Beneteau oceanis 311 lift keel.

greeny

greeny

Well-Known Member
Joined
15 Jun 2004
Messages
2,653
Location
Portugal
Visit site
Hi folks,
i'm considering buying an Oceanis 311 with a lift keel, 2001 vintage. Has anyone on the forums had any experience of sailing one and if so, how did she perform generally?
Also, is there anything about the lift keel that I should pay particular attention to checking before committing to buy, i.e. any noises, knocks, stiffness to operate that may indicate possible problems?
Greeny
 
Follow my link below to the bene site & forums there is a lot of info there about the lifting keel benes
Stu
 
Exelent boats in my opinion. I sailed one accross the North Sea a few years ago. Managed to sail 6 hours on a beat with no autohelm on and no hands on wheel - the boat just got in a groove and kept on going - Lift keel boat too.

One downside is that the cockpit by the hatch is very wide, and can be quite slippy. I would recomend putting in some kick bars along the sole of the cockpit. (much like long toblerone bars) to brace your heals against when underway.
 
90 turns? Sheer luxury. Mine is 105.

The keel is long, the rudders are twin, the wings are a real drag. The hole in the centreplate groove also isnt hydrodynamic.
Also, because of the righting moment difference, it has lots more ballast. My SO35 is 450kgs heavier than its fin keel counterpart, so even lower in the water.
A racer it aint, but that does not stop me going out for a laugh with them.

There is also the extra cost, mine was an extra 4500 quid at purchase, and the design can put oozy mud in your boat if you dont have the overboard drain conversion.
Oh yes, and dont leave the keel wound up fully on a mud berth, as it will get stuck there in East Coast mud.

However, its lovely to put people aground during racing or even coming over the Ray Sand channel, as they look at the baot and the rig....and I float empty in 1.1m

I take the ground regularly, and its easy to do a mid season scrub (except the plate and the underside of the keel) for nowt on a bit of beach.

Its also pretty good on a reach.

All the above is relevant to the 311 as they are so similar.
 
Check whether the "modified" keel lift mechanism has been fitted. The original on my 1999 boat took 100 very stiff turns and eventually the female bronze screw stripped completely. The old type screw could only be greased from beneath ie. with the boat in slings. Beneteau do not admit to a design fault but the new system (cost £600 plus) has the male and female parts reversed. Result; to grease the screw just dry out; unscrew as if lowering keel; screw appears through table; apply grease; job done - and because it is now so easy the job does get done. Still 100 turns fully up to fully down but now a one finger job - literally. Just back from a single handed cross-channel trip (but I did hide in Braye while it blew 8 gusting horrible). I rather like the boat
 
agree worth checking the keel mech is the new type MUCH BETTER also NEEDS the overboard drain conversion. Lifting keel is great for cruising - and for racing too! if anyone has tried the RTIR crossing ryde sands with aground boats either side of you! :-)

mine is now (sadly) for sale as my wife wants a bigger boat (how many peole get to post that huh!? )

http://apolloduck.net/236952
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top