I'm looking at a Beneteau 35s5 for long range cruising for a couple and some racing? Does it have enough room for two for extended cruising? Can it be handled easily by two or single handed? How does it perform in light and heavy air? What complaints do you have about it? Would you buy the tall rig? Would you buy the deep draft? Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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Brian Pickton
Oceanis 361
Nov.6,2000 Dear Ed, I have to ask you what are you more serious about, racing or cruising? You have to honestly answer this question to get a response to some of your questions that is meaningful. Let me put it another way, how much racing and how much cruising do you do now? You will likely continue in the same fashion for a while before going on that extended cruise you mention. Now what exactly do you envision as an extended cruise? A winter in the Bahamas, a year in the Caribbean or something even more extended? The reason I’m tossing the ball back into your court on this is because the answer to these questions will help answer some of your questions. And to help sort out some of your thinking you might like to look at my friends Tom and Linda Waid’s web site, The Voyage of the Bellatrix. They have taken a year off to cruise the Caribbean in their 28 foot Beneteau and Tom has done an excellent job outfitting a small boat for cruising knowing they weren’t going to be out there for ever. Among their cruising gear is a wind vane, solar panels, water maker, ssb radio, tuba, viola, and a spinning wheel. I’m not joking. With respect to the 35.s5 your looking at, let me address some of your questions directly, keeping in mind your occasional racing comment and long term cruising comments. If your determined to buy this model Beneteau, and I will give you a couple of other options to consider in a moment, then don’t hesitate, get the tall rig and deep draft options. Here’s why : first and foremost is performance. The 6’ keel will keep the boat pointing to windward in heavy going better than the 4’ 9” shoal version. There are very few places in the world where that shallow draft is going to be an issue, so unless you plan to keep the boat in an especially shallow harbour go deep. Secondly the tall rig puts up 622 feet of sail compared to the short rigs 574. Both sail areas are easily managed by a couple or single hander, and since 30 % of all sailing is in very light air you want to hang all the rags you can get up there. If the going gets heavy your going to reef any way and there is no point in being under canvassed to start with. Tip: Beneteau sails are good, but they can be improved. Take your new sails to a sail maker to have the fit adjusted perfectly for your boat and you will feel a performance gain. Have a third set of reef points added. Make sure the first reef is a deep one, since you’ll use it most anyway. You’ll thank me the first time the anemometer hits 60 knots. Now hopefully without offending your potential choice of a boat, here are a couple of other suggestions. First, if you were a hard core racer (and I don’t think your there yet, otherwise you wouldn’t ask about tall rigs and deep keels) your best choice is the F40.7. This line is Beneteau racer/cruiser series and they are unquestionably Beneteau fastest sailors, and have the race record to prove it, particularly down here in the Caribbean in the charter fleet. My own boat is in this line, an F456 so you know where I’m coming from on the performance verses comfort scale. At this size my boat is big enough to live aboard and cruise. Beneteau makes a number of different models in this line, but your best choice here is the F40.7, which garnered Cruising World magazines boat of the year award in 1999 for best cruiser racer. This is also the dream side of the equation. Let’s let reality raise it’s ugly head for a moment.. The 35.s5 was introduced in 1988 and represented the best design features of that type available 12 years ago. Design has come along way since. I don’t know how it works in your household, but in my boathold, if She Who Must Be Obeyed isn’t happy, nobody’s happy. That means creature comforts rise to the fore. Remember you can always race a cruiser, but cruising a racer is quite a different proposition. Storage and creature comforts are reduced in the racer side of the equation. And She likes her comfort, her books and crafts, and clothes to be handy but have a storage place of their own. The other thing is the galley, which is the heart of the boat. If you can’t cook comfortably your whole day has a repeating sour note in it. A good galley must have large counter space and good refrigeration to function. The boat you are looking at is O.K. but you can do better. I think you should give serious consideration to the brand new Oceanis 361. It’s vital statistics: loa: 36’5”, lwl : 31’1”’, beam 12’ 6”, draft 5 (winged keel), Sail area 739. The 35s5 is: loa 35’5”, lwl: 29’4”, beam 11’1, draft 6, shoal 4’9”, sail area 622 square feet. First, when it comes to sailing, this boat should tromp all over the 35s5. Just look at the sail area: 739 square feet verses 622 square feet on the 35s5. 