We have to downsize from a Hunter 36 to something smaller, like at 31-33 footer. Obviously we'll have a choice - probably Hunter vs. Beneteau. Does anyone have any thoughts as to which one is the better, or are they really pretty equal?
Hunter vs. Beneteau
- Thread starter jveatch
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They are both decent boats, but I prefer a Beneteau due to the Rig. The Beneteau has a classic marconi rig whaile the Hunter uses the B&R rig. B&R rig is much more difficult to tune, (Beneteau has no turnbuckles 30 feet up the mast.) The Hunter 's have nice cabins, but that is sinply eye candy. Beneteau's have much more wood, and are warmer looking. Have had 3 Beneteaus and would not consider a Hunter, just a personal preference. If you go to the Carrib. you see more Beneteaus than Hunters. Personal opinion here , but I think Beneteau builds a stronger boat. Pricing may favor the Hunter in the 30-33 range. But the Beneteau 331 is hard to beat! s/v First Light
I'd consider a Hunter
just for the rig. I like the large main/small jib idea. I have a 40' Beneteau now, a masthead sloop with a 155 genny, and believe me, after you tack that puppy four or five times going upwind, it get old real fast. I've heard that the Hunter has a thinner hull, but if all you want is to coastal and maybe the Caribbean, so what? BTW, a Hunter 49 recently completed a mostly solo circumnavigation with no problems, so... If you're not going blue-water, a large aft cabin would be very nice, too.
just for the rig. I like the large main/small jib idea. I have a 40' Beneteau now, a masthead sloop with a 155 genny, and believe me, after you tack that puppy four or five times going upwind, it get old real fast. I've heard that the Hunter has a thinner hull, but if all you want is to coastal and maybe the Caribbean, so what? BTW, a Hunter 49 recently completed a mostly solo circumnavigation with no problems, so... If you're not going blue-water, a large aft cabin would be very nice, too.
B331
The H33 appears to be a fairly nice boat, but the cockpit is much smaller than the B331. As for stability and sailing, I have a B331 and we sail in 15-22 knots of breeze much of the time and the B331 has the weight and hull profile to make for a fast, comfortable ride and she is not tender at all. We regular sail faster than the H36,Catalina 387, Catalina 350, and we are faster and point higher than the Hunter 33 upwind but I have not sailed downwind with one yet. The Beneteau 331 suffers somewhat in light air and downwind due to the short rig and small sa/disp but the Finot Hull design is so fast that you only notice it in very light air.
The H33 appears to be a fairly nice boat, but the cockpit is much smaller than the B331. As for stability and sailing, I have a B331 and we sail in 15-22 knots of breeze much of the time and the B331 has the weight and hull profile to make for a fast, comfortable ride and she is not tender at all. We regular sail faster than the H36,Catalina 387, Catalina 350, and we are faster and point higher than the Hunter 33 upwind but I have not sailed downwind with one yet. The Beneteau 331 suffers somewhat in light air and downwind due to the short rig and small sa/disp but the Finot Hull design is so fast that you only notice it in very light air.
Beneteau go further...
jveatch : This question (why is a beneteau better...) has come up many times before. Apart from the "obvious" (better built & thus) a safer bet for you to park $$$ in, a Beneteau is part of a fleet of boats that out-flank all other brands when it comes to certain sailing challenges... This article speaks for itself... http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?SEID=2&Nid=18639&SRCID=0&ntid=0&tickeruid=0&tickerCID=0 How many people take Hunters across an ocean ?? Beneteaus do this almost regularly...because they can !! Now I'm not suggesting that you or I should do attempt such a trip to prove something...but what I am saying is that there's a certain comfort in knowing that I have a boat that made of the right stuff that "it could" tackle the big pond, if that's what I set my mind to do. I also created this web page to honor folks that have given me the metal to be able to boast to folks like this... http://www.clubbeneteau.com/hall-of-fame.html Good luck to you...& in the future, be sure to attend your local Beneteau owner's rally with your new boat !! P.
jveatch : This question (why is a beneteau better...) has come up many times before. Apart from the "obvious" (better built & thus) a safer bet for you to park $$$ in, a Beneteau is part of a fleet of boats that out-flank all other brands when it comes to certain sailing challenges... This article speaks for itself... http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?SEID=2&Nid=18639&SRCID=0&ntid=0&tickeruid=0&tickerCID=0 How many people take Hunters across an ocean ?? Beneteaus do this almost regularly...because they can !! Now I'm not suggesting that you or I should do attempt such a trip to prove something...but what I am saying is that there's a certain comfort in knowing that I have a boat that made of the right stuff that "it could" tackle the big pond, if that's what I set my mind to do. I also created this web page to honor folks that have given me the metal to be able to boast to folks like this... http://www.clubbeneteau.com/hall-of-fame.html Good luck to you...& in the future, be sure to attend your local Beneteau owner's rally with your new boat !! P.
My Beneteau has discontinuous rigging
quote weasel " They are both decent boats, but I prefer a Beneteau due to the Rig. The Beneteau has a classic marconi rig whaile the Hunter uses the B&R rig. B&R rig is much more difficult to tune, (Beneteau has no turnbuckles 30 feet up the mast." While it's not a B&R rig the newer Beneteaus do have discontinuous rigging which does have turnbuckles at the lower spreaders.
quote weasel " They are both decent boats, but I prefer a Beneteau due to the Rig. The Beneteau has a classic marconi rig whaile the Hunter uses the B&R rig. B&R rig is much more difficult to tune, (Beneteau has no turnbuckles 30 feet up the mast." While it's not a B&R rig the newer Beneteaus do have discontinuous rigging which does have turnbuckles at the lower spreaders.
sometimes it makes you wonder
if these which-is-better type questions are really legit and even more so when posted on a site populated predominantly by only one side of the argument. Add that to the inevitable "apart from the obvious (better built..." statements which are always subjective and with no apparent basis and written by someone who clearly has a biased and perhaps uninformed opinion, it all seems to add up to a rather futile question to ask. Having said that, they are designed to fundamantally equivalent standards, essentially the same price point and intended to appeal to the same market so the whole decision is, not suprisingly, one of personal opinion rather than any significant distinction which can't reasonably be made. In our case, my wife liked the H better so end of discussion - I know my priorities...
if these which-is-better type questions are really legit and even more so when posted on a site populated predominantly by only one side of the argument. Add that to the inevitable "apart from the obvious (better built..." statements which are always subjective and with no apparent basis and written by someone who clearly has a biased and perhaps uninformed opinion, it all seems to add up to a rather futile question to ask. Having said that, they are designed to fundamantally equivalent standards, essentially the same price point and intended to appeal to the same market so the whole decision is, not suprisingly, one of personal opinion rather than any significant distinction which can't reasonably be made. In our case, my wife liked the H better so end of discussion - I know my priorities...
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