Dear sirs,I have recently purchased from beneteau a brand new beneteau 57 feet boat and since my purchase date after I took the delivery(in very bad weather conditions)I now noticed that she is always listed to the port side by about 5 degrees.I have no extra ordered which can create this listing.I have been in contact with local dealer for about two months and they seems they did not pay too much attention to this problem and the only solution they proposed is to put some extra lead to the starboard side which I rejected on the basis that this would mak ethe boat even more unstable.I believe we will go to court very shortly with beneteau as the boat does not even seems seaworthy to me and can be extremely dangerous to face heavy weather conditions with her.Are there any other 57 owners who faced such problem I reall y would like to hear tolga bicer
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List to port
I have a 461 with a similar problem. When both water tanks are full it lists to port about 5 degrees. When sailing local I only fill up my startboard water tank. This seem to level her out. But it is not a solution to long cruises when you need both tanks full. I know my fathers always had internal lead balast in his yachts to get her sitting right. But i don't like the idea of all that lead floating around internally.
I have a 461 with a similar problem. When both water tanks are full it lists to port about 5 degrees. When sailing local I only fill up my startboard water tank. This seem to level her out. But it is not a solution to long cruises when you need both tanks full. I know my fathers always had internal lead balast in his yachts to get her sitting right. But i don't like the idea of all that lead floating around internally.
Moving or adding house batteries
may be a solution. My boat, a 361 was listing to starboard before I upgraded my house batteries to 400 amp/hour. Currently, it lists to port when the starboard water tank is empty.
may be a solution. My boat, a 361 was listing to starboard before I upgraded my house batteries to 400 amp/hour. Currently, it lists to port when the starboard water tank is empty.
Beneteau Design
I think that in general, Beneteau does'nt pay enough attention to how their boats sit on their "lines." I have a 331 and it has a port list as well as a bow that dips too low when the water tank is full. These are clearly design problems. I spoke directly with the President of Beneteau USA and concluded that, in the case of my boat, design flaws were overlooked in order for my model to compete with other production boats of similiar size. In other words, problems that were discovered after production began were not corrected because management felt that not enough customers would complain to make a difference in sales (the bottom line). My shoal keel is too heavy and makes the bow too low in the water. I talked to the company that manufactured the keel for my boat, Mars Keel, and they gave me the story. Beneteau proposed two solutions to my bow too low problem: Place 400lbs of lead under the transom and only fill the water tank to half its capacity or repaint the boot stripe higher. I declined both suggestions and decided to install a second water tank under the aft berth. This tank is located in the rear starboard quarter of the boat and it helps to control the port list and the bow low problem. I still can't leave the front water tank full if the boat is going to sit at the dock for very long or I'll get marine growth above the bottom paint. I don't know if this is just a situation of buyer beware, but you would think that a company that has been making boats for over 150 years would be able to learn from all those years of boat building. I like my 331 very much, but the first few years were spent dealing with these aggravating problems that, according to Beneteau, are mearly aestetic in nature. I gave up on pursuing matters and focused on enjoying my boat. I understand what you are going through and I wish you luck dealing with this problem. Five degrees of list under normal loading conditions is not acceptable. I chalk mine up to experience and will use the information that I have learned for future boat purchases.
I think that in general, Beneteau does'nt pay enough attention to how their boats sit on their "lines." I have a 331 and it has a port list as well as a bow that dips too low when the water tank is full. These are clearly design problems. I spoke directly with the President of Beneteau USA and concluded that, in the case of my boat, design flaws were overlooked in order for my model to compete with other production boats of similiar size. In other words, problems that were discovered after production began were not corrected because management felt that not enough customers would complain to make a difference in sales (the bottom line). My shoal keel is too heavy and makes the bow too low in the water. I talked to the company that manufactured the keel for my boat, Mars Keel, and they gave me the story. Beneteau proposed two solutions to my bow too low problem: Place 400lbs of lead under the transom and only fill the water tank to half its capacity or repaint the boot stripe higher. I declined both suggestions and decided to install a second water tank under the aft berth. This tank is located in the rear starboard quarter of the boat and it helps to control the port list and the bow low problem. I still can't leave the front water tank full if the boat is going to sit at the dock for very long or I'll get marine growth above the bottom paint. I don't know if this is just a situation of buyer beware, but you would think that a company that has been making boats for over 150 years would be able to learn from all those years of boat building. I like my 331 very much, but the first few years were spent dealing with these aggravating problems that, according to Beneteau, are mearly aestetic in nature. I gave up on pursuing matters and focused on enjoying my boat. I understand what you are going through and I wish you luck dealing with this problem. Five degrees of list under normal loading conditions is not acceptable. I chalk mine up to experience and will use the information that I have learned for future boat purchases.
B321 Listing to Port!
Welcome to the club. Our B321 lists to port nearly 5 deg. It is also bow up. Need to keep the water tank (below the v-berth) topped off or the transom face is below the water line. I had the lower 4 inches of the transom painted with bottom paint at last botom job. I have compounded the problem with the addition of more batery capacity, just nowhwere else to put them except to port. All B321s that I have seen list to port as well.
Welcome to the club. Our B321 lists to port nearly 5 deg. It is also bow up. Need to keep the water tank (below the v-berth) topped off or the transom face is below the water line. I had the lower 4 inches of the transom painted with bottom paint at last botom job. I have compounded the problem with the addition of more batery capacity, just nowhwere else to put them except to port. All B321s that I have seen list to port as well.
