beneteau oceanis 381

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Has anyone out there got a 381?I've sailed one for a number of years in the Med, and intend to live on her next year. I've heard conflicting views as to her suitability to undertake a long ocean passage. I would be grateful for others opinions, suggestions,or views on this question. Yrs Martin
 

ParaHandy

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Designed as a marina hopper. Would think twice before doing what you intend. Interesting observations on this boat in the MAIB 1999 accident report on a Oceanis which inverted and remained so with disastrous results.
 

ParaHandy

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They have as near as makes no difference identical external dimensions and weights. The most visible difference is a thinner keel section on the 381 - the geometry of the hull shape is indistinguishable.

The point is that these boats are built for a particular market segment which would probably exclude ocean voyagers.
 
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I don't know if it is the same boat but Lisa Copeland (sailnet.com) has done over 60,000 ocean miles in her First 38 for the last 16 years. Not bad for a marina hopper.
 

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Know where you are coming from on the Marina Hopper angle, but is this just a personal thing or is it evidence based? Is it more to do with the sailor and conditions or the boat? Interested to hear your views. Regards.
 

ParaHandy

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Two concerns. A 39 ft boat weighing 6.3t is light, it's righting moment is not one that I would feel safe in and the MAIB report to an extent bears that out because it remained inverted. The 381 keel looks to have pushed some weight lower down which will improve stability but whether enough is a matter of opinion.

Given the number of boats Beneteau have made there will always be some boats which have sailed many miles and, maybe, been fortunate.
 

david_e

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Interesting, where can you get this report on the net? Would you also know where else is there information that gives information on boat weight/length displacement etc that is of use to those looking at buying. I know the subject has been thrashed around here on many occassions, but there is generally an element of personal feeling involved.

I read recently that the new Swan 45 is 20% lighter than its' 44ft predecessor. I presume that it is not to make it less safe but more efficient as a boat overall.

Reason I ask is I am looking to move up (not to a Swan unfortunately!) and naturally see the value in the lighter boats (mainly French) but appreciate that all is not always what it seems to be.
 

billmacfarlane

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Don't let some members of the XSC ( Xenophobes Sailing Club ) , put you off buying French David. I'm a great believer in horses for courses. If you want to sail stormy oceans , penguin watch , iceberg dodge etc , polar bear hunt, sail to Llapland to see you-know-who . then don't a modern day Beneteau. The hard truth is that not many of us do or want to , and if you want to do the type of sailing that most of us do i.e weekending and hols then a modern production boat will fulfill your needs.
 

david_e

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Thanks Bill, it's good point that you make. I have been delighted with the small Beneteau I bought for my first year of owning. Now that the family are confirmed addicts it's onwards and upwards to the next step. I am in the process of gathering information from many areas about boat design, build quality/suitability, sailing characteristics and performance before taking the plunge. It's when I look at the actual amount of time that I will really have available that the reality check comes in and where your pointers are the type that will play a big part in the decision making process I think. Funny thing is I bought my current boat without much experience after reading a few articles in magazines and just taking it quite literally for what it is, good value for money! So far she has done many a day cruise, raced a few times, put us up for a few weekends and given us some exciting, but not scary, times in a blow! Will keep you posted.
 

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Good luck David. It's a funny thing buying a boat. You can do all the detailed analysis you want but in the end a boat will come along that just seems right and all the analysis goes out the window. Having said that it took me 18 months of detailed analysis and searching to find my present boat and then I found it almost by accident. With regards with the build quality thing you'll probably find that all the production builder's standards are at worst adequate. I've always been a bit suspicious of Bavaria but practically all the owners who use this forum who have bought them are very happy with what they've got so who am I to criticise. Merrry Xmas.
 

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Xenophobic?

Whoever built it, the stability is either good or bad and these particular yachts have vanishing stability around 120 degrees. In automotive terms it’s equivalent to Mercedes selling a car which could become dangerously unstable.

This site offers some explanation of the mathematics and mechanics:
http://www.co32.org/BOAT_SECTION/FASTNET_STUFF/fastnet.htm
The Adlard Coles book “Heavy Weather Sailing” has a chapter on the Wolfson Unit research on hull shape. There’s more in the Code of Practice for Sail Training.

It’s nothing to do with nationalism which just clouds the issue. I wouldn’t buy one because I think they (with such stability curves) are not to my liking and for no other reason and neither can I see whether sailing at w/e or holidays is relevant. The sea doesn’t get any gentler at the w/e.
 

billmacfarlane

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Re: Xenophobic?

I wasn't necessary referring to yourself as xenophobic but there are people who at the mention of the words "French" and "production" start pontificating at the drawbacks of BavJenBens or whatever they call them. It is a hard fact that the vanishing stability is as you say and nothing can change that. Presumably there are other production boats with the same or near to it figure. Does anyone know how many of them capsize each year ? The point I made about weekend sailing is that if the weather is bad you simply stay put.
 
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