Beneteau 38...the wife loves it!

[RickDelaune]

Dear KeepInTune,

I have a 2000 381 in Mandeville, LA that might help with your decision. It was built in the US. And is loaded. If you would like me to send some pics please let me know and I will do so. Loaded with twin A/C units Genset, Electronics and has been maintained with an open check book. If you are made of money and want to pay out for a new one then Cool !! But if you would like to get into a proven boat for under $98 K well give me a call.
Smooth Sailing, Rick 504-458-1013
PS I can even pick you up at the Gulfport or New Orleans airport !!!

[Eder]

I think you should let your wife pick out the new boat, I did and we now live on board 6 months/year...had I bought a 30 year old blue water hulk I would be sailing solo.

[Firefly44]

Originally Posted by Eder

I think you should let your wife pick out the new boat, I did and we now live on board 6 months/year...had I bought a 30 year old blue water hulk I would be sailing solo.

If not let her pick it, at least be certain she likes/supports/champions it 100%.

Also, nice to look at pics and compare specs, but nothing beats "in person". It's the only way you truly know how open or cramped or such a boat looks and feels, especially below decks.

Dave

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Eder

I think you should let your wife pick out the new boat, I did and we now live on board 6 months/year...had I bought a 30 year old blue water hulk I would be sailing solo.

I finally understand why some people get those 30 years hulks

[scuba0_1]

[QUOTE=savoir;1715500]Could that flimsy forward bulkhead stop the hull from
flimsy bulk head really lol. But if you want to know how strong the bulk head is you can goto school for marine engineering graduate work for a boat builder so you can really understand how it works and then chime back and answer you're own question and keys us know the real answer, but till then we will just keep answering questions like this in a way that seems like we know what were talking about.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[scuba0_1]

Just a fyi the thin sheet of wood diving rooms on a boat that are usually on our near bulk heads are not actually holding up or in any way supporting the bulk head. It is there for decoration because people wanted privacy

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[sailorboy1]

If the issue is whether the boat is strong enough because it doesn't have the forward bulkhead wall maybe people should look around some. They would find that there are other builders with models that don't have the forward bulkhead wall. Say for example a Morris M42.

[RKsailsolo]

[QUOTE=scuba0_1;1775182]

Originally Posted by savoir

Could that flimsy forward bulkhead stop the hull from
flimsy bulk head really lol. But if you want to know how strong the bulk head is you can goto school for marine engineering graduate work for a boat builder so you can really understand how it works and then chime back and answer you're own question and keys us know the real answer, but till then we will just keep answering questions like this in a way that seems like we know what were talking about.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Yours is a most remarkable response...sums up stuff that lurks in anyone's mind after reading enough of these threads.

[homerobarros]

Originally Posted by RickDelaune

Dear KeepInTune,

I have a 2000 381 in Mandeville, LA that might help with your decision. It was built in the US. And is loaded. If you would like me to send some pics please let me know and I will do so. Loaded with twin A/C units Genset, Electronics and has been maintained with an open check book. If you are made of money and want to pay out for a new one then Cool !! But if you would like to get into a proven boat for under $98 K well give me a call.
Smooth Sailing, Rick 504-458-1013
PS I can even pick you up at the Gulfport or New Orleans airport !!!

Rick,
I own a Sept 2014 Oceanis 38, with two AC and a Genset (Fisher Panda 4,32 KW) Have spent so far, including insurance, tax etc, etc, $275 K. I would be interested to know in 15 years how much you lost in %, from the original price + Genset if you sell it for $98K.
Thank you.
Cheers

[mstrebe]

To answer some of the questions in this thread, I've owned my Oceanis 38 for 8 months now and have sailed it about 400 hours at this point.

As for the forward arch, it is three laminated ply of 3/4" ply. It's 2" thick total, with the middle ply being about 1/2" inset and what the forward bulkhead fits into.

There is zero flex.

I have the forward cabin bulkhead (a $700 option) and have test installed and removed it once. It took about 30 minutes to install, and about the same amount of time to remove. It's not something you'd do every day, but something you'd do when prepping the boat for a passage if you had others coming with you. We just put the kids in the two aft cabins and shut their doors.

The boat likes to sail at 7 knots. It'll do that on pretty much any point as long as you've got 12+ knots of TWS. Trimming is almost unnecessary, because the boat just gets up on its chine goes irrespective. Close hauled to 55 degrees off true wind, it will routinely do 75% of TWS to 8.5 knots, which I've done in 13.6 knots of TWS. Beyond that you're heeled over beyond comfort and the boat has made up to 10.3 knots in 25 knots of true wind. Way past time to reef there.

