Bought out first boat!

[Rising Tide]

Hi all!

We just bought a new to us 1991 Beneteau Oceanis 400, 3 cabin 2 head. From a friend of a friend whose family raised 5 kids on the boat. Structurally sound, seaworthy. Boat has been mechanically maintained, some upgrades, but needs cleaning, a lot of cosmetic work (gelcoat, teak) small repairs (leaky hatches). A few big projects needed included a bottom job, new sails, and repair of the head sail halyard (head sail furling works). Also, need a solution for heads, which never had holding tanks. PO installed one holding tank, but need more permanent, workable and legal solution there. Deck is good, hull is good, deck to hull joint is good, engine is good!

My wife and 3 kids are excited and love to sail. We will be cruising the Bay, day and overnights. We have looked for a long time and feel this boat is a great fit. I am now currently taking care of paperwork and making lists!

I have read cruisers forum for years and your informed posts have helped in our decision. I hope to contribute as well, but will also have many questions!

Onward,
John

[GordMay]

CONGRATULATIONS!

[LittleWing77]

John and Fam,

Fantastic! Many, many miles of fair sailing to you all. Take it slow - but GO!

Warmly,
LittleWing

[Don C L]

Congratulations! You are all going to have a lot of fun now!

[Dooglas]

Congratulations! Now, I wouldn't call redoing the bottom a BIG job. That is something you will have to do every 2-3 years depending on where you homeport the boat. And what is wrong with the headsail halyard? I wouldn't call that a BIG job either, just a job. You will find that there are quite a few jobs on a 40 foot sailboat.

[alansmith]

Good luck to you. That is a great area to cruise. Also close for the Bahama run. You can look at Heads that are dedicating and are not needing holding ranks. But when you have that many people on board I think you will need a good holding system.

Wish you the best of luck.

[Rising Tide]

Thanks everyone. True about the jobs. Big to me now, not so much in the future! Grew up in So. MD so love the area. Was down at the boat today sweeping snow off, dreaming of the warm weather and registering at DNR at Queen Anne's Courthouse.

BTW, I am in the market for the owners manual for the 1991 Beneteau Oceanis 400. I checked the Beneteau owners forums. There is a 1995 version which everyone is accessing. But that is boat version 2 compared to my version 1. Apparently, these manuals are hard to find.

[Bawlmer]

Congratulations!! You are in one of the best places to sail. I am curious as to how your heads do not have holding tanks in the Chesapeake. That would be an expensive ticket if there was ever an inspection.

[MV Wanderlust]

Congratulations! Exciting. :-)

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by alansmith

You can look at Heads that are dedicating and are not needing holding ranks. But when you have that many people on board I think you will need a good holding system.

Do you mean a desiccating head system? Some people call them composting heads, though that is not really accurate. My impression is that those require quite a bit of fiddling around. Both the dry and liquid waste need to be disposed of somewhere.

[Jolly Roger]

Congratulations, first boat, wow! I wish I had known then what I know now.
You will need to keep those two toilets working properly all the time, or risk mutiny. The heads will be the most important piece of equipment for four people living aboard.
When I bought my last boat it had a large leaking aluminum holding tank, which I pulled out and replaced with the Raritan Purisan, (not Electrosan), system, which do not require holding tanks. I know there are some areas which do not allow any overside discharge, but you can fit a small bladder with change-over valves for these places.
I would also change the heads to freshwater flush. It completely stops the stinks caused by rotting organisms in saltwater.
Then of course you will need a water maker, and to run the Purisan you will need extra batteries, and to charge the batteries you will need a generator, and to buy the generator you will need money. So don’t quite the day job…