373 Shallow Draft Depth

[JDW]

I have recently purchased a 2004 373 and there is some confusion as to the draft on this boat. Initially she was presented as a deep draft, but upon the haul out she was found to have a shallow draft, I was not present at the haul out. The surveyor said she was the shallow draft and in the photo she did not appear to have a bulb or much of a bulb keel which would make her draft 4'11"? I have not been able to find any info on a shoal draft 373 being offered. Does anyone know what the draft for this boat is?

Thanks

 

[BigEasy]

I have recently purchased a 2004 373 in the photo she did not appear to have a bulb or much of a bulb keel which would make her draft 4'11"? I have not been able to find any info on a shoal draft 373 being offered. Does anyone know what the draft for this boat is?

Definitely shoal draft; you are correct, draft is 4'11".
Welcome to SBO! I made an offer on 373 many years ago, but it didn't pan out; purchased 343 instead with 4.9' shoal draft keel. No regrets 10 years later. Enjoy!

 

[JDW]

Thanks, So this is the standard Keel then, I just expected there to a more pronounced Bulb along the bottom of the keel

 

[Tally Ho]

Maybe it is the angle, but it doesn’t look quite right to me (I have been admiring the B373 for a while).

note the fairly large bulb on the bottom, and relatively flat foot…and the long extension on the bulb.

Just doesn’t look the same To me.

Greg

 

[Mechone]

Mars keels in Ontario Canada made most of beneteau, catalina , hunter , tartan ,C&C ,most sailboats . That does not look like a Mars keel . Was the boat made in France?. I fellow owner of a 351 just had his keel sent to Mars from Austraila as it had a J bolt snapped and Mars replaced them all . They do unbelievable work ,a fellow boater had a 6.8 keel removed it sent it Mars. They took a foot off and added a bulb , the boat was a CS36 and it would do over 9 knots you couldn't catch him .You should contact Mars and send them the picture. I know another guy that did it himself ,Mars does the engineering ,tells you where to cut it ,and sends you the bulb to attach

 

[jssailem]

Your image does look like a "Shallow Draft". Wonder if it was a refit alteration.

Here is an image of a:
BENETEAU OCEANIS 373 CLIPPER 2004

 

[joker460]

If you go to Yachtworld and do a search, you'll find several 373's for sale with the same keel as the OP shows in their photo.

 

[jssailem]

Joker, I did search yacht world for a 2004 vintage boat. The images did not provide a picture of the keel or bottom of the boat in slings or standing on the hard. I could not see a keel for comparison.
They very well maybe available, just not evident in the search. The 2004 373 boat I did find shows a different keel than the one described by the @JDW . This boat was found on a European brokers site.

 

[JDW]

I think the confusion may be that Sailboat Data drawing is the deep keel and in the descriptions they list the 4'11" keel and not mention that a deep draft keel was also available for this boat?

 

[JDW]

Here is my confusion, if the first image is the standard keel and the second is the deep keel, could mine be even less than 4'11" and without the bulb could the weight and the Bal./Disp. ratio be off? I will diffidently have a tape measure with me when the boat arrives and hopefully the crane can weight the load.

 

[jssailem]

That picture is a much better image than the first post. There is a definite bulge.
Shallow draft designs make up the required mass by making the keel thicker.

The compromise for being able to sail in shallow waters is a few degrees less ability to point to windward and reefing earlier as the wind builds.

“Gentlemen don't sail to weather”

 

[JDW]

That image is not my boat, I was showing the difference in keels. Though, I did get a photo from the transporter this morning from the rear of the boat showing a much better view of the bulge in lower part of the keel. The keel on my boat still different than the one in the image above.

 

[BigEasy]

Though, I did get a photo from the transporter this morning from the rear of the boat showing a much better view of the bulge in lower part of the keel.

It appears that the camera angles are not revealing the bulb at the bottom of the keel. Either a forward or aft camera orientation would show the extent of the bulb. Most Beneteaus offered a shoal keel as standard and a deep keel option. I know that the 323, 331, and 343 also offered a swing keel option ; however, there aren't many of those configured boats available. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the keel shape; the important information is the draft, which you already know.
Most of these keels are cast iron, so be prepared to spot treat rust that breaks through the original coatings. Fairly simple to treat: grind out the rust, apply rust treatment, coat with interluxe 2000 epoxy, faring compound & sand as needed, recoat with interluxe 2000, & apply 2 coats of anti fouling paint.

 

[Mechone]

It appears that the camera angles are not revealing the bulb at the bottom of the keel. Either a forward or aft camera orientation would show the extent of the bulb. Most Beneteaus offered a shoal keel as standard and a deep keel option. I know that the 323, 331, and 343 also offered a swing keel option ; however, there aren't many of those configured boats available. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the keel shape; the important information is the draft, which you already know.
Most of these keels are cast iron, so be prepared to spot treat rust that breaks through the original coatings. Fairly simple to treat: grind out the rust, apply rust treatment, coat with interluxe 2000 epoxy, faring compound & sand as needed, recoat with interluxe 2000, & apply 2 coats of anti fouling paint.

I did that and it still came back every year until I added 2 more steps , grind, rust converter, POR15, then 2 coats of 2000e and then I drilled and tapped the the keel for 2 teardrop anodes ....no rust in 5 years. Oh and don't get POR15 on you it won't come off .. sand it off

 

[gurn5877]

There are three draft options available for the beneteau 373 4'9" 4'11" and 6'1"