I have the roller furling main and the 105% RF Genoa, and I don't use a spinnaker. I've raced and beaten 41' boats with an asymmetrical just going wing-on-wing dead down wind in light air, and did 4.5 knots in 8 knots of wind. Weight forward to the bow, using a long whisker and back-tension to keep the genoa clew stable, the boat goes downwind just fine. Downwind performance is good enough that I've not bothered with a spinnaker but will add one eventually.

The question of handholds is always there with pictures of this boat, and I'm not sure why. They're ample, with handholds everywhere in the cockpit and mid-deck to the rigging. Foredeck is open. In the cabin, there's always a handhold because all of the surfaces have a rail you can grab, and the center table is solid and what you normally lean against, with the compression post acting as a cabin center handhold. I move through the cabin all the time on a 20% heel with no issues, and I've been offshore in serious wave action over days and had no issues.

Starboard side seating in the cabin on a heel is limited to one person or the forward open berth, which is what winds up happening with our kids. Never really been an issue, but there is a bench there if you don't get the galley option. Never seen a boat that didn't have that however.

Bottom line is that it's a very accommodating, fast boat that is easy to sail. I've lived at sea for years, sailed for over 20 years, and currently own three sailboats, so please avoid presumptions that I somehow don't know what I'm missing.

The boat interior is very "Ikea". That's a legitimate observation, and if that style is not for you and the interior decoration of a boat is more important to you than its sailing characteristics, don't buy this boat. It's also true that photos of it look larger than it actually is in reality--the open cabin is great, but it's not the cathedral that it appears to be in pictures. I too was taken aback by how "not huge" it was in real life compared to photos. Irrespective, its the perfect size boat for my needs and a good blend of bay day sailor, offshore weekender around the channel islands, and Baja passage-maker for me and my family.

I own hull #3. #1 is currently doing an Atlantic circuit and in the Caribbean having left France six months ago.

Matt

[RKsailsolo]

Originally Posted by homerobarros

Rick,

I own a Sept 2014 Oceanis 38, with two AC and a Genset (Fisher Panda 4,32 KW) Have spent so far, including insurance, tax etc, etc, $275 K. I would be interested to know in 15 years how much you lost in %, from the original price + Genset if you sell it for $98K.

Thank you.

Cheers

A good question. Let's see if the reply factors in the actual new boat price--model year 2000--vs what he's asking (way too high IMVHO but that's just me). Also, consider the validity of each of these "reported" numbers as we know that sellers want the highest amount a buyer will give. At best I would consider it a single data point with so many variables involved.

But it's worth asking.

[RKsailsolo]

Matt, huge thanks for your effort to continue to share the Oceanis 38 experience with us. Really appreciate your technical descriptions and context. Polux has written about the wide stern section adding to downwind performance, even suggesting that this design takes cues from Open 60s. Sounds like your experience reflects that. Does it roll much downwind?

On the photo thing vs salon size in real life, I always suspect a good photographer would place the cam in the farthest vantage point so if your a book on a shelf in that salon, that's the accurate view. When your a person standing against a salon corner, it's a different angle. I've boarded the 38 and 35 multiple times and each one impresses me with the open space vs traditional monohull salons. I think the handhold critique (dangerous lack thereof) is wrapped up in the fact that this is such a different design approach, maybe too much for some.

[homerobarros]

Originally Posted by RKsailsolo

A good question. Let's see if the reply factors in the actual new boat price--model year 2000--vs what he's asking (way too high IMVHO but that's just me). Also, consider the validity of each of these "reported" numbers as we know that sellers want the highest amount a buyer will give. At best I would consider it a single data point with so many variables involved.

But it's worth asking.

I would expect that after 15 years, all the depreciation is already dilute, but that would really be an interesting information. The Admiral said I should not think about the residual value and just enjoy it and that every upgrade done will not be recovered... Water Maker, Radar, Generator, Dinghy, outboard, Bimini, bow truster, etc etc...So I will just enjoy, and enjoy I am.
Cheers

[RKsailsolo]

Originally Posted by homerobarros

I would expect that after 15 years, all the depreciation is already dilute, but that would really be an interesting information. The Admiral said I should not think about the residual value and just enjoy it and that every upgrade done will not be recovered... Water Maker, Radar, Generator, Dinghy, outboard, Bimini, bow truster, etc etc...So I will just enjoy, and enjoy I am.

Cheers

Your Admiral and mine surely must have graduated from the same Maritime Admiral's Academy. While I am not yet at the "enjoy" stage I can taste it. I must follow orders and hope for the favorable outcome that your boat has earned.

[mstrebe]

Originally Posted by RKsailsolo

Polux has written about the wide stern section adding to downwind performance, even suggesting that this design takes cues from Open 60s. Sounds like your experience reflects that. Does it roll much downwind?

There's no roll whatsoever downwind. It goes downwind absolutely flat on San Diego Bay and doesn't roll when people move around. The boat just doesn't roll under any circumstance I've found.