Beneteau 43 Sense

[prod]

Does anyone has any comments on this new boat pls. I am thinking of buying one but Beneteau do not have much stability info e.g. stix etc. Many thanks.

[MartinW]

My wife and I just spent 3 days at the Sydney Boat Show ... We were on the market for a forty-something and after narrowing down our options chose the Sense 43. Had a great test sail which confirmed this is going to be a joy to sail not just live onboard of. Wind was light at first and later a 12-15 knot breeze. Made 6-8 knots very easily with a 105 gib. The helm was extremely well balanced ... On the wind, a beam reach and running I took my hand off the wheel and the boat just stayed on course beatifully. The running rigging worked as it should and the simple things were also a joy - like the small locker for the tails ... So obvious when you have one to wonder why they're not standard everywhere.
I must admit to reservations at first regarding the square look of the windows - especially aft looking forward. However, this has since been more than compensated for by all the other benefits we see in the design. We were looking for a cruiser on the Med, not a twilight racer or an ocean going cruiser (yet). Howeve, if after a few years getting to know the boat we're comfortable with her sea keeping in rough weather .... then watch this space, Med to Australa here we come!
Looking for details is a nightmare ... Beneteau web site is very light ... Best to talk to a broker. There are few reviews - best one I found was tradeaboat.com.au

[MartinW]

Attached standard options specs ...

[witzgall]

The Sense boats are certainly interesting in both form and function.I look forward to reading about how these work out as long-term cruising boats, which is what they say they are built for.

Chris

[MartinW]

And one more interesting presentation on the reasons for the adoption of a mainsail arch here (too big to attach) ...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8461533/Sens...ail%20Arch.pdf