Beneteau First 285

[TwinRudders]

Hi,
I would love to chat to someone who sails a Beneteau First 285 - twin rudders lifting keel version. Anyone out there....?

 

[Greenwichman]

Hello - I have owned one of these for just over a year now and believe I have conquered a number of the foibles to uncover a really delightful boat. How can I help?

 

[TwinRudders]

Hi,
I bought my First 285 a year ago. Upgraded from a First 26. I wanted a bit more room plus the lifting keel was very appealing as I sail out of Poole.

I had a mixed season with her - time and bad weather meant I didn't do as much I would have liked. However had some great trips including an excellent sail over to Cherbourg.

My concerns with her have been performance and weather helm. I've probably answered my own question here but it would be really interesting to have your own thoughts. I think I have the rig badly setup. It may well be poor skippering but I found the weather helm very difficult to control. Even in moderate winds with 2 reefs in and mainsail flattened etc and let out on traveller, sometimes she would be very difficult to steer with the helm full over not correcting her charge upwind. Surprising with twin rudders as well. I'm going to get a rigger to take a proper look at the setup so hopefully that may help the problem.

Performance wise I also felt something was not quite right - even with a lot of experiments with sail setup I didn't feel she was performing to her potential. Again the rig may be at the heart of that as well but I am also going to change her prop to a folding one.

I suppose that she is always going to be pretty tender with a lifting keel not providing a whole lot of weight deep down but she's definitely not right!

How have you got on?

 

[Greenwichman]

Hi - surprising experiences. Mine has a fully battened main with a high roach and I have found the boat to be fast and pleasant to sail, with no vices (such as broaching) as you describe. She likes to settle into a beat with about 20-25 degrees of heel (more than a traditional deep keeler), but she is perfectly safe and stable at that, with a hull form that actually increases the righting lever as she heels.

Keel all the way down for a beat, part way up for a reach. Full up is not good because she loses directional stability.

As to set-up, the only things I have noticed are that she likes the main outhaul good and tight in a breeze, with the 'flattener' in and the cunningham hauled down tight. These actions really flatten out the main and reduce the 'belly' that causes heel.

I usually take the first slab down at about 18-20 knots, but by then I have already rolled the genoa down to a No1 jib size (she does not like too much headsail when the wind is piping up). In many sea conditions I have found she carries more main for longer if you roll the jib early and make it small (smaller than you might instinctively think necessary for the conditions). This also keeps angle of heel down below 20 degrees.

One improvement I made was to fit a boomstrut (£100) in place of the gas-vang. The main flattens well with this kit and there is no need for a topping lift (good news with a high roach).

As for the rig itself, with only one set of lowers and one set of uppers, it is relatively easy to set the mast up straight and true. But you should have a good, tight forestay and be able to haul down on some kind of backstay tensioner when heading up wind.

How does all this sound? Main thing is to have the flattest possible main, with a small jib. She goes like a train.

Hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[TwinRudders]

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Very useful indeed.

Well it sounds to me that I need to have another look at the main. Plus to try bringing the genoa in more and earlier. One thing I haven't tried is a "flattener". Not sure I even have the fittings in the sail to do this? Kemps are going to have a look at the sails for me next month so I'll talk to them about it.

Did you fit new sails on your boat? Anyone you might recommend?

Also I was having a look at the rig on Sunday. Forestay feels very loose to me. There doesn't appear to be an easy way to adjust the tension so I'm going to get a rigger to have a look at this.

Thanks again for your help. I'll let you know how I get on! If you want to stay in contact my email is jonoslatter@yahoo.co.uk.