I am unfamiliar with the personal disagreements here but I just looked
over a few pics of this guy Bob's Beneteau. It looks like a nice boat
but Beneteaus have always turned me off as being lightly built and
sorta impractical. Those odd shaped ports are gonna be difficult to
replace. I do like the swim platform although I have never used one.
The rigging seems kinda light for a boat this size.
I have not looked at Beneteaus for years so my impressions are from at
least 8 yrs ago. The one I looked at had a very lightly made toerail
that seemed to be riveted, I was amazed to see such a thing on a new
boat those days. There is a newer Beneteau near my boat and every time
I look at its rigging it just looks too light.
I'd prefer a boat with more standard made components for easy repair
and replacement but maybe this will not be a problem. It's Bob's money
and I hope he enjoys his boat.
BTW, I sail an old 28' S2 with very spartan accomodations which I
prefer (to each his own).