh-water supply feeding a telephone-booth-style shower.
Cockpit and Deck
The cockpit is a full 10 feet wide, with a 20-inch wheel at the starboard bulkhead and an anchor locker windlass in line with the mast on the tested example. The wide beam—20 feet 8 inches—and the 38-foot-1-inch overall length give a length-to-beam ratio of 1.84, a beamy proportion that prioritizes living space over slender hull lines. She lies quietly at anchor, a trait period reviewers noted as a virtue of the hull form and bridgedeck arrangement.
The Verdict
The Athena 38 is a thoughtfully detailed cruising cat that trades racing edge for volume, comfort, and forgiving ground-handling. The Flahault interior and Joubert-Nivelt hull shaping make her a plausible candidate for a couple or family cruising the shallows, with unsinkable construction and sacrificial keels softening the consequences of mistake or reef.
Pros
- Unsinkable foam-filled hulls with sacrificial keel components for grounding
- Symmetrical four-cabin layout with a head per hull and strong headroom throughout
- Wide, sociable cockpit and saloon with seating for six to eight
- Quiet at anchor and economical under modest diesel rpm
Cons
- Galley counters lack fiddles, a drawback in any seaway
- Bridgedeck clearance of 28 inches invites pounding in short, steep seas
- Nongimbaled stove limits cooking comfort when heeled or underway
