Beneteau 38

[Polux]

Originally Posted by aspenripper

Avalon on the hard in Port of Buffalo . Arrived at RCR Yachts today on time and perfect condition. Should splash in a few weeks. Weather improving and ice moving out. Timing should be good. Homero ... Thank you !
Kelly and Ed

Congratulations on the new boat

[Polux]

Originally Posted by homerobarros

Sail drive oil change.
Yesterday I hauled up to change the oil of the sail drive. Although Yanmar on page 48 of their manual says it should be done the first change with 50 hours, I could not do it before. It has today 101 hours and it is very easy (when the boat is on the hard) Unscrew this plug, let the oil drain and refill it with 2.3 liters of Gear Lube. In and out, 24 hours on the hard, $520 in Fort Lauderdale.
Cheers

The best way to do it is not taking the boat out of the travelling lift and agree on half an hour for doing the job. Surely one can negotiate a better price this way since it is just half the job of carrying the boat and putting it on the hard.

[homerobarros]

Originally Posted by Polux

The best way to do it is not taking the boat out of the travelling lift and agree on half an hour for doing the job. Surely one can negotiate a better price this way since it is just half the job of carrying the boat and putting it on the hard.

Paulo, if it were just the oil, I agree, but parts of the bottom of the keel were never painted with anti fouling.... A "surveyor haul" would have been just $ 300.
Abraço.

[Fluer de Mer]

Fire Risk Warning

See photos. Had heater on last night in our O38 while sleeping at the dock and didn't realize that aft port heater exhaust was near a fender, but see results. We consider ourselves lucky that it and the boat didn't catch fire....going forward, we will be double/triple checking that we don't put anything within 2 feet of this heater exhaust as it is a fire hazard.

[Silver Shadow]

Thank you, all, for good wishes.

I did not order the boat - I purchased it boat from dealer stock, demo boat (which explains an early hull#).

The boat has been in the water and the dealer has to "commission it again".

I am currently considering adding some items to the boat, and I do have a few questions:

1. Spinnaker Halyard - If anybody added a halyard, can you tell me if the mast had messenger lines? My mast does not have them (which surprised me).
1.a. I do have 2 empty halyard clutches. Is it wise to add 2 halyards now?(although one would never use spinnaker and code 0 at the same time, it may make sense to have dedicated halyards). Or would the extra clutch be used for another purpose?

2. Autopilot. I have a chart plotter only on the port side, is there supposed to be a control module on starboard side? It seems that have only tri-data on starboard side.

3. Dividing curtain in the cabin at the forward bulkhead: I would probably remove the bulkhead, for open space below, but it seems that having a curtain would be a good compromise for some privacy when needed. Does anybody have any experiences/opinions on this setup?

If all goes according to the schedule, I will have the boat in the water by the end of April.

Regards,
Max

Originally Posted by Fluer de Mer

#009, Congratulations on your new boat. Let us know how the ordering, delivery, service process goes. FdM

i

[homerobarros]

Originally Posted by Silver Shadow

Thank you, all, for good wishes.

I did not order the boat - I purchased it boat from dealer stock, demo boat (which explains an early hull#).

The boat has been in the water and the dealer has to "commission it again".

I am currently considering adding some items to the boat, and I do have a few questions:

1. Spinnaker Halyard - If anybody added a halyard, can you tell me if the mast had messenger lines? My mast does not have them (which surprised me).
1.a. I do have 2 empty halyard clutches. Is it wise to add 2 halyards now?(although one would never use spinnaker and code 0 at the same time, it may make sense to have dedicated halyards). Or would the extra clutch be used for another purpose?

2. Autopilot. I have a chart plotter only on the port side, is there supposed to be a control module on starboard side? It seems that have only tri-data on starboard side.

3. Dividing curtain in the cabin at the forward bulkhead: I would probably remove the bulkhead, for open space below, but it seems that having a curtain would be a good compromise for some privacy when needed. Does anybody have any experiences/opinions on this setup?

If all goes according to the schedule, I will have the boat in the water by the end of April.

Regards,
Max

i

Silver Shadow,

1) Mine came with 3 messengers and I hired a rigger to fine tune the rig and install another halyard for the Spi or Screecher.

