Why is there almost no information or groups for the First 305?

[907Juice]

I bought this boat this fall and it has been a great investment in the next decade of our life. I’m a bit shocked at the lack of information online or even assistance from beneteau itself. There isn’t even a group here on this site. It seems like a great boat and I haven’t seen hardly a negative comment about it from people who own or have owned it. So what gives?

 

[Jackdaw]

The F305 was a solid offering from Beneteau, one of the last masthead Firsts ever designed. Penned by Berret, its hull showed late IOR influences with its pinched transom. Built very solidly, it with proper care should last forever.

Why so little about it? That's hard to say. Could be it had to come from France, a costly delivery in terms of both money and time which probably limited numbers here. I do know it never built up the 'cult' following of the Finot models that followed it that have the advantage of being USA built. As for support, you should expect some of that to wind down, the boat is almost 40 years old. One suggestion; if there is no web site to goto for answers, build one! Thats what I did when the French website for the First 260 went down after a server crash.

 

[Ron20324]

Juice, alot of what goes into a boat is not made by the manufacturer. Mechanicals, rigging, plumbing, electrics, masts are all parts that you can probably research from THAT manufacturer. I allways suggest you start NOW tracking the manuals for all the equipment on your boat. Don't wait for a problem before starting to look.

 

[David in Sandusky]

Welcome, Juice. Jackdaw and Ron both have good suggestions. As the owner of a 40 year old boat, I would also say that you will be surprised how often folks on this site, including those with other makes, can help solve an issue with your boat.

 

[907Juice]

Yeah that is basically what I have been doing. The book I received from the PO was quite out of date and what I would consider substandard. Ive just been wandering through the interner to find all my manuals in pdf form. I contacted Beneteau but they didn’t even have the original sail or rigging plan. As far as resources out there... my wife is always accusing me of cheating on her with boat porn... so I’m on quite a few different forums and pages lol...