Fractional Rigs - Beneteau, Hunter or Other ??

[Snooze]

Folks, I''m sure this has been answered in the past, but I couldn''t find it so I''m asking for your help.

We''re looking at buying a boat for the following purpose, with certain criteria. There are 2 families involved with 2 kids each, so for the odd night it needs to sleep us all (8), preferably with enclosed rooms so the kids are cushioned a bit from the raucus elders. For the longer journeys there will only be 4 people.

I am a NZer (living in the Pac NW) and was bought up on Farr designs, so would like a Frac Rig (I''m the only sailor in the group and have to teach the others) for a variety of reasons - control of main, small jibs, eaiser shorthanded. Although the boat will mainly be used for cruising within the San Juan and Gulf Islands, I want the ability to race her when I get the right group together. Nothing too serious, but needs to be rated well enough and not be last over the line (I get depressed easily with that result).

Our budget is about $45,000 and I think the longest I would want is 36ft (maybe 38), and I wouldn''t want anything shorter than 33.

Right now the 2 best boats I can find are a mid/early 80''s Beneteau 35 or 345 (not sure which models had fracs), or the mid to late 80''s Hunter 335, 35 or 355.

My question to all is their thoughts on these boats, any problems with them etc etc. Also, am I missing some designs that should be considered. I want to stay main stream if possible for resale down the line. I could post this on the relavent E-mail sites here but we all know the B''s would say they''re great, and the H''s would say they''re great.

Your advice is welcome and appreciated.

Craig, aka Snooze

[Jeff_H]

In your shoes, I would look for a Farr 1020 or Farr 11.6. These boats are generally cheaper in the States than NZ. Both should be available within your price range in mediocre but not trashed condition.

The First 345 is a pretty nice boat with a great interior layout but they are a small mainsail/large jib, IOR era design, which frankly is not the best choice for what you are proposing. The First 35 is basically the same boat.

The Hunter is a lighter duty boat than the Beneteau First series with similar rig and hull configuration issues.

Jeff

[Snooze]

I would like a Farr, and although I have seen them, there aren''t many up here. I''m in no rush though.

I think the Ben Legend 35.5 is a Frac rig isn''t it?. But I have noticed that these designs do have small mains (no roach) on them.

What issues have the Hunters had ??

C.

[jkumin]

The Farr 1020 is a good boat - we won the Straits of Georgia overall in the mid-80''s on one. The problem for the Pacific NW is they are sticky in light air. It happened to blow for Straits the year we won. I''ve also raced on a Hunter 35.5. Not a bad choice for what you propose but avoid the wing keel if you want to race. They have conventional mains, you can get a main with an IMS max roach if you want (recommended).

I also favor fractional rigs but the Ben 345 is a nice boat and there is value to the masthead rig in the predominant light air of Puget Sound. Did four races there this past spring and never got off the #1.

[Snooze]

Thanks Jon and Jeff. As I mentioned the Hunter and Bene''s have the advantage of the closeable staterooms which the Farrs don''t. But the Farr 1020''s are such well balanced boats.

Jon, I have been racing on J''s (35s and 39s), so I can''t use those as a yardstick unfortunately. The 39 was great in the lights here.

Is there a design I''m missing here ?? I can''t believe I have covered all options and there has to be others available??

Let me know if you have a moment please.

C.

[dgeorgia]

An older freedom 32/36 would work real well, and people do occasionally race them with success. Not sure if you could find the 36 for 45k though.

[paulk]

A fractional rig in your price range and quite popular in the Pacific NW is the J/36. We bought ours with another family (same issue with kids, etc.) and have been really pleased with our choice over the past 7 years here on the East Coast. We''ve never raced a J/35 that we haven''t passed, and don''t worry about Beneteaux, since they''re generally too far astern to see. (even the new one by your NZ friend...) The boat is tough -- we''ve had ours out in 30 knots with a full main, 150 genoa and spinnaker pulling us at better than 13 knots - as well as beating into 25 knots and 6'' seas for days at a time. She''s fun to sail, and offers a lot of performance and room for the money. Some of them are rigged to sleep 11, so kids can invite friends ... or you can race overnight with five to windward on either tack. Cruising is fun as well. We''ve taken her to New York City and Newport RI, and lots of places in between. Perhaps Maine and Nantucket this summer. There seem to be a bunch of them in the Puget Sound area, and they might be worth looking into.