2) Your configuration is similar to most (including mine) I am assuming it is a B&G Triton on the SB side. You could install the remote autopilot control on the SB, or down below, at the navigation table, when you are sailing long passages in the rain. The GoFree application allows you to emulate the Port side B&G panel, without the Autopilot. You will find you will be using your Ipad with either Garmin Bluechart App or Navionics. I have both, coupled with the Bad Elf GPS receiver. It works much better than the native navigation software that came with the CP.

3)I also removed the division at the forward Bulkhead. I bought plastic clips at Sears and use two fleece blankets ( dark color) to block the light coming from the companionway and to give some private for my eventual visitors. It works fine, because the other aft cabin has doors, so at least one cabin is isolated from the other.

Enjoy.

[mstrebe]

Fantastic post from FDM RE: ordering and chartering. We bought the demo boat and so had no hassles, but also got some unnecessary things, things we like but wouldn't have ordered, and have some things that need to be installed.

We're in the middle of a two week cruise with two adults and four teenagers, so I thought I'd post about "livability". We're doing a mix of anchoring out, mooring, and guest slips in Catalina Island and Southern California.

Firstly, there's plenty of room with six aboard. Two 15yo boys in one cabin, an 11 and 13 year old girl in the other, and parents in the master "loft". Not much privacy without the bulkhead in, but there's never much on a boat anyway.

My wife and I have spent a night in each cabin as well. They get condensation when it's cold (the salon and master do not, as that deck liner is balsa rather than just fiberglass) and they're quite a bit noisier as the flat stern takes wave slaps and you hear the water and fuel tanks sloshing. I needed earplugs to sleep in them, but I didn't in the master cabin.

The boat is tight with no creaks except one sideboard in the starboard cabin. I'll shim that to eliminate the creaking.

My son (6' tall) has hit his head on the master cabin arch three times now. It should be beveled round. My wife and daughter (5'11") don't hit it and neither do I. We will be installing a pad of some sort because it is a sharp corner.

I've hit my head (6'5") on the cockpit arch twice this trip. Getting kind of tired of that. My wife also does not hit it, and neither does my son.

The gimbaled stove works great underway. The mast compression post is centered behind it so you just brace your back against it and put your feet on the toe kick and you won't go anywhere.

None of the "square edges" are where you can actually hit them with the exception of the aforementioned master cabin arch. They're all recessed and inaccessible to accidental injury. However, the square-edged door knobs are a mistake. They hurt when you hit them, and they're easy to hit. We will be replacing them with round tube style with inwardly curved ends, which will match the style without being injurious. We will also be replacing the fridge handle with one that curves inward as that has caught me once.

Moving around in the cockpit or cabin under way in 5 foot seas has been no problem. In both cases. The center tables make great places to lean against and hold as you move as does the compression post. Forward you will grab the cabin arch as a handhold, and aft there are handholds on the companionway.

The cockpit and mid-deck likewise have handholds always within reach. The foredeck is bare however, and worrisome in any kind of seas.

I also get a bit worried about the open transom when going into significant waves. There are lifelines but they are below my center of gravity. In seas above 4', I've taken to tethering my offshore PFD/harness at the chest strap to the middle of the mast arch, which gives me enough slack to move freely about all areas of the cockpit and down into the salon but not enough to go completely off the back. I keep everyone else out of the cockpit in seas over six feet.

The boat slams a bit in big waves, but remains remarkably dry without a dodger. All we get it a bit of spray from the bow to leeward in high winds. A dodger would keep the cockpit very dry. The foredeck gets wet but it does not drain aft.

The boat seems to make a lot of leeway in high winds. I was beating directly into the wind, doing a solid 7.5 knots in constant 22 knot winds and double reefed on both the headsail and main, and just didn't seem to be getting any real VMG. By my math, I was making only 2.5 knots when I should have been getting 4 with the 55 degrees to true wind that I was sailing. My progress was as if I was doing 70 degrees off the wind. I put this down to a strong opposing current and and to the extremely high freeboard the heeled stern presents making much more than normal leeway in strong winds, but that's just a guess on my part.

