NaCzarter Team
· Updated
The short answer
If you are sailing with family and want everyone comfortable for a whole week, take the Antila 33. If your crew actually wants to sail, take the Maxus 33.1 RS. Both have three cabins and berths for ten, both require a licence, both will handle the full route from Wegorzewo down to Ruciane without complaint. Everything else is detail that turns into a holy war on forums, while in practice it decides one thing only: how well you live aboard.
We keep both at Port Royal in Gizycko. After twenty-five years of handing over keys, a pattern shows up. People choose a boat from a spec sheet, then come back and talk about the berths, about where the towels dried and whether you could cook dinner while the boat was heeling.
Centreboard or lifting keel: what it changes on the water
The Antila 33 has a centreboard, the Maxus 33.1 RS a lifting keel. Raised, both sit at around fifty centimetres of draught. Lowered: 1.8 m on the Antila, 1.7 m on the Maxus. Those ten centimetres are not a difference you will ever feel in Masuria.
What it actually means in practice. You raise either one when you go into shallow water or approach a wild shore, and you lower it when you put the sails up, otherwise the boat slides sideways. A lifting keel is heavier and tracks a little more calmly, a centreboard is a simpler and lighter piece of engineering. Both versions carry a case inside the hull, so both take a bit of room below deck. On the Masurian lakes the two solutions do exactly what they were put there for: they let you get in where a boat with a deep fixed keel has no business being.
And here is a warning from real life. Shallow draught does not mean you can go anywhere. For the night you pick a sheltered bay away from the fairway, you drop the anchor on a rope with a decent amount of scope, and you put the anchor light on. You do not drop anchor in harbours; there you moor to piles or pick up a mooring line, catching it with a boat hook from the stern and walking it forward to the bow. Some of the islands, on Kisajno among others, are nature reserves and you simply do not go ashore there.
Below deck: this is where the holiday is decided
The Antila 33 is built around space. Saloon, galley, somewhere to sit at the table when it has been raining for three days. This is a boat designed so you can live aboard, not just sleep between one tack and the next. If you are travelling with kids, you will appreciate that by the first evening at the latest. We put more about the boat itself in our Antila 33 charter guide.
The Maxus 33.1 RS is slightly longer, 10.5 metres against 9.6 to 10 on the Antila, with the same 3.2 m beam. That extra length went into the hull lines rather than into square metres of saloon. It is good down there, just laid out differently. Details in our guide to the Maxus range.
One thing we tell everyone: ten people is a number from the boat's papers, not a recommendation for a week. Six or seven on a thirty-three footer like this is comfortable. Ten is a weekend with a crew who know each other well and do not mind that only one person fits in the galley at a time.
Under sail: how much of that difference you really feel
The Maxus has a reputation for being livelier, and there is something to it. In steady, clean wind on open water you can feel the boat move. The thing is, Masurian wind is rarely steady or clean. The lakes are sheltered by forest, the wind bends around every headland, you drop into a hole and sit there for half an hour. Realistically you spend a good part of the week under engine, and there you have around 20 hp on the Maxus and around 21 hp on the Antila, which is effectively the same.
Honestly: the performance gap between these two boats is smaller than internet discussions suggest. On Sniardwy or Mamry in stronger wind both will catch that short steep chop that can wear you down, and with both the answer is to cross in the morning or not cross that day at all. Whether you come home happy depends more on the berth layout and on whether you enjoy cooking in the galley.
On top of that there is the rhythm of the day, which sets itself in Masuria. The Guzianka lock and the swing bridge in Gizycko keep their own hours, so you plan your legs around them, not around which boat picks up a quarter of a knot.
Availability and the Antila's quiet advantage
The Antila is the most common boat on the Masurian route. That has two practical consequences. First, dates are easier to get, especially in July and August, when charters run Saturday to Saturday and free weeks disappear early. Second, in every harbour there is someone who knows the boat and will talk you through a manoeuvre or show you where a valve is. On a first charter that is worth more than half a knot.
If you are after a newer model year in the same layout, there is also the Antila 33.3, a few dozen centimetres longer, same idea of three cabins.
Comparison table
| Specification | Antila 33 | Maxus 33.1 RS |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 9.6 to 10 m | 10.5 m |
| Beam | 3.2 m | 3.2 m |
| Draught | 0.5 to 1.8 m (centreboard) | 0.5 to 1.7 m (lifting keel) |
| Berths | 10 | 10 |
| Cabins | 3 | 3 |
| Engine | approx. 21 hp | approx. 20 hp |
| Licence | required | required |
| Character | space and comfort below deck | livelier under sail |
| Availability in Masuria | very high | good |
Which one suits whom
Antila 33: a family with children, two couples with luggage, a crew that treats the boat as a base for exploring the route and wants somewhere to sit when it rains. Also a good first charter of your own, because the boat is everywhere and fewer things will catch you out.
Maxus 33.1 RS: a crew that genuinely wants to sail, knows how to trim the sails and does not treat beating up Talty as a punishment. A good pick if you have a few seasons behind you and want something that answers the helm faster.
If you are still torn, or wondering about a different size altogether, have a look at our overview: sailing yachts for Masuria, which one to choose.
Frequently asked questions
Which boat is easier for a beginner? The Antila 33, though not because it handles better. Because there are more of them in Masuria than anything else, so in every harbour you will find someone who knows the boat and advice is easy to come by. Handling the two is much the same.
Does centreboard versus lifting keel matter in Masuria? Less than people say. Raised, both boats sit at around half a metre of draught, so both will get into shallow bays and up to a wild shore. The 1.8 against 1.7 metres with the board or keel down makes no practical difference on these waters.
Which one really takes ten people? Both are certified for ten and have three cabins. For a full week we recommend six to seven people on either. At full capacity the Antila is the more comfortable of the two, because it has more shared space.
Do you need a licence for either of them? Yes, for both. The Antila 33 and the Maxus 33.1 RS both require a sailing licence. If you do not have one, a houseboat is the alternative, the Stillo 30 or Stillo 31 for example, which you can take out without any qualifications. You can also hire a skipper, which is a normal paid service with us.
How does the deposit work and when do you pay it? The deposit is refundable and settled on site in cash, when you take the boat over and when you hand it back. Mandatory fees, such as the end-of-charter cleaning, are also paid at the base, not in the online payment.
Cover photo: NaCzarter.pl (own fleet)
