Beneteau 42cc

[White_Lady]

As we are thinking of going over to 'The Dark Side', or should it be 'the 6 miles to the gallon side', we really like the look and layout of said boat.
Any comments please .To be med based, and for long periods of use. 2 pax with the odd 4 pax.
Also love the blue hull.I imagine tho that it is high maintenence.Any thoughts.

Many thanks

 

[ajt]

I found this SITE they are certainly complimentary about this boat, not had any experience of this model but we have a smaller beneteau and are very happy with it.
As for the blue hull, I have heard of a few owners ( not Beneteau, various builders) that have had problems with the blue fading in the sun after a couple of seasons and needing a respray.
I would think that this is an ideal boat for your needs.
Welcome to the dark side! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[KellysEye]

Blue hulls don't reflect as much heat as white hulls and thus reach higher internal temperatures (than white). In the Med most people spend a lot of effort trying to keep the boat cool.

Some builders have had problems with the hull temperature going so high that the GRP starts 'cooking' again - even Swan had that problem.

 

[Norman_E]

I would avoid the dark blue coloured hull for heat reasons, otherwise it looks a good boat. Only reason I did not go for one that I was offered was that it had blue hull and teak decks. (the latter get too hot to stand on in the Med.) There are however two drawbacks to the centre cockpit, aft owners cabin layout in the Med. Firstly an aft cockpit puts you in a better position when mooring the boat stern first to jetty or pontoon, which is what you do in most places in the Med. Secondly a forward cabin puts you further from said pontoon or jetty when you sleep. In an aft cabin you may well also be disturbed by wave slap against the flat section of hull under the stern. It never bothers me but some people get very uptight about it.

 

[Zimbali]

We've sailed in the med for the last few seasons and I agree with all previous comments about the centre cockpit. Its much easier to moor stern to with an aft cockpit and means you can usually moor with only 2 crew. With an aft cockpit boat, one person in the bows handles the windlass and the other person aft reverses in and secures the stern lines. With a centre cockpit boat (unless you are better at it than me) the person reversing in cannot also secure the stern lines, ergo you need three people.

I also agree about blue hulls and teak decks in the heat. All white looks less pretty but is much more practical.

Finally, if you buy an aft cockpit boat of this sort of length, go for one with twin wheels as they make give far better access to stern when mooring.