Beneteau Oceanis 343
Bart
I'm new to this group. Sailing for many years on very different boat
types.
We're considering buying a new oceanis 343, but have a couple of
questions.
1- Keel
We are still in doubt on the keel-choice. What to expect from the
standard (deep) keel or the shallow one? Currently we sail mainly
inland waters, but with every occasion (read holiday) we go out on sea
(North sea; Dutch, Belgian, French, UK coast)
2- Main sheet
As standard, this sheet is handled on the coach roof. Isn't this
impractical when sailing solo? Is there a good method to bring the
sheet close to the steering wheel?
3- behaviour when sailing sharp towards the wind?
What about the trimming of the standard sails? Mast?
4- General quality
What can we expect on long term? is the outer material OK?
Experiances with leaking windows, joints...?
5- any other remark...
Thanks
Bart
Franky
There is a beneteau 343 group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/beneteau343/
Anyway.. We are in the commissioning process of new Ben 343 and should
be ready next week.
Keel: We have opted for the deep keel for better upwind performance we
sail on the North Sea UK. I have sailed both versions very briefly and
preferred the slightly better pointing ability of the deep.
We have the beneteau performance pack fitted with full batten main,
folding prop and foam luff genoa, as stated our first sail will be next
week hopefully. Upwind performance was good on our test sail for a
cruiser and performance was balanced and fairly nimble for a 34 footer.
our last boat was a ben 311 which was lighter the 343 was still nice to
sail for us.
Quality: We have looked through all the nooks and crannies of the boat
and she is solid and of good quality for the money, it all seems nicely
screwed together so far. The fittings are of good quality including
facnor furling headsail gear and harken winches, so no complaints.
The interior on the euro 2006 model is new this year and is nice and
light and roomy, accomodation is great for 4 people in comfort.
We also sailed a hanse 342 which was very nice also but a little less
roomy, we went with the beneteau for its nice handling (although not as
sharp as the Hanse) and very good value and good quality of fittings
etc for the money.
I dont know of any serious issues from the other owners on the yahoo
groups, no one has reported anything other than very minor glitches.
If you need any further info please contact us through the yahoo group
or direct email
franky