739 square feet is still an easily managed sail area for one person to handle . Generally sail area only gets to be a handful when traditional sails (not roller furling mounted) get to be over 550 sq. feet or so. Furthermore the wider beam and longer water line length mean the boat will carry the sail area comfortably without excessive heel. The 5 foot draft should quiet any concerns you have there. That extra beam and length also translate into a much more capacious interior. This is what makes my She happy. The Oceanis 361 has a very good sized galley, and the head features a separate shower area, which is not something you see that often in a boat this size. And look at the rear berth - it stretches across the full beam of the boat, unlike the quarter berth in the 35s5. By the way all forward v-berths suck when it comes to foot room. The saloon areas are visually quite different, with the 35s5 offering sea berths on the settee, which is something that the Oceanis doesn’t do with it’s curved settees. The reality is you will use the more comfortable rear berth at sea any way. Also the Oceanis has a usable nav station. The other thing is that the Oceanis, designed for cruising, offers terrific storage in a boat this size. I really think you should consider this boat. Having said all of that I don’t want you to think that the 35s5 is a bad boat, because it certainly isn’t. I just think when it comes to cruising you can do a lot better with the Oceanis. I’m sorry this is so long, but I just remember that there was really know one around to ask this sort of question of that would stick their neck out and give you a detailed answer when I was on the hunt. I really hope this helps. Brian Pickton @ BeneteauOwners.net aboard The Legend, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Nov.6,2000 Dear Ed, I have to ask you what are you more serious about, racing or cruising? You have to honestly answer this question to get a response to some of your questions that is meaningful. Let me put it another way, how much racing and how much cruising do you do now? You will likely continue in the same fashion for a while before going on that extended cruise you mention. Now what exactly do you envision as an extended cruise? A winter in the Bahamas, a year in the Caribbean or something even more extended? The reason I’m tossing the ball back into your court on this is because the answer to these questions will help answer some of your questions. And to help sort out some of your thinking you might like to look at my friends Tom and Linda Waid’s web site, The Voyage of the Bellatrix. They have taken a year off to cruise the Caribbean in their 28 foot Beneteau and Tom has done an excellent job outfitting a small boat for cruising knowing they weren’t going to be out there for ever. Among their cruising gear is a wind vane, solar panels, water maker, ssb radio, tuba, viola, and a spinning wheel. I’m not joking. With respect to the 35.s5 your looking at, let me address some of your questions directly, keeping in mind your occasional racing comment and long term cruising comments. If your determined to buy this model Beneteau, and I will give you a couple of other options to consider in a moment, then don’t hesitate, get the tall rig and deep draft options. Here’s why : first and foremost is performance. The 6’ keel will keep the boat pointing to windward in heavy going better than the 4’ 9” shoal version. There are very few places in the world where that shallow draft is going to be an issue, so unless you plan to keep the boat in an especially shallow harbour go deep. Secondly the tall rig puts up 622 feet of sail compared to the short rigs 574. Both sail areas are easily managed by a couple or single hander, and since 30 % of all sailing is in very light air you want to hang all the rags you can get up there. If the going gets heavy your going to reef any way and there is no point in being under canvassed to start with. Tip: Beneteau sails are good, but they can be improved. Take your new sails to a sail maker to have the fit adjusted perfectly for your boat and you will feel a performance gain. Have a third set of reef points added. Make sure the first reef is a deep one, since you’ll use it most anyway. You’ll thank me the first time the anemometer hits 60 knots. Now hopefully without offending your potential choice of a boat, here are a couple of other suggestions. First, if you were a hard core racer (and I don’t think your there yet, otherwise you wouldn’t ask about tall rigs and deep keels) your best choice is the F40.7. This line is Beneteau racer/cruiser series and they are