The solution was to pinch really hard and let out more sail. I was pinching down to 45 degrees true, with both sail's leeches back winded, basically ignoring everything I know about proper trim, sheeted as hard in as possible, and in winds this strong it worked. The boat heeled considerably less. Although the boat's speed dropped to barely six knots, I was able to get over 4 knots VMG. Pinching will be my strong winds tactic in this boat going forward. It's quite a bit easier sailing as well, but the sails do look odd.






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[mstrebe]

Originally Posted by Silver Shadow

Thank you, all, for good wishes.



I did not order the boat - I purchased it boat from dealer stock, demo boat (which explains an early hull#).



The boat has been in the water and the dealer has to "commission it again".



I am currently considering adding some items to the boat, and I do have a few questions:



1. Spinnaker Halyard - If anybody added a halyard, can you tell me if the mast had messenger lines? My mast does not have them (which surprised me).

1.a. I do have 2 empty halyard clutches. Is it wise to add 2 halyards now?(although one would never use spinnaker and code 0 at the same time, it may make sense to have dedicated halyards). Or would the extra clutch be used for another purpose?



2. Autopilot. I have a chart plotter only on the port side, is there supposed to be a control module on starboard side? It seems that have only tri-data on starboard side.



3. Dividing curtain in the cabin at the forward bulkhead: I would probably remove the bulkhead, for open space below, but it seems that having a curtain would be a good compromise for some privacy when needed. Does anybody have any experiences/opinions on this setup?



If all goes according to the schedule, I will have the boat in the water by the end of April.



Regards,

Max







i

There is no control head for the autopilot, it is software built into the chart plotter. If you have a B&G Zeus T7 to port and a B&G Triton to starboard, that's the standard kit and all you need.


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[mstrebe]

Things we use, things we don't... What options I think a new buyer should consider after 10 months of ownership.

First the obvious stuff: I doubt many boats will be built without a galley, arch, without cockpit teak, or with foredeck teak. These are four options that needn't be options in my opinion.

"Magic Swim" Pool, inflatable gangway, "built-in" inflator: I have them, and never use them. They came with our demo boat and perhaps the fact that we didn't want them contributes to not using them, but I don't see a need. The inflator is not built in, it's a portable unit and the only thing built in is a 12v un-switched outlet on the helm with a custom waterproof plug. The pool and gangway are for sale if anyone would like them. I'm keeping the inflator as it's perfect for our dingy and won't work without the custom plug.

Separate shower: wouldn't have ordered it, super glad we have it. Way more comfortable than the head/shower combo. I'm 6'5", 275 lbs (193cm, 130kg) and I fit just fine. We use it as a large item locker and just move stuff out to shower.

3rd Cabin: for us it's mandatory, but my wife and I can sleep comfortably in all three cabins, there's no need for the two cabin layout in my opinion.

Roller furling main: love it. It's fantastic for infinite sail sizing and easy to reef even in high winds when you should have already. These boats are very fast and can easily give up the extra sail size for this major convenience.

Extra house batteries/electrical pack: get it. Our alternator blew three days ago (don't know why, Beneteau is covering it), and we've lived on house charge ever since. I just shut the fridge off and put a block of ice in it, and we've been using everything else including the autopilot for three straight days waiting for it to drain down. Got down to 11.7 volts, now we're recharging on shore power at a slip and will make the rest of our vacation on this recharge. I'll drop off the boat for repair when we get back. Without the extra capacity, the alternator would have been a trip ended and sailing 16 hours back on a dark boat.

Inverter: don't get the stock option as its sized for a single house battery. Get the extra house batteries in the electrical pack and a 3rd party 1800 watt inverter with an automatic transfer switch.

Master cabin bulkhead: have it, installed it to test, didn't like it, sits in the garage for future use maybe. Kinda not the point of this boat. We're two adults with three teens and if we don't need it, you probably don't either.

Navigation & autopilot: strong recommend. The boat practically sails itself. With the autopilot, it actually sails itself. Get it, you won't regret it.

Things I'd like to hear about from people who got them:

Electric winches--I hear they're great, but what happens when the power is out?

Auto-tacking jib: does it really work? What are you giving up?

