Best ~38 sailboat

[Bobc]

I suggest you now have a list of 2 boats to go and look at. While you're at it, go and look at the Jeaneau, Dufour and Hanse.

I think that they are probably all perfectly good boats and your decision will come down to personal preference.

 

[Garold]

We have a 2015 Beneteau Oceanis 38 which was launched early 2016 (after London Boat Show). Two sleeping cabin with separate larger shower, and huge cockpit locker with fitted generator and extra freezer.

Soon after launch and fitted extras (canopy, generator, extra batterie, inverter etc etc) we left the UK and sailed towards the Med. We are currently in a boatyard in Greece but took a detour up to Venice through Croatia in 2019. I can’t remember the engine hours because we haven’t been on board since last October (we just didn’t bother to launch this season) but probably about 1300. We have motored a lot but also sailed sometimes (not always possible in the Med) so probably about 8000-9000 miles so far.

We‘ve had very few significant problems with the actual boat and only a few with equipment fitted but not manufactured by Beneteau. We have everything serviced, maintained and cleaned each winter. All the original kit and mechanicals seem to still work though we swopped out the oven for a better one in Palma.

This boat was made for Med cruising. The cockpit is amazing for summertime living and the swim platform is very suitable for bathing for all ages. The boat is very easy to manoeuvre in reverse for Med moorings. There are probably 38 foot boats that are larger inside and a UK based user may make a different choice, but for the Med there are different requirement. Only a few seasons in the Med would make these clear.

We chose a 38 because it’s still possible to physically push it off a quay, jetty or other boat without risking injury. It also fits everywhere including even in most busy Med marinas. Our yacht has easy sailing options such As roller reefing jib, in mast main, bowthruster, self tacking jib. The winches are manual for simplicity, and up to the OC38 manual winching is fine for my wife and me.

We have the shallow keel version which is handy in some anchorages and shallow harbours, but probably not as ideal when we sailed in the Atlantic rollers off Portugal.

Build quality is not as good as the 50 year old wooden motorboat that we started with 30 years ago, but there are some advantages with the OC38. Most of the kit is from common manufacturers so easy to fix or replace, most boatyards know their way around a Beneteau, they have a market value when you want to sell or buy, Beneteau deliver vfm through their manufacturing processes, the Design is fairly modern, most of their models are in charter fleets so the designs are tested to destruction and private users will rarely wear them out.

All in all, it’s hard to see how you could go too far wrong with an OC38 or an OC41. If however, you plan to sail rtw after a couple of summers in the Med, I’d then swop to a Dicove

How would you rate it against the Bav 37

Sorry but not sailed the Bavaria.

I was just trying to give a bit more info on the OC38.

 

[Garold]

This forum software has a mind of its own!

 

[Malo37]

How does the Bavaria 37 stack up against The Oceanis 38.1, anyone been or sailed on both?

Well, I have chartered both several times in the Med, the sizes quoted and bigger. Definitely the Bavaria is in my opinion poor build quality. Obviously built down to a price rather than to a (minimum) quality. The old adage , you get what you pay for, generally applies.

 

[Malo37]

It certainly looks nice in the pictures but I think that 1,500 hours on a 2017 boat would, rightly or wrongly, put me off, too.

By comparison, mine is 2013 and has 295 hours on the clock.

There are a lot of boats competing for this market sweet spot but I don’t think that you would regret buying this model. Others may have a different, equally valid, opinion.

The worst thing you can do to a Diesel engine is not use it. The second worst thing is to run it consistently on light load and the third is to use the wrong oil grade.
I chartered a Sun Oddsey 52 in Greece with a Yanmar engine which passed 9,000 hrs during our charter. Sweet as a nut.

 

[Skylark]

The worst thing you can do to a Diesel engine is not use it. The second worst thing is to run it consistently on light load and the third is to use the wrong oil grade.
I chartered a Sun Oddsey 52 in Greece with a Yanmar engine which passed 9,000 hrs during our charter. Sweet as a nut.

I chartered a hand cart in Yorkshire and it had done 15,000 hours over cobbled stones.

I posted that a 3 year old boat with 1,500 hours would, rightly or wrongly, put me off.

An engine with well-above average use will have had well above average use of its starter motor, its alternator, the main bearings, the shells, the pistons and rings, the fuel injection equipment, the valves and guides, the camshaft, chain etc etc.

An engine with low hours may have been started many times and never reached running temperature or had been operated normally but seldom used.

Hard to generalise. Vessel log and maintenance book records should help.

I spent my working career as a chartered engineer within the automotive supply chain, more than 20 years of which was working with Diesel engines.

 

[Malo37]

I chartered a hand cart in Yorkshire and it had done 15,000 hours over cobbled stones.

I posted that a 3 year old boat with 1,500 hours would, rightly or wrongly, put me off.

An engine with well-above average use will have had well above average use of its starter motor, its alternator, the main bearings, the shells, the pistons and rings, the fuel injection equipment, the valves and guides, the camshaft, chain etc etc.

An engine with low hours may have been started many times and never reached running temperature or had been operated normally but seldom used.

Hard to generalise. Vessel log and maintenance book records should help.

I spent my working career as a chartered engineer within the automotive supply chain, more than 20 years of which was working with Diesel engines.

I'm interested in the hand cart. Do you have a picture ?

 

[Skylark]

I'm interested in the hand cart. Do you have a picture ?

I do but it as I’m wearing a cloth cap and delivering Hovis loaves as a boy, it’s a bit embarrassing for this forum ?

 

[Paul_S123]

Just to update the thread, I have put down a deposit on a lovely 38.1 ft Beneteau Oceanis 38.1. Hope to tread lightly through the vat issues...and land it in Sotogrande in January. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Skylark]

Just to update the thread, I have put down a deposit on a lovely 38.1 ft Beneteau Oceanis 38.1. Hope to tread lightly through the vat issues...and land it in Sotogrande in January. Thanks for the suggestions.

That's really great news, Paul. You've now, without a doubt, answered your original question, "Best 38 sailboat". Hope that you and your family enjoy her to the full. Fair winds.

 

[Sailfree]

I am looking at a couple of 41's too. There's a lovely one for sale in Majorca...but it has 1,500 hours, which is rightly or wrongly a bit off-putting. Probably suggests it may have been a charter boat.

https://azulyachts.com/en/brokerage/pdf/372/oceanis-41

Condition of boat is important. Engine hrs less - boats like being used.

My boat has 3500hrs on a Yanmar 75hp - no problem just nicely run in! Probably only do 300hrs pa now so it should be OK for another 15yrs!