unquestionably Beneteau fastest sailors, and have the race record to prove it, particularly down here in the Caribbean in the charter fleet. My own boat is in this line, an F456 so you know where I’m coming from on the performance verses comfort scale. At this size my boat is big enough to live aboard and cruise. Beneteau makes a number of different models in this line, but your best choice here is the F40.7, which garnered Cruising World magazines boat of the year award in 1999 for best cruiser racer. This is also the dream side of the equation. Let’s let reality raise it’s ugly head for a moment.. The 35.s5 was introduced in 1988 and represented the best design features of that type available 12 years ago. Design has come along way since. I don’t know how it works in your household, but in my boathold, if She Who Must Be Obeyed isn’t happy, nobody’s happy. That means creature comforts rise to the fore. Remember you can always race a cruiser, but cruising a racer is quite a different proposition. Storage and creature comforts are reduced in the racer side of the equation. And She likes her comfort, her books and crafts, and clothes to be handy but have a storage place of their own. The other thing is the galley, which is the heart of the boat. If you can’t cook comfortably your whole day has a repeating sour note in it. A good galley must have large counter space and good refrigeration to function. The boat you are looking at is O.K. but you can do better. I think you should give serious consideration to the brand new Oceanis 361. It’s vital statistics: loa: 36’5”, lwl : 31’1”’, beam 12’ 6”, draft 5 (winged keel), Sail area 739. The 35s5 is: loa 35’5”, lwl: 29’4”, beam 11’1, draft 6, shoal 4’9”, sail area 622 square feet. First, when it comes to sailing, this boat should tromp all over the 35s5. Just look at the sail area: 739 square feet verses 622 square feet on the 35s5. 739 square feet is still an easily managed sail area for one person to handle . Generally sail area only gets to be a handful when traditional sails (not roller furling mounted) get to be over 550 sq. feet or so. Furthermore the wider beam and longer water line length mean the boat will carry the sail area comfortably without excessive heel. The 5 foot draft should quiet any concerns you have there. That extra beam and length also translate into a much more capacious interior. This is what makes my She happy. The Oceanis 361 has a very good sized galley, and the head features a separate shower area, which is not something you see that often in a boat this size. And look at the rear berth - it stretches across the full beam of the boat, unlike the quarter berth in the 35s5. By the way all forward v-berths suck when it comes to foot room. The saloon areas are visually quite different, with the 35s5 offering sea berths on the settee, which is something that the Oceanis doesn’t do with it’s curved settees. The reality is you will use the more comfortable rear berth at sea any way. Also the Oceanis has a usable nav station. The other thing is that the Oceanis, designed for cruising, offers terrific storage in a boat this size. I really think you should consider this boat. Having said all of that I don’t want you to think that the 35s5 is a bad boat, because it certainly isn’t. I just think when it comes to cruising you can do a lot better with the Oceanis. I’m sorry this is so long, but I just remember that there was really know one around to ask this sort of question of that would stick their neck out and give you a detailed answer when I was on the hunt. I really hope this helps. Brian Pickton @ BeneteauOwners.net aboard The Legend, Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
C
Charlie Gruetzner
Oceanis 361
Dear Ed I have to agree with Brian. I bought a 361 this past summer and am very happy with it. I bought with cruising in mind. I intend to spend a year cruising the Caribbean several years from now. Anyway I have taken the boat offshore singlehanded around the Montauk area and she handled very well in some pretty nasty weather. Also, the amount of storage area is tremendous. I really don't think that you will be disappointed if you bought one. If I can answer any questions you might have feel free to contact me Good luck Charlie Gruetzner S/V Angels' Grace
Dear Ed I have to agree with Brian. I bought a 361 this past summer and am very happy with it. I bought with cruising in mind. I intend to spend a year cruising the Caribbean several years from now. Anyway I have taken the boat offshore singlehanded around the Montauk area and she handled very well in some pretty nasty weather. Also, the amount of storage area is tremendous. I really don't think that you will be disappointed if you bought one. If I can answer any questions you might have feel free to contact me Good luck Charlie Gruetzner S/V Angels' Grace
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