Doug Dotson wrote:
Not from my experience. Dealing with 3 B's, all had hollows in the
decks, stantion bases poorly bedded, and the first time a friend
with MS boarded her new boat she grabbed for a lifeline for
support and a stantion pulled out in her hand. Another had fuel
problems that the dealer gave them the runaround for two years before
it was discovered that it was a defect in the pickup tube in the fuel
tank from the time the boat was built. Sorry Doug, I'd buy a 20 year
old Catalina before I'd buy a new B.

Sounds like you had the bad luck of getting 3 in row that were either
Friday afternoon or Monday morning boats. But IMHO the Huntalinas are
just as bad, and that's across the whole range. Beneteau builds some
pretty good boats. I sailed a First Class 10 earlier this year and had a
good chance to inspect many of it's hidden details. Well done, properly
spec'ed & built... not an Oyster, mind you, but it darn sure ain't gonna
come apart on you.

OTOH my wife and I spent much of this weekend on a 4 year old boat of a
type *very* highly regarded... and priced... for passagemaking... and it
impressed me not in the least. More Huntalina type sloppy crap.


.... But then again, I'd be hard
pressed to buy any brand new boat these days. Many are cheap junk
or way overpriced. Give me a proven older boat any day.

You mean like a 1970s Irwin or Coronado?

There are good boats, bad boats, and a huge range in between. The test
is to be able to figure out which is which *before* writing the check!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King