First off: Bubbles--this is not intended to be a bashing session aimed at
your boat. It is only a personal observation. Sorry if it contradicts your
personal beliefs.

This past weekend we examined a 38s5 (1992) in Racine, WI. This is the next
larger boat in the Beneteau line designed by the same pair of designers that
did Bubble's boat. My observations:

1) the boat is very tender. The winds at the dock were roughly ten to
twelve knots abeam, and the boat was heeling about 5 to 10 degrees to
leeward under bare pole. Walking around the perimeter of the deck caused
the boat to list. My wife weighs in at roughly 105 and she caused it to
list almost as much as the broker or I did. This is a boat upon which the
old adage, "reef early and reef often," would apply. This boat has a
shallow-draft keel.

2) there is a false deck atop the house, ostensibly to hide the lines that
run aft to the cockpit from the base of the mast. This false deck is a thin
fiberglass lay-up which flexes substantially when walked upon. I suspect
that a heavy person jumping on this false deck could crack, craze, or
perhaps fracture it. Very flimsy, and of no real value in hiding the
aft-running lines.

3) the interior, designed by someone named Philippe Starcke, is not
particularly aesthetic. It is spartan, cold, and uninviting. The bulkheads
and cabin doors are finished in a dark mahogany stain and the white fabric
cushions and brushed aluminum fiddles, table supports, and door trim present
a glaring contrast. The white cushions were badly stained, both from use
and from leaks in numerous locations. The cabin sole was scuffed--not the
builder's fault--but would be difficult to refinish due to the thinness of
the teak veneer (the builder's fault). The aft cabin has a rather lengthy
double quarter berth, but it would take a very tiny person who does not
suffer from claustrophobia to sleep under the cockpit sole. There is
minimal clearance. The vee berth was not quite as long, but pinches to a
very tight point at the bow end. Again, unacceptable for taller folks,
unless they like to entwine their feet while sleeping. The general
appearance of the interior was of cut corners and cheapness, the sole
exception being the white marble countertops, which were badly marred. The
galley appears to be an afterthought. One would be challenged to do much
beyond heating up a can of soup in this diminutive arrangement.

4) the major flaw with the interior of this boat is that I--at 5'
11.5"--could not stand up without my head hitting the overhead ceiling. At
the companionway, my hair brushed the liner, and walking forward required me
to drop my head forward substantially by the mast support. This boat has no
more headroom than an early Catalina 30.

5) nothing topside had the appearance of quality--only cut corners and cheap
hardware. This boat at 14 years of age has not aged well. Certainly
neglectful owners are partly to blame, but so is the builder who obviously
didn't overbuild or reinforce much of the structure, and utilized
second-rate components throughout.

We spent less than 20 minutes on this sorry excuse for a racer/cruiser.
According to Bubbles, the French-built boats of this period were
substantially better constructed and appointed than those originating in the
USA of late. Frankly I'm not seeing it. While the later Beneteaus are not
particularly impressive, they do seem to have a substantial edge over this
example in both quality of construction and hardware.

We walked away with a new mindset regarding Chantiers Beneteau. How well or
poorly a manufacturer's boats age is most telling, and this one told
volumes.

Max