size, fuel, engine---small

[jack alleson]

my 393 is a super looking boat, but after 3 months in Mexico and the gulf I've had it...at 6' 5" it is small for a almost 40', does not have a large enough engine and a small tank for any serious cruiser going anywhere outside the US, and the anchor rollor---only one. Also am a galley nut and with only a two burner stove I'm trading. Compare apples to apples on features, do not get sucked into this great price for the four items mentioned here are a must and when upgraded, which I did not do, the price is actually higher and the room down below less. If you want a great looking boat this is the one...beats Hunter and Catalina...if you want to sail anywhere but a lake or the coast look at Catalina first ; if you want it all look at Hunter for the room and performance...maybe the arch is not for me but the boat is...want my Hunter 35.5 back; not for everyone just make sure you look.

 

[Rick]

cruising in a 393

Hard to believe that they build 39 foot boats with only a single anchor roller but they do as ninety per cent of the buyers find this sufficient and another roller adds a few bucks to the price. All three manufacturers (Hunter, Catalina, Beneteau) offer slightly different packages- for example you get two rollers with a Hunter 41 but no windlass. The 393 comes with an electric windlass. The Hunter comes with bedding and dishes but a lesser instrument package. The Hunter's standard stove is a two burner same as the 393. The standard engine is smaller than the 393's. My point is not that one is better than the other but that neither Hunter, Catalina nor Beneteau build a boat this size for serious cruising. Very few production boats are ready for cruising right out of the box. All the deficiencies you mentioned (other than the fuel tank size)can be corrected when ordering the boat. Making a production boat "cruise ready" usually adds 10 to 20 per cent to the cost. This includes upgrading engine, electrical system, ground tackle system and a few toys such as radar, davits or arch etc. It still comes out much more economical than a high-end boat. Good luck in your search.

 

[larry w.]

Ben 393

Jack; Your right about the miserly fuel capacity on Beneteau boats. I have a '94 OC 400. The engine is plenty big enough (50 hp Perkins) but with only 40 gallons of fuel, range under power is limited. These boats were designed for a charter that lasts about ten days with the next port in sight, as in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. When the tank is empty, the charter is over. When I took the boat to Mexico, I used a 25 gal. bladder and several jery cans to up the capacity to 80 gallons, which was just enough to get uphill from Cabo to Turtle Bay against 20 knot winds and 8 foot seas. I'm thinking of building two tanks into the cockpit lockers that will gravity feed into the main tank.