Beneteau Oceanis 390

[jbaptista]

I'm considering this boat (at same time checking others) to live in, and in future to sail around the world with it.

The reasons i'm considering is that has big water capacity, has quite some fuel capacity has well. Has a good size beam, 2 heads, furling main sail, good sizeble cockpit, overall seams to be a comfortable vessel to live in, at least at shore. Also i have been finding at prices that i can afford.

The SA/Disp ratios indicates that he has a resonable performance.
Disp/Len indicates that he his considered a light vessel, so im guessing not amazingly fantastic comfort at offshore. The comfort ratio confirmes, indicating that it's considered a Coastal vessel.

Capsize ratio is about 2.12 , the ideal would be under 2.0. Compromisses.

This is me considering numbers, ratios, design layouts, vessel specs, but i never sailed in a Oceanis 390, so i don't have any idea how this vessel behaves in real life, and i'm hopping someone here can help me out.

Any user that have a Oceanis 390 can talk about his experience with it, or anyone that have sailed?

Thanks.

[George_SD]

I have experience on Beneteau 323, 35 and 50. I suspect that 390 will be quite comfy for coastal cruising, but to take around the world I would look for something else. It's a pretty flat bottom boat that will not be very comfy in rough seas. Two heads would be a downside in my view as I would rather have fewer holes and more storage. Amount of fresh water can be mitigated with a water maker. I would pay attention to:
- deeper keel
- sails in good condition
- engine in good condition and on the larger size of the spec for the boat (many Beneteaus had two options - smaller and larger, with smaller being slightly underpowered for the size).
- off-shore gear (AIS, radar, autopilot/windvane, wind instruments, solar, watermaker, good battery bank, good fuel tankage, storage space, dodger, folding prop, etc)
- well maintained boat

[Pandor]

I am quite fond of the Oceanis 390. It was the first generation of Oceanis yachts, so it really was one of the boats that started the whole trend that gets us to where we are today with production boats. It’s performance is not race worthy, but not bad either. I agree that this boat is best defined as a coastal cruiser. Although when it was produced, it was given the former French navigation category 1 (no limits). And there is at least one I’ve read about on another forum that has circumnavigated - apparently quite successfully.

Then there is also the Ocean Madam mishap in the Bay of Biscay back in 1997. Due to a relatively low point of vanishing stability MAIB came right out and said it is a good boat, but not made for crossing oceans in bad weather. But what light weight, high volume production boat really is?

[jbaptista]

Thanks for the replies.
The less the holes in the hull the better, but having 2 heads you can make 1 to wc other to shower, in other words, comfort. It may or not compensate the compromisses.
I will look for those intruments in the time of the purchase. Thanks GEORGE_SD

I have read the Ocean Madam Accident investigation report, if i had F9 forecast i would not leave from harbour, i'm not that brave or crazy, not judging the skipper, the report stated that he was very experienced skipper and he trusted the boat. And report confirm what you both said here, not a good vessel to sail around the world.

I would not go into the sea with those kind of forecast, but sometimes we are already at sea and storm develops, so considering what i have read, dispite of filling some requesits, i will take into account what i have read here and in the accident report and discard the idea of considering to buy the vessel.

Much appreciated

[Pandor]

Remember that axiom about buying the boat you need today rather than the one you think you may need many years from now. Every boat is a compromise and I think the 390 would be perfect for living aboard with all of that volume below. Are you looking at an owner’s version with two cabins or the three cabin version?

I would not recommend the 390 to ride out a force 9 gale in the Bay of Biscay, but I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for travel anywhere with a good eye on the weather.

I think the MAIB report came out at a time when they were struggling with what to think of these new light weight, high volume boats made for offshore sailing but with obvious limitations. The 390 is really a very nicely designed vessels and I don’t think the results would have been any different if Madam Ocean had been any newer or different high volume production boat. You can’t compare these to older full-keel heavy and narrow monsters in a storm. But I know which one I’d rather live on.

[jbaptista]

I do agree with you, i would like to live on in a boat that has a minimum comfort on my terms, than a heavy, narrow beam, long keel.

I have a bit of perception of what makes a good blue water vessel, but there are a lot of people out there living in production boats, and they are good and stiff. I was curious about the 390.

I'm taking my time on choosing a boat to live in, i'm only considering buying one next year, but opportunities can imerge, so i'm already looking.

I'm not looking for a layout in specific, but there are some characteristics i would like on my vessel.
Good water tank (water maker would be someting to think in future, but is expensive for now).
A nice fuel tank, don't see the need to be huge, has i prefer to sail calm with no rush.
Traveler outside of cockpit, all lines inside cockpit, electric Windlass. Main sail furling (not demanding, but is nice if you are alone in cockpit). At least 1.8m high on salon and berths, etc etc.

If well equiped is a bonus.

LOA must be bellow 12mt, because marina fees and maintenance costs.

There are some great designs i do love out there, but i can't buy with heart, i must focus on my living needs and security, maintenance costs and fees.
It's important to buy a boat that you are able to keep a top maintenance.

[MTJon]

In a different economy, I would recommend a brand new Beneteau lease-back purchase with a reputable bare boat charter company. But we no longer have that kind of economy and my instincts tell me we will not recover for quite some time. This was actually my intention this year (now that I have an offer on that "piece of Montana dirt" and can afford it !) Most of the Benetaeu's you will find on the market are indeed former bare boat charter vessels.

