Beneteau first accomodations

[gdwyer]

I am on the verge of looking seriously at Firsts from 28 to 36 feet long. They look great in almost every way for the type of sailing that I want to do.

My one concern, based on looking at a 36.7 at the Charleston Boat Show, is the berths. Neither my wife nor I is willing to sleep with the cockpit sole a foot or so away from our faces. That seems to put us in the v-berth on Firsts. I have found few dimensions on v-berths and the few that I have found do not reflect the asymmetrical sizing of some of them.

Are there Beneteau Firsts that have v-berths with 6'' of length on the left and right of the compartment door? If so, which ones?

I would very much appreciate your help.

gdwyer

[CaptGentry]

I have a Beneteau 36 footer. When I sleep aboard by my self or with my son we take the back cushions off the settee and sleep there. It''s like sleeping on the couch at home. The aft quarter berth is great when the wife joins me though. It has lots of room for two. The lack of head room does restrict "activities" there but you should sleep ok.

Oh... one bad thing I just thought of about the aft quarter berth.
The boat''s aft is nice and flat and high on the water line. So any waves will slap loudly on that section of the boat. I don''t mean the gentle lapping of waves. I''m talking about someone sitting on the other side of the hull slapping it with his hand.
But you do get used to it.

Capt Chuck

[JHodor]

They are an up and coming line to compete with the first series but not quite as fast but w/ a super interior. Looks at the Jeanneau Sun Fast series. They rip up the race course in Europe but have a more complete interior and full size berths. I have ordered the new Sun fast 35. Let me know if you want to look at it when it comes to Annapolis in Feb. My other friend also ordered a SUn fast 37 and is taking delivery this month. I must say I sell them part time but seriously you subconsiously are looking for this boat. It has a good balance for all that you seek. My wife sounds like yours as far as creature needs. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

[JohnDrake]

Its a strange thing but you have to be very careful to actually MEASURE the berths on most euro boats. I looked at several older larger Bene''s and Jean''s. Specifically the ene first 38, 405 and 42 and the Jean 40 (mid 80''s model). I personally found the forward vee berth to be far too narrow for my liking up front and the berths in the aft qtr cabins were only 44 inches wide. Not acceptable...in my mind at least.

Now, I have to say (and yes I own one) but Wauquiez''s do not suffer from these dimensions...they seem to have been built to more luxury standards.

At any rate:

1. Measure the cushions yourself.
2. It is true that the broad flat aft hull sections will make sleeping in the aft berths on SOME of the Bene''s undesireable due to slapping
3. A 4 inch thick cushion will not be comfortable to sleep on for long. Figure $3000-4000 to replace these on any boat with nicer 6 inch cushions and new fabric.

Hope this helps

[JHodor]

yeah I''ve been told a lot of the 80''s boats have narrow berth''s. I feel mostly due to the IOR racing rule that was dominate then. Some builders built to it more than others. I think we will talk about IOR forever. It had pinched bows and sterns making for small berths in many designs. Just be sure to compare similar generation boats to similar generation boats when shopping. In other words take your 50'' tape measure, ha ha.

those Wauquiez are interesting, is yours a late model? Sounds like you like it.

[JohnDrake]

Hi JHodor

I do like my Wauquiez very much. She has exceptional fit and finish and she is a terrific sailor. It was very hard to find the boat I was looking for. A boat I could singlehand, livaboard, shallow draft and a boat that was a proven offshore design and fast. She is all that.

She makes some interesting compromises. The nav sta is integrated into the port settee...great for living in port, though I would prefer a separate nav sta... the galley could be bigger, but in fact is right sized. There are quite a few things that are not a compromise in the boat and one of them is the size of the vee berth and aft cabin''s qtr berth. The aft qtr cabin is huge for an aft qtr cabin and the forward cabin''s vee berth is the largest I have seen on any boat of this type. Love it.

Hope all is well

John

[Jeff_H]

I have not experienced the undersized berths that you mentioned at least not on the 38, 38s5 and 40.7 that I have slept on. The owner of the 40.7 that I sail on is 6''3 and seems to find the berths comfortable.

Jeff

[JohnDrake]

Jeff!

Great to hear from you....you have been missing here for some time.

I apologize if I was not specific. The models were 80''s vintage Bene First 38 (3 stateroom model), 405 and First 42 (boats in the 100k and under range).

I felt (and obviously this is a relative thing) that the vee berths on the 38 and 405 were small and came to a point forward. The vee berth on the First 42 was not bad actually...but it was certainly no more than a proper double.

The aft cabin on the 405 had a large berth, probably queen sized but it was on the "floor" for all intents and purposes (I personally just don''t like that) and the flat aft hull section makes for annoying slapping noises while sleeping there. The aft qtr cabins on the First 42 and 38 were simply small with small, narrow berths....in my opinion 44 inches in width is small and narrow for a qtr berth in a private qtr cabin. My personal absolute min would be 48 inches.

As for the 40.7, for $270,000 I am not surprised the berths are nicer. :O)

Since we are comparing vee berths...I can add that the vee berth on my Wauq is 6''8" long and 7 FT wide (at the base), squared off forward. The forward cabin also does not open to the anchor locker...that bulkhead is sealed. A matter of personal preference I guess.

All the best

John