Shoal keel: I've run aground, cost me $300 bucks to be towed off a sand bar. How does the boat point with this keel?

No arch: how does the main sheet trim?

Bow thruster: people who have them seem to love them. How well do they work against a strong current? So far I've had no real trouble without it, but yesterday's mooring field in Two Harbors was tricky and thankfully mostly empty.










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[RKsailsolo]

Awesome thread, full of facts and insight about this boat. Thanks to everyone for contributions.

Are there other boat threads that give such a thorough evaluation?

[Polux]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

...
Things I'd like to hear about from people who got them:

Electric winches--I hear they're great, but what happens when the power is out?
...

I don't have a Beneteau but I do have an electric winch. Not a problem if there is no power because the winch then works like a manual one.

They are dispensable on a boat with furling main. With a non furling option (a more sportive mainsail with bigger sail area) on a 38ft boat, if you are strong enough, you can pull up the the mainsail from the cockpit. On a 40ft and up that's almost impossible and then an electric winch is a great help to pull the sail up, fast and easy. Anyway we don't stay young forever so a electrical winch would always be a good help on an Oceanis 38 with a bigger non furling mainsail.

The other advantage of an electric winch is to control the mainsail while solo sailing. if the boat has a German sheet system only one electric winch will be enough: Without going out of the wheel you can let go or tight the mainsail at the touch on a servo control around your neck.

On a more sportive boat with two winches on each side of the cockpit this would work better since there would be one winch dedicated only to the mainsail. On the Beneteau 38, that I think it has not an option for 4 winches on the cockpit, this will work better with a jib on a traveler as frontal sail (that would leave practically the cockpit winch to the mainsail). Maybe it is even possible to run the Jib on one of the cockpit winches and then it would be perfect.

[mstrebe]

My boat has four winches, one on each side of the cockpit. I think it's stock, but it may be an option that comes with roller furling? The main outhaul is rigged to stbd along with the spinnaker halyard, everything else is rigged to port including the main furling line, vang, jib and main halyard, and mainsheet.

It does appear to be setup such that the stbd winch may be optional.

Underway my port winch is dedicated to the mainsheet and the stbd winch is dedicated to the outhaul.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by mstrebe

My boat has four winches, one on each side of the cockpit. I think it's stock, but it may be an option that comes with roller furling? The main outhaul is rigged to stbd along with the spinnaker halyard, everything else is rigged to port including the main furling line, vang, jib and main halyard, and mainsheet.

It does appear to be setup such that the stbd winch may be optional.

Underway my port winch is dedicated to the mainsheet and the stbd winch is dedicated to the outhaul.

I guess we are not talking about the same thing. Never saw an Oceanis 38 with 4 winches on the cockpit and it did not seen they have considered that an option. The standard is two winches on the cockpit and two winches over the cabin.

Do your boat have 6 winches (four on the cockpit and two over the cabin)?

[Fluer de Mer]

Self tacking Jib Impressions:

Matt, We put the self-tacking (95%) jib on this past weekend during a rather large and strong storm system that passed through the Bay Area(wind gusts up to 45 knots). The good: a) in very strong storm winds it makes the boat super easy to sail as there are no winches to grind/sails to trim on separate tacks...the sail just slides across the track with the same settings, b) reefing is a snap, c) the foredeck has loads of room for people to sunbathe because the foot of the sail rides much higher than the larger stock genoa, d) the sail never gets caught on anything like guard rails or the mast, e) nobody in the cockpit has to move away from the winches when you tack - making for uninterrupted entertaining. The bad: a) impossible to heave to without going up on the foredeck and lashing the clew to one side...this could be a dangerous task in high seas, b) much less engaging sail. Bottom-line for us is that we will use the self-tack jib 1) when the winds are strong (early summer in SF Bay), 2) when one person is up on deck watch during long coastal trips or when solo-sailing in strong winds, 3) when entertaining large crowds who really only want a pleasure cruise.

[Fluer de Mer]

Oh...and forgot two other downsides: c) pinching is tricky/difficult because sail just easily slides, d) deep broad reaches and runs are not as effective because the main blocks the small sail area