Benneteau 211

swampthing

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1 Mar 2008
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106
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Plymouth UK
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I am thinking of buying a new Beny 21.7 or a Jenny Sun 2000. They are marked CE cat C--inshore.On a used 211 I noticed it had a B 4people C 6. The boat looks identical.Have the rules recently tightened up? Also, if I had one of these boats and in settled weather sailed Newlyn to Scilly, would my insurance be voided if I had a claim? Any ideas?
 
Looking at my owners handbook it is B for 4 people and C for 6. The latest 21.7's are now no longer unsinkable so that may be why they are now quoting C.

Personally I have no desire to go out in waves up to 4m and winds up to force 8 which is what cat B covers. Its only a small boat after all.

Your insurance company will state a cruising area if you are within that you will be covered.
 
If I could afford a 210 or 211 I'd buy one to do the Jester Challenge in. great little boats, fast, simple, good up and down wind. twin rudders are great on beamy arsed boats. the reason they are no longer cat B is because it is apparently legally difficult to define 'unsinkable' so they took the foam out and gave her more locker space. A great shame in my opinion.
If you want all the info on her you can do a whole lot worse than talking to David Evans at Dickies Yacht Sales in Swansea. I have no connection commercially, he is just a good friend.
Nicki
 
Your braver than me doing the jester on a swing keel.Like I said ,I might push it to the Scillies on a good day but thats about it. The Etap 21i Id feel more confident on bluewater though, thats a fin keeler and foamed everywhere. Do you recon the Sun2000 is on par with the Benny? Im getting quoted much better deals on that one.
 
Hello Swampthing. I think that davidwf answers your question on insurance. I'd certainly be happy to take a 211 to the Scilies - I've taken my 211 from Portsmouth to Ushant and back without incident. They really are excellent boats - can surf downwind at 12 knots (though was slightly out of control, that evening), beat to windward in a F5 and in more clement conditions slip along very nicely. And they are so well ballanced that an autohelm works easily, which is great for the longer voyages. Jenneau Sun 2000s have their advantages - better at drying out for one, but for going even remotely ofshore I'd say the Beneteau is more of a sea going vessel - getting the weight further down, in a keel rather than a ballast plate makes a huge difference, as do the twin rudders and the different cockpit. Good luck anyway.
 
I'm not an insurance expert but as long as your policy says UK and continental waters - usually 'Brest-Elbe' or similar (mine is Elbe-La Rochelle) I do not see a problem given common sense and seamanship. In a 211 you will probably get there faster than most other bigger cruisers, and if you do turn round and run back halfway if the conditions get unpleasant you'll get back even faster.
 
I sail a four year old 211 and can honestly say that they are great fun with spritely handling - closer to a dinghy than a cruiser. I had a look at the brand new 21.7 at the boat show and i thought the build quality did not measure up as well to slightly older models - just my opinion anyway. The previous owner took her across the channel so it can be done but check with your insurer. One thing to watch is the depth of the prop on the outboard. If it is too shallow it could be a problem in choppy seas. Anyway, I am very happy with mine and the ballast provides some peace of mind. I am not sure I would want to take a swing keel into blue waters though as the mechanism has been known to break !
 
Hi,
Great to read about the 21.7. My son has just agreed to purchase a 2 year old model and takes ownership at easter. Were all very excited and cant wait for the first sail. You might have seen from an earlier post that he wants to keep it at brighton.... not sure about that for cost or location but we will see
 
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