Beneteau first 345

shmangasarian · #1 12-04-2002

Well I''ve pulled the trigger and made an offer on a 1985 First 345 and will sea trial/survey this Monday the 9th. From the research done I know that keel bolts are suspect on these boats and the headliners tend to fall down. Also there was an issue with bad resin and blistering in early (pre-1985) production models. So what I want to know is
1. does anyone have intimate knowledge of anything else specific on an older Beneteau that I should look out for, and 2. this may be moot by now but are there Beneteau owners out there with some insight into sailing these things. thanks in advance.

fordeck · #2 03-07-2003

I am also looking at a First 345 or First 375. Can you tell me what you found out about these boats? Di you finally get one?

Thanks,
Mark

delrae · #3 03-08-2003

chefmango, try www.beneteau-owners.com doubt if you will get any answers on this site. it seems to be pretty biased against beneteau, catalina, hunter, etc. not everyone can afford valiants, gozzards, pacific seacraft and such high end boats. i wonder what all these self proclaimed arm chair sailors own? how about you bigred56.

JWag · #4 03-08-2003

We owned a 1985 Beneteau First 325 for 9 years and thought it was an excellent boat overall. Ours looked like brand new when we sold it in 2000. The boat was solidly built (more so than current production boats in my opinion), had good hardware and rigging, and sailed well, even with the shoal keel and shorter mast that ours had.

Our only negative experience was the occurence of osmotic blisters starting around 1996, when the boat was 11 years old. We had about 100 dime size ones appear over the next 3 years, almost all of them on the port underbody (only about 5 on the starboard). I ground them out and repaired with the Interlux system. Other than that, we liked everything about the boat.

doubleplay · #5 03-09-2003

delrea:
There can be some biased people against any boat in any forum out there..but if use beneteau owners site as a reference to opinions about Beneteaus,what you will read obviously will be biased ,too.
Every boat from every manufacturer has its own merits and place depending on what you want from a boat..but plase don''t tell me there are no quality differences among the boats that are manufactured..
By the way I own a Dehler 36.
Fair Winds...

shmangasarian · #6 03-16-2003

Mark (fordeck); well, three months later I can tell you there''s a wealth of information out there if you do your due-diligence and hire the best surveyor you can afford. Prac. Sailor is a good place to start as well as the Beneteau owners site. In my case I spent a lot of time researching all the common complaints about Benes including blister problems, keel bolts, moisture, headliners, etc. As for "Enfin" specifically, I found out that it was built in France, not Carolina, had no corrosion in the bolts, normal wear and tear(what you might expect in a 17 year old boat) rigging issues and minor blistering/moisture problems. These were all judged to be reasonable to repair and not deal busters, so after some requisite haggling the deal was made. I will tell you what really sold me (after weighing aforesaid problems) was the sea trial. In 10-12 knot breeze this boat got up and screamed with the main and #2. So quick and responsive to the helm that I felt like I was on my force 5. Granted it is light for it''s size, but with a deep keel and plans to only sail it on the Chesapeake, it will suit my needs (aggressive daysailing and racing) perfectly. I also love the cabin layout, especially the aft head and quarter berth. It''s a buyers market out there, so be patient and look for a boat that''s been maintained. Neglect kills these things faster than anything else.
bon chance, Stephen