Considering moving up a little from my 281. Saw a '04, 323 on line and it looks pretty nice. Any owners/previous owners who want to comment on the 323?
Bene 323
- Thread starter Bill C320 Papillon
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We bought a new 2008 323 in January and it is a gorgeous boat. I have been impressed with the design and engineering plus the interior seams to be liked by everyone that has been on board. The cabin is very usable, the is head huge, and the berths have mattresses(!).The cockpit is comfortable, the locker is big enough for a life raft, the swing wheel and folding helm seat are cool and the boat has exceeded our expectations in the way it sails. We specifically wanted a folding prop and the "classic" mainsail and except for the mail needing to be reefed very early, the boat has sailed flawlessly. Minor irritations include a seemingly weak refrigerator, the interior wood is extreamly soft and easy to damage, no 12 volt outlets, no auto bilge pump, and the Raymarine instruments are junk. Would I recommend buying a new Benateau boat? No. The build quality of my boat (surely not all Beneteau boats are like this one) has been a big disappointment. The two big problems were leaks in the hull to deck joint and the ultra shoddy factory air conditioning installantion. Both have been fixed (long story) but they still fired up a case of "buyers remorse" that is only now begining to fade. Who approved, built, and inspected this boat? New boat? No way. Buy a used 323 at a great price that has been gone over by a good surveyor? Yes, aboslutely.
Bill B281 Dragonfly
I bought a beneteau 323 new and would gladly do it again thru a good dealer. In mast furling and a swing keel lets me get a lot of places single handed
We spend weekends at anchor and at the dock.The galley is the only thing that is to small for serious dining.Refrigerator and countertop both barest minimum but we have fed and six people at the table without problems.
She is a little tender with decent speed under sail or power.
I bought a beneteau 323 new and would gladly do it again thru a good dealer. In mast furling and a swing keel lets me get a lot of places single handed
We spend weekends at anchor and at the dock.The galley is the only thing that is to small for serious dining.Refrigerator and countertop both barest minimum but we have fed and six people at the table without problems.
She is a little tender with decent speed under sail or power.
Bill, I've had mine for 30 months on the Chesapeake Bay, and I love it. I added a Gori folding prop, and it is an improvement. Like Grady, I find the galley a little tight on space. I've made a number of improvements/upgrades. If any of you would like details, repence@msn.com, please. About the fridge, I found there is alot of heat buildup under the sink. I drilled a hole high up in the aft side of the cabinet, by the pump switch, to vent hot air. When I drilled the hole, I could really feel the heat coming out. Otherwise the heat works it's way to the fridge box. I think I'll add some insulation under the cabinet/fridge bulkhead to prevent the heat wafting over to the firdge. Probably would help heat the cabin if you left the under-sink door open?.... If the B 343 had the head the 323 does, I would have bought it. Friends of mine said, "that's not a head- that's a bathroom!". Buy one- you'll love it.
I have had my 323 since 2005 and enjoy it thoroughly. Mine is classic mast, fixed keel. I upgraded instruments from raymarine st40 to st60. I also have GPS and multifunction display as well as hydraulic autopilot.
I don't kow why some folks thiink Raymarine is "junk" if installed right it performs perfectly
Overall build quality was fine...no problems. If you buy one you'll enjoy it.
I'm thinking about selling... we moved recently from Mi to VA and am debating between moving the boat or going bigger. We've been sailing in Lake Michigan, and really have foundthis boat to be adequate for our needs, but everybody gets "four foot-itis" after awhile.
I don't kow why some folks thiink Raymarine is "junk" if installed right it performs perfectly
Overall build quality was fine...no problems. If you buy one you'll enjoy it.
I'm thinking about selling... we moved recently from Mi to VA and am debating between moving the boat or going bigger. We've been sailing in Lake Michigan, and really have foundthis boat to be adequate for our needs, but everybody gets "four foot-itis" after awhile.
We bought a 2007 Beneteau 323 last march, and so far we are very happy with it. It was a dealer demo that my local Beneteau dealer was sailing. Its a traditional main, shallow draft keel, version. We are particularly happy with sailing performance, both upwind and downwind. That's what won us over from considering a Catalina 309 and a Hunter 31. We are mostly cruisers, but we are interested in racing 6-8 times a year. Some reviews suggested that she was a bit tender, but we have been out in 25-30 knots and as long as you reef early you are fine. Sail handling is very easy because the main drops right into the sail cover, and reefing couldn't be easier (especially now that we added a second cabin top manoeverable winch - a must).
