advice on buying beneteau / jeanneau

[cloud7]

we have been looking at the following , jeanneau 39 i , 39ds , beneteau 40 & 37 , and would really appreciate any opinions or if any members have spotted a nice clean one for sale, thks

 

[Sailfree]

we have been looking at the following , jeanneau 39 i , 39ds , beneteau 40 & 37 , and would really appreciate any opinions or if any members have spotted a nice clean one for sale, thks

Are there any differnce in the construction? Beneteau use an inner moulding like a egg crate glued to the hull for strength. Jeanneau used to mould GRP ribs and stringers against the hull for strength but not sure if they still do or have gone over to the cheaper egg crate system.

To me moulded ribs and stringers are better as damage after any incident is visible. With the egg crate its difficult to see if its become debonded and cracked away from the outer hull. unfortunately incidents do happend like going aground and hitting the odd thing!

 

[30boat]

Are there any differnce in the construction? Beneteau use an inner moulding like a egg crate glued to the hull for strength. Jeanneau used to mould GRP ribs and stringers against the hull for strength but not sure if they still do or have gone over to the cheaper egg crate system.

To me moulded ribs and stringers are better as damage after any incident is visible. With the egg crate its difficult to see if its become debonded and cracked away from the outer hull. unfortunately incidents do happend like going aground and hitting the odd thing!

I am of the same opinion.I've seen Beneteaux with wobbly bottoms because of impact damage.The hulls are stiff until the bond breaks.If and when that happens the problem is very difficult to correct because it's very hard to know where the damage has ocurred,Another thing that happens is water sloshing about between hull and moulding that can't be (or is very difficult to)pump dry.
Jeanneaus on the other hand use traditonal techniques where bulkheads , furniture and keel floors are bonded to the hull and deck(not the floors) .I know which one I'd go for.

 

[Sailfree]

I am of the same opinion.I've seen Beneteaux with wobbly bottoms because of impact damage.The hulls are stiff until the bond breaks.If and when that happens the problem is very difficult to correct because it's very hard to know where the damage has ocurred,Another thing that happens is water sloshing about between hull and moulding that can't be (or is very difficult to)pump dry.
Jeanneaus on the other hand use traditonal techniques where bulkheads , furniture and keel floors are bonded to the hull and deck(not the floors) .I know which one I'd go for.

Thats why we bought a Jeanneau but I think (don't know) that many manufacturers and possibly jeanneau now use an inner moulding glued against the hull to achieve the strength. I think its a cheaper construction method and the drive for the lowest cost/value are driving manufacturers to this method.

Can anyone comment on whether Elan, Dufour, Hanse, Bavaria or Jeanneau now use this inner moulding method on their latest boats.

 

[cloud7]

beneteau / jeanneau

information very helpfull , keep it coming , thks

 

[Marsupial]

Dufor use an inner moulding for hull integrity, as far as I know Jeanneau still use stringers and hand laid continuious rovings in their HULLS (edit: no they dont! see below) but divini cell vac pack for their topsides, whereas beny use a chopper gun to layup hulls and inner moudlings are load bearing.
Beny have now started to construct hulls in two halves, like the swedes, all reasons why we have a Jeanneau.

IMHO the older Jens, up to around 2005 are better than the latest efforts. (Edit: Now I am more convinced of this. see below)

ALL manufacturers are now making light boats that make the light boats of 10 years ago look obese! But its more than that, compare the rig and deck hardware with say a 2003 with a 2010 of the same length, I am sure the sums add up but its like brushing your teeth in warm water, its OK but. . . .

Just checked the Jeanneau site, it seems that Jeanneau hulls are now reinforced with a 3rd generation inner moulding that's glued/lamminated in place which means that the hull without the moulding does not have the strength of those made with previous construction methods. Not a problem until it has an impact as others have said above.

Conclusion: You pays your money and takes your chance.

 

[jonjo]

Thats why we bought a Jeanneau but I think (don't know) that many manufacturers and possibly jeanneau now use an inner moulding glued against the hull to achieve the strength. I think its a cheaper construction method and the drive for the lowest cost/value are driving manufacturers to this method.

Here's a radical thought, perhaps an inner tray moulding is a better idea! Like welding ships together rather than using rivets, a good idea eventually catches on.

 

[capnsensible]

Delivered a 39i from Lanzarote to Gib last Feburary. Was most impressed with the sea keeping, sailing ability and the economy of the engine. We took a right pasting entering the Straits and the yacht handled extremely well.

The owner put the boat on the market in Gib April time and it sold in a few weeks.

Hope this helps.

 

[jonjo]

Can anyone comment on whether Elan, Dufour, Hanse, Bavaria or Jeanneau now use this inner moulding method on their latest boats.

It would be simpler to identify which ones don't. Bavaria has certainly for the past 10 years at least and unlike Benni's the tray is attached to the hull using grp laminate tabbing strips.

 

[jonjo]

we have been looking at the following , jeanneau 39 i , 39ds , beneteau 40 & 37 , and would really appreciate any opinions or if any members have spotted a nice clean one for sale, thks

All boats are design for a certain owner, with a particular fatness of wallet and usage profile in mind. You will get far better feedback on this forum if you spend an extra 5 minutes writing a paragraph or two detailing how you intend to use your future yacht.

