beneteau first 235

[skully]

considering buying 1989. anyone know much about them? looks like a well constructed boat. lots of interior space. I''m curious of the logic puting a marine head in boat this size, and what maintenance is involved. any input would be appreciated.

[billkirk]

Owned one for four years. Great little boat. I had a 97 with the deep keel, sailed well. As for the marine head, it was better than lugging a porta potty around. I had to rebuild the pump once, pretty simple project.

The only problem I had was where the transom and hull come together. It makes a lip facing aft, the layers of glass began to split there. I had it repaired for a few hundred and it was fine after that.

[halyardz]

Skully, I owned an 88 for about 5 years. There were things I loved and things I found
frustrating. Considering other boats in the
class...I''d still buy a 235...Catalinas etc.
don''t even compare..unless cost is your main
criteria.

The things I loved:
--the marine head was a blessing...the ladies in your life will constantly thank you and the privacy door helps! Maintenance was not a problem but the factory did install a Y valve backwards
--interior room is great for the size
--good quality fittings
Probably of more interest to you is the list of frustrations...and I admit, many of them have to do with the size of the boat...after
one season, you find yourself wanting a bigger boat (if you do any cruising or more
than bay/lake sailing)...with the next logical leap being the 285 (not the 26).
--aft berth handy but cramped...good for kids
or storage...or storage of kids

Frustrations....
--mine was a wing keel and you could not leave the helm, tiller tamer didn''t even help
--boom too low on mast...man did we hit our
heads on every outing and always had "hunch" profile moving around the cockpit
--side windows lost seal after 3 years...real
tideous to reseal and hard to get it to look
OEM
--like Bill''s reponse, I too had some delam on the aft lip of the hull...its a real easy
target to ding on a dock etc....we fixed it
twice.
--the gas tank for the outboard generally was
in the cockpit...should have installed a small in board tank but only place was on same side as holding tank...would have created balance problems.

IMHO Must Haves---roller furling & swim ladder... lazyjacks (nice to have)

Watch the prices, B''s tend to be a bit more
expensive than others in the class and while the better fittings are worth a 5% premium I''m not sure its worth an extra $1,500 given you''ll be replacing some anyway.

Jim