Hello all... This may have been answered a thousand times before, or alternatively, may just be a stupid question. Here goes anyway. My wife and I have been looking for a Beneteau Oceanis (35-40ft) to go cruising on. We're newbies to sailing but (with experience) would ultimately like to cross oceans. It seems that on cruising forums very few boats are of the production variety (ie Beneteau's etc)? Is there a safety issue here? Perhaps the boats are inappropriate for that purpose? Does anyone use these boats for extended cruising with confidence. Thank you in anticipation. Mark & Hayley
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Hello all... This may have been answered a thousand times before, or alternatively, may just be a stupid question. Here goes anyway. My wife and I have been looking for a Beneteau Oceanis (35-40ft) to go cruising on. We're newbies to sailing but (with experience) would ultimately like to cross oceans. It seems that on cruising forums very few boats are of the production variety (ie Beneteau's etc)? Is there a safety issue here? Perhaps the boats are inappropriate for that purpose? Does anyone use these boats for extended cruising with confidence. Thank you in anticipation. Mark & HayleyBeneteau 411 Review
Some information on your query on boats.com. An Article outlining a Beneteau 411 for blue water sailing
Some information on your query on boats.com. An Article outlining a Beneteau 411 for blue water sailing
coastal vs. blue water cruisers
You need to do a lot of reading on this, but this is the general response: Most production boats are loosely referred to as coastal cruisers (sometimes derisively referred to as dockominiums), while other more expensive boats of the same size are often referred to as blue water cruisers. This is especially true of boats under 38 feet. Coastal cruisers are quite seaworthy, but are not generally thought to be truly safe for an all-weather ocean passage. They don't have the heavy displacement or robust construction that would enable them to weather a severe, several-day storm with big waves. At some point a big storm would break up or beat in the cabin windows of most coastal cruisers, where as a true bluewater cruiser can practically weather a hurricane. A good example of the difference, in the 36 foot range, are coastal cruisers like the Beneteau 361, Hunter 356, or Catalina 36, versus a bluewater cruiser like the Pacific Seacraft 37. The Pacific Seacraft displaces 3,000 more pounds for the same length. Bluewater cruisers cost a lot more, often twice as much, as coastal cruisers of the same length, and have less usable space inside. Typically they don't sail as well in light air, either. But if you want to make an ocean passage in a coastal cruiser you have to be much more careful about picking a good weather window, and possibly beefing up some of the boat's components before setting out. Once boats get above 40 feet in length, even the popular mass production boats are generally considered seaworthy enough for most ocean passages, but that's an area you will want to investigate a lot further.
You need to do a lot of reading on this, but this is the general response: Most production boats are loosely referred to as coastal cruisers (sometimes derisively referred to as dockominiums), while other more expensive boats of the same size are often referred to as blue water cruisers. This is especially true of boats under 38 feet. Coastal cruisers are quite seaworthy, but are not generally thought to be truly safe for an all-weather ocean passage. They don't have the heavy displacement or robust construction that would enable them to weather a severe, several-day storm with big waves. At some point a big storm would break up or beat in the cabin windows of most coastal cruisers, where as a true bluewater cruiser can practically weather a hurricane. A good example of the difference, in the 36 foot range, are coastal cruisers like the Beneteau 361, Hunter 356, or Catalina 36, versus a bluewater cruiser like the Pacific Seacraft 37. The Pacific Seacraft displaces 3,000 more pounds for the same length. Bluewater cruisers cost a lot more, often twice as much, as coastal cruisers of the same length, and have less usable space inside. Typically they don't sail as well in light air, either. But if you want to make an ocean passage in a coastal cruiser you have to be much more careful about picking a good weather window, and possibly beefing up some of the boat's components before setting out. Once boats get above 40 feet in length, even the popular mass production boats are generally considered seaworthy enough for most ocean passages, but that's an area you will want to investigate a lot further.
Thanks Ken
Thanks for your informative reply Ken. It pretty well confirmed what we thought. Cheers Mark
Thanks for your informative reply Ken. It pretty well confirmed what we thought. Cheers Mark
Thanks Hans
Thanks for the link to the revue Hans. We got some very useful info from the article. Cheers Mark
Thanks for the link to the revue Hans. We got some very useful info from the article. Cheers Mark
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