LISTING SOLUTION
I list to starboard and like all the other respondants I have been told to add sufficient weight to correct by Beneteau. Sadly, this seems to be par for the course in customer service with Beneteau. I talked with a few local boat builders and they suggested resetting or relaying the keel to correct. This process involves hauling the boat, loosening the bolts and shimming and resealing the keel/hull joint. Not appealing however it would be a correct fix for the problem. I would advise that anyone with a boat under warranty do this and send/sue Beneteau the bill.
I list to starboard and like all the other respondants I have been told to add sufficient weight to correct by Beneteau. Sadly, this seems to be par for the course in customer service with Beneteau. I talked with a few local boat builders and they suggested resetting or relaying the keel to correct. This process involves hauling the boat, loosening the bolts and shimming and resealing the keel/hull joint. Not appealing however it would be a correct fix for the problem. I would advise that anyone with a boat under warranty do this and send/sue Beneteau the bill.
Five degrees?
A couple of folks have said _five degrees_. Do you have a level gauge? That's a lot of list/heel, and sometimes heel feels a lot steeper than it is. I'm not saying Beneteau can't make mistakes, but I'd recommend that one calm (and dry) day, when you're low on fuel, you pump out your heads, and then you take out *everything* movable you have added to the boat - dishes, clothes, books, spare sails, fenders, propane tanks, etc. I'd not be surprised if you pull a ton - literally, 2000 pounds - of stuff out of a 40 foot boat. Then pump your water tanks dry and either drop your anchors and chain to the end of their rodes or put them on the dock. Now recheck the boat on her lines. To check fore/aft trim, get in the dinghy and measure the distance from the boot or shear stripe to the water at the bow, midboat, and back on each side. Do this with a small spirit level or other means to ensure you're measuring truly vertical. Don't trust your eyeballs from the dock; you're looking down at an angle trying to judge distance on another object (the hull) which enters the water well off the perpendicular. To measure port/starboard list, tie a weight to a halyard and watch where it settles. (If you have a spirit level that reads in degrees, you can use it on the mast, but you need one that shows 0-2 or 0-5 degrees at most. Even a perfect boat may not be level at this point; the weight of the batteries may not balance the weight of the fuel. Still, you're probably close; you should be within a degree of true, probably better. If not, you do have a problem. Now get back in the dinghy and put a piece of tape on the bow and stern. Make a mark every centimeter of actual height off the water (that will be a lot more than a cm. apart on the tape). Leave the weight on the halyard. Buy three stick-on level gauges, two that run 0-5 degrees and one that runs 0-45 degrees or so. Mount them using a level, with one of the fine reading gauges mounted fore/aft (trim) and the other two gauges athwartships (heel). I mount my fine-trim gauges belowdecks, since that's where I am when I'm stowing all the junk I carry! Now start stowing your stuff, starting with the anchor. Pay attention to the marks and the halyard plumb bob; 150 pounds of stuff stowed near the hull will add a few degrees of list to a boat under 40 feet; it's like putting someone on the rail. Now fill the fuel tank and recheck. If your water tanks are asymmetrical, think about how to fill and use them to balance the boat. Now you should go for a sail - except that you have to do this test on a calm day!
A couple of folks have said _five degrees_. Do you have a level gauge? That's a lot of list/heel, and sometimes heel feels a lot steeper than it is. I'm not saying Beneteau can't make mistakes, but I'd recommend that one calm (and dry) day, when you're low on fuel, you pump out your heads, and then you take out *everything* movable you have added to the boat - dishes, clothes, books, spare sails, fenders, propane tanks, etc. I'd not be surprised if you pull a ton - literally, 2000 pounds - of stuff out of a 40 foot boat. Then pump your water tanks dry and either drop your anchors and chain to the end of their rodes or put them on the dock. Now recheck the boat on her lines. To check fore/aft trim, get in the dinghy and measure the distance from the boot or shear stripe to the water at the bow, midboat, and back on each side. Do this with a small spirit level or other means to ensure you're measuring truly vertical. Don't trust your eyeballs from the dock; you're looking down at an angle trying to judge distance on another object (the hull) which enters the water well off the perpendicular. To measure port/starboard list, tie a weight to a halyard and watch where it settles. (If you have a spirit level that reads in degrees, you can use it on the mast, but you need one that shows 0-2 or 0-5 degrees at most. Even a perfect boat may not be level at this point; the weight of the batteries may not balance the weight of the fuel. Still, you're probably close; you should be within a degree of true, probably better. If not, you do have a problem. Now get back in the dinghy and put a piece of tape on the bow and stern. Make a mark every centimeter of actual height off the water (that will be a lot more than a cm. apart on the tape). Leave the weight on the halyard. Buy three stick-on level gauges, two that run 0-5 degrees and one that runs 0-45 degrees or so. Mount them using a level, with one of the fine reading gauges mounted fore/aft (trim) and the other two gauges athwartships (heel). I mount my fine-trim gauges belowdecks, since that's where I am when I'm stowing all the junk I carry! Now start stowing your stuff, starting with the anchor. Pay attention to the marks and the halyard plumb bob; 150 pounds of stuff stowed near the hull will add a few degrees of list to a boat under 40 feet; it's like putting someone on the rail. Now fill the fuel tank and recheck. If your water tanks are asymmetrical, think about how to fill and use them to balance the boat. Now you should go for a sail - except that you have to do this test on a calm day!
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