 

[Marsupial]

Here's a radical thought, perhaps an inner tray moulding is a better idea! Like welding ships together rather than using rivets, a good idea eventually catches on.

agreed if "cheap" is what you are intending to acheive! certainly servicability suffers if an inner moulding is used, but performance is enhanced because the build is lighter.

 

[Skylark]

As successful builders of sailboats they undoubtedly have a lot of resource at their disposal to ensure structural integrity by both design and manufacture.

I own a 36 ft Beneteau and I've looked at a few Jenneau's. I persoanlly don't like the DS version, simply because it's not to my tastes.

If you've narrowed your thinking to these few, I'm sure that a clean, well cared for example of any of your choices will delight the new owner.

Good luck with your search.

David

 

[cloud7]

beneteau / jeanneau

fair point on type of sailing a so here goes:

Cruising range , portugal / med and crossings to lanzarote to winter

handling , wife and i short trips , crew of 3 long passages.

max lenght 11.99m to get berth availability beam max 3.99m

budget £100k pounds

condition must be modern to get wife approval

advice warmly received

 

[Sailfree]

Here's a radical thought, perhaps an inner tray moulding is a better idea! Like welding ships together rather than using rivets, a good idea eventually catches on.

Depends whether the idea is driven to save costs or to improve quality. IMHO inner mouldings are a cost effective way of strengthening a hull, but hide any delamination and difficult to repair.

Sorry read your post and replied to find that super intelligent "Marsupial" said the same thing!!!

To put it in context there are loads of Beneteaus around without any problems the same as there are lots of Bavarias with keels in spite of many opinions on here. There are few bad modern production boats.

To repeat advice I always give. The charter market uses boats more extensively than individuals so ask a charter company for what they have on their fleet and steer the conversation to your likely candidates and see what their comments are. I was put off a couple of boat makes after learning of charter companies experiences repairing them and not from impact just heavy use!

 

[Tranona]

fair point on type of sailing a so here goes:

Cruising range , portugal / med and crossings to lanzarote to winter

handling , wife and i short trips , crew of 3 long passages.

max lenght 11.99m to get berth availability beam max 3.99m

budget £100k pounds

condition must be modern to get wife approval

advice warmly received

Any, or all of those will do the job. Modern mass production boats have reached a stage where there are few "bad" boats - just like modern mass production cars. Your choice depends on the particular blend of features the builders use to try and differentiate their boats, or meet specific sub-markets (eg performance range such as Firsts compared with Oceanis) or particular layouts (cabins, deck saloons etc.) At the end of the day, the key issue in a used boat (you will be looking at boats of 5 years old or so) will be equipment and condition - as well as availability.

When we bought our boat the Bavaria offered the best compromise for us, but we would have been equally happy with a Benny or Jenny. If buying new now, I don't think the Bavaria would make my shortlist, but in used boats you have much more choice at any one time - and I think I would add a mid 2000s Bavaria 39 or 40 to your list.

BTW, don't get hung up on the structural issues aired here. Most boats never require any structural work (at least in their early years) and there are pros and cons of all variations of modern GRP construction.

 

[jonjo]

If you only spend up to 3 months on board per year and feel the need to supplement your husband and wife crew for longer passages I wonder if dropping down to a shorter LOA would result in more sailing?

Re. brands, I can only comment as an outsider but my hunch is that Jeanneau lost its special premium mass market builder status around the time they started fitting wobbly glass splash screens between the galley and saloon seating.

 

[photodog]

fair point on type of sailing a so here goes:

Cruising range , portugal / med and crossings to lanzarote to winter

handling , wife and i short trips , crew of 3 long passages.

max lenght 11.99m to get berth availability beam max 3.99m

budget £100k pounds

condition must be modern to get wife approval

advice warmly received

With that spec I would go for a Dufour 40...

http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/2003/Dufour-40-Performance-2179652/United-Kingdom

Much better boat for short handing.... Plus quicker and funkier.

 

[jonjo]

IMHO inner mouldings are a cost effective way of strengthening a hull

Cost effective AND structurally effective.

If I had to tot up structural problems aired on this forum I think failure of undersized stiffening laminated into the hull is more common than separation of the inner tray from the hull. I don't recall one thread here where an owner has said "help my inner tray mouldling as fractured".

 

[duncan_m]

we have been looking at the following , jeanneau 39 i , 39ds , beneteau 40 & 37 , and would really appreciate any opinions or if any members have spotted a nice clean one for sale, thks

My thoughts, I've always been a fan of the Sun Odyssey 37, they don't make them new any more but they're a great buy. The Gib Sea 37 is pretty good too.

I'm not a fan however of the Beneteau Oceanis 37, it's good in cockpit space but there are a few little niggles that get me such as the fridge door opening onto the oven which always eventually leads to scratches..

 

[cloud7]

beneteau/ jeanneau

thanks so much for your opinions , not sure a dufour 40 7 years old at 108k is value , my options after much research are

2006 jeanneau 39i

2008 beneteau 37

2007 beneteau 40

all well within the 100k budget

opinions welcome