Bene Moorings V first V beneteau trim and outfitting.
having spent a time on a 343 and a 35.2, and helping maintain a 35.2I can give a little insight.
Since moorings is a charter company, The inside trip options tend to be a little easier to maintain. stouter fabrics, a litttle bit more plastic and plastic surfaced trim that is easier to keep clean and requires a little less maintenance. Most owners who purchase the moorings configurations have a budget and a program they are trying to fit to. You generally wont find a large sail inventory, rarely a chute, 95% of the moorings sold since 2006 have sail caddies/lazy jacks and frequently mainsail furlling. Gennies are typically smaller, 110-135, no chutes, minimal winching, small anchors(for the dockwise crowd) Electronics are also chosen by the charter operator...... one fellow in washington, who will remain nameless even opted not to but wind instruments on a 35.2 but did install RAy autopilot, chartplotter, depth and redundant panel displays.....go figure........
The moorings boats are kept pretty simple, which means most charter operations dont want to have owner personal effects on board. The are going for a look. a little simplistic in my opinion. The 352 moorings opted not to have the same railed teak look in the interior, opting for lower shelves and a little more of the liner exposed. fully outfitted galleys and day/lazarete lockers
The actual sailing gear is optimized for beginner to intermediate sailors who are just out to take it easy. Frequently no enclosure available on the boat, minimal bimini, most have dodgers, there is often a lot of fenders and chafing gear for newbies. There wont be extra winches for handling the extra sheets you dont have, smaller anchors, shorter rode,
The advanatages to buying one are frequent service, inspection and upkeep.
downside is the wear and tear on the show surfaces, tables, decks, combings......etc with all traffic they get in their charter seasons.
The can be good boats. especially if taken out of charter early. (insert plug for own boat for sale here) anyone need a2008 35.2???? she is going to go cheap....lol.......
seriously, If you are going to cruise long distance and full time, you will still need some outfitting vs. purchasing a barre new boat. But if you like easy maintenance and most of the cruising package goodies already installed. it can save you time and money.
the other snag with them, a lot of the documentation that came with the boat to moorings, never gets on the boat........ for example, the yanmar manual, the freezer fridge manual, the heater manual....... none of that arrived with the boat.
for that reason, I think the quality done for moorings.....is less than the bene norm.
just my humble opinion, your mileage may vary
