The 323's big engines chug to full-rumble force, and the sense comes that today is going to be memorable, celebratory, different in the company of a boat so welcoming in its sheer size, its inclusiveness in an interior that bespeaks comfort and relaxation and easy, easy going. The storage is yawning. The attention to enjoyment's details meticulous: the flip-out table, the stainless and teak ladder to the bow, the cockpit seats nudged next to the sunpad for optimized lounging, all the right high-end appliances in the galley, the wet bar, a helm station aeronautically precise in its control of the 323's high, high horsepower. The cabin serves a couple's evening together or a small group of friends' game of hold 'em. The 323 is at cruise.

And a few hours of your life seem, subtly but assuredly, better.