Instead, for a world cruising sailboat, I would consider an "older" Pacific Sea Craft or Island Packet commensurate in price & size for your needs. You may have some repair / equipment replacement issues but you can be assured these vessels have been lovingly maintained for their respective lifetimes. Most importantly, they are proven world cruising sailboats.

Good hunting, and remember the two happiest days of boat buying!

[hlev00]

As far as whether an Oceanis is appropriate for world cruising a lot depends on what you consider the "world". High latitudes take on a different meaning.



Two interesting YouTubers you might want to check out are Sailing Bacchus and Sailing Beaver. They both have some atypical gear for a Beneteua that are worth considering. The most notable are that both have self-steering vanes and inner head sails. On the latter they took different approaches. Both channels have been responsive to my questions so I encourage reaching out to them if you want more details.


While your mileage may vary but there are plenty of Oceanis boats that have circumnavigated successfully. I suppose someone will be able to cite one or more that ran into some sort of trouble.


Harry

[MicHughV]

My experience with the Bennie 432 is simple.....it has that classic flat bottomed hull the French favor.
In other words, there is no " bilge". There is a shoebox sized indentation in the keel to allow some hoses to be positioned there to suck out water. There is a " float switch" attached to the hull at that location.
Here's the problem, should you get water in the boat for any reason, that water will run to the low side of the hull and not the bilge, as there is no bilge. The float switch will not know there is water in the boat.
You will get a 100 gallons of water inside the boat, before you are made aware of any problem. At night, the problem compounds.
I wired an "alarm" to the float switch.

When offshore, I close all the thru' hulls, except the engine and one head. The sink thru' hull only gets opened when washing dishes. This way if there is a problem, I don't have to rush around closing thru' hulls.

I've had some " water inside" boat events. Trust me on this, it's not a happy time.

Besides that, the Bennie is a great sailing boat, probably one of the best I've sailed.

[jbaptista]

Once again, thanks for all your replies, it really helps.

I'm not looking to buy a some what negleted boat, they may come cheep, but with repairs they will get very expensive, and to be honest i don't have any experience on boat repair, so i would have to hire.

I think the higher latitude i would like to go, is Norway. Will take a look on those youtubers, thanks.

some people cross the atlantic with kayake, i guess with a 390 is also possible, ehehe. But the main concern is, what if ... Gale, severe gale, Storm gets in your way. There are two things comes to my mind...

1. A very solid build boat that can handle this kind of weather is preferable
2. A boat that is able to doge the storm, in other words, that have some performance.

A light or a mderate vessel with a good SA/Disp woud be great to doge a storm, but at the same time he is probably more uncomfortable and perhaps not the best to face a storm.

So is it better to have a heavy blue water vessel, that is slow and makes you spend more time at sea, but it can stand heavy weather, or is better to have a vessel that can have higher probability to doge storms and make your passages shorter?

[hlev00]

You might find condensation issues in the higher latitudes. Something to investigate.

Sailing Beaver started in Norway but check out Sailing Uma. They spent the fall and winter in Norway on a Pearson 36. Their journey and what they've done to their boat is very interesting.

An entertaining book about sailing in Norway is Into the Light by Dave and Jaja Martin. They sail with their young children way north and spend the winter aboard in Norway.

[shadow]

I guess it's doable as an old forum member MarkJ is sailing all over the place with his Bene 39 footer.. I think he's planning on sailing her back from the UK to the Carib. He's originally from OZ.. So this should prove that it is very capable.. Like any boat, depends on how well they are made, spec'd, equiped and the experience of the crew.. Pretty much any boat is capable of world cruising.

I've seen boats 25 footers sailing around the world.. so who knows..!! Enjoy it though.. the journey is what's valuable!!

[MicHughV]

Finding the " perfect boat is elusive.....firstly....there is no such thing....practically every sailboat ever built had to make a compromise somewhere..you have to focus on what you'd like, the budget you can afford, and go from there...
No good look at Ferraris' with a Toyota budget..

But, from my perspective, there are countless affordable boats out there.....

I was never a fan of the open transom idea ala Beneteau......but I've come to love it...sometimes, some things just grow on you as you get used to your new boat...The Bennie has a few annoying things for me, but makes up for it in other ways. My 2c is that it is stellar sailor...and hard to beat on a bang for your buck point of view..

[George_SD]

If you plan on going north in a boat, you should really have it insulated. If you don't (like already pointed out) condensation will become your enemy #1.

[jbaptista]

Hlev00 i do follow Sailing UMA, they used a puzzle carpet (don't know the name in english) for isulation and minimize condensation.

MicHughV not looking for the perfect boat, if there is one, i surely can't affort it. But i'm looking to make the best decision, making the compromisses that im willing to make, and make the best deal possible. I also not less important, buying a boat that im able to keep, and have a top maintanence.


I only sailed on Dufour 382GL ; Bavaria 340 Caribic and Sun Shine 38 , so i must say i don't have many experience in boats, this is way i'm searching through numbers and forum users opinions, and soon has i choose a few boats, i will ask to test it on sea and hire a survey.

On Dufour i got F6 at night and he behave amazing, but tilts easely, guess would be because of hull shape.

Sun Shine 38, i did get an F7 and even more has aproaching between two islands. He can really holds a punch.

But getting into the topic, what is your opinion on question bellow.

"So is it better to have a heavy blue water vessel, that is slow and makes you spend more time at sea, but it can stand heavy weather, or is better to have a vessel that can have higher probability to doge storms and make your passages shorter?"