We love the lay-out of the cock-pit, and the only notable upgrade we made were to add a second manoeverable cabin-top winch (which probably should have been standard) to ease sail handling - particularly reefing. It has a C70 Multifunction display chartplotter, that we love and is easy to use. The boat is also equiped with an auto-pilot which is great for short-handed situations and passages.
We haven't gone on any long cruises yet, but I think storage would be an issue if you are planning on cruising more than 4-5 days at a time. The refrigeration unit is small, but you can use a plug-in cooler. Having said that, the aft-cabin is very comfy, no matter which way you sleep. I am 6 foot 1.5 and 205 pounds and I can sleep either way (a-beam or a-bow). The v-berth is a bit tight, but we use it mostly as a place for the kids to crash. As mentioned, the head is awesome. I can have my two kids and I in there brushing our teeth and are completely comfortable space wise.
Again, we have only had the boat a year, but we are very happy. The dealer is a good friend and neighbour and that certainly helps.
I would certainly recommend the BENE 323.
Another 323 owner
We have had ours for 2 season sailing on Lake Champlain. Have also chartered one in BVI. We have been pleased with it for the most part. I agree with prior posts about comfort and sailing characteristics. We have shoal draft keel and RF main which can barely tack within 100 degrees. Don't get that configuration if you plan to race unless you have a very forgiving rating board. Upwind legs are a killer. But we bought her for cruising and she excels at that. We've cruised for up to seven days in comfort.
We have had ours for 2 season sailing on Lake Champlain. Have also chartered one in BVI. We have been pleased with it for the most part. I agree with prior posts about comfort and sailing characteristics. We have shoal draft keel and RF main which can barely tack within 100 degrees. Don't get that configuration if you plan to race unless you have a very forgiving rating board. Upwind legs are a killer. But we bought her for cruising and she excels at that. We've cruised for up to seven days in comfort.
Re. Racing, Pointing Ability
We have a Bene 323 with shoal draft but with traditional mainsail. We are thinking of racing (cruising class) this summer and I was wondering how we would do upwind. I wonder how much your problems are with pointing ability are caused by the RF main versus the shoal draft. Certainly we can tack within 90 degrees comfortably (from my recollection, we have only had the boat one summer). I have heard that Bene 311's and 321 with shoal drafts do very well on downwind legs, and incredibly poorly on upwind legs.
Have you raced at all? Thanks.
We have a Bene 323 with shoal draft but with traditional mainsail. We are thinking of racing (cruising class) this summer and I was wondering how we would do upwind. I wonder how much your problems are with pointing ability are caused by the RF main versus the shoal draft. Certainly we can tack within 90 degrees comfortably (from my recollection, we have only had the boat one summer). I have heard that Bene 311's and 321 with shoal drafts do very well on downwind legs, and incredibly poorly on upwind legs.
Have you raced at all? Thanks.
Stock / Optional Raymarine Electronics
I have not had any problems with the stock / optional electronics that we bought. We have the standard speed, depth and wind direction package and the C70 multi-function display / GPS chartplotter. I find the chartplotter incredibly easy to use, and the speed, depth and wind direction to be decent products. The speedo wheel on the hull which spins and measures speed does however get clogged with algae. This is the only problem I have had.
As per the GPS, I have navigated with it alone in dense/dense fog, and had no problems at all. I am in Nova Scotia, and believe me we get serious fog. I hope this helps.
I have not had any problems with the stock / optional electronics that we bought. We have the standard speed, depth and wind direction package and the C70 multi-function display / GPS chartplotter. I find the chartplotter incredibly easy to use, and the speed, depth and wind direction to be decent products. The speedo wheel on the hull which spins and measures speed does however get clogged with algae. This is the only problem I have had.
As per the GPS, I have navigated with it alone in dense/dense fog, and had no problems at all. I am in Nova Scotia, and believe me we get serious fog. I hope this helps.
Didn't mention the autopilot. I haven't done much cruising, and only one passage, so I can't say I have really tested the Raymarine Autopilot. From a pure motoring point of view, I throw it on so I can go forward and hoist the sails, from that point of view its great. I don't know what it would be like if I was in 2-3m seas, and heavy winds, sailing. Certainly I don't think its a heavy due Autopilot, but fine for coastal cruising and the occasional short passage (all that most B323 owners will use the boat for). I will test it out this summer, and see how it makes out in higher winds and bigger swell under sail.
I've only had an autopilot on this 323 that I've had for two seasons. In high winds and/or rough seas the auto would be constantly working. If you try to use it, I think you'd want to slow down the response time so that every wave wouldn't cause the auto motor to kick in. Note, also, that it uses up the batteries. Better, I believe, would be to hand-steer when possible. I use the auto for those boring, no-wind/flat water trips. I have a Raymarine C80 chartplotter.
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