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. 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.

Doug
s/v Callista

yeah but compared to a Catalina 22 it's a sweetheart in every respect!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

Have a look at one of these.
I just recently sold mine and loved it (moving up to a 30')
Sailed it in the ocean most of the time, have been out in 35/45 knot
winds with no problems at all. Just reef at about 20 and your ok.
I had the mk3 and loved it,nice solid boat better than the mk4 for
family use,
tho if your going to race go for the mk4.
Shaun Perth Western Australia
http://www.runge.com.au/rl28/index24.asp

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. 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.

Doug
s/v Callista


yeah but compared to a Catalina 22 it's a sweetheart in every respect!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King

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