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Old 29-08-2010, 05:31   #1
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Beneteau Oceanis 331 - Opinions ?

I'm currently swinging between getting an 20 to 30 year old "quality" Swedish built yacht and a relatively new modern production boat.

So I have been looking around the broker sites for the new boats and the one that best fits my requirements. I'm after something around 34 foot, 2000+ and something that could be easily handled short-handed or solo and the Beneteau Oceanis 331 seems to fit the bill.

Unfortunately there are none for sale in Sweden, so I can't just easily do a quick inspection to see what they are like. So any general comments about them would be appreciated

PS looking at the fin keel and not the swing with 2 rudder.
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Old 29-08-2010, 06:10   #2
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Hoppy, we looked over one must be 3 years ago now. Biggest problem is they keep changing the model numbers and altering them slightly. Lots of plastic downstairs which would be easy to keep clean, but it wasn't wood. Twin rear cabins are quite narrow, not sure you could have two adults in there, Viv and I like a little space. There might be a single rear cabin model that would be better. Didn't buy into the charter timeshare scheme in the end and opted for our own older Moody instead. For us a good decision.

There are a whole raft of yachts in that size and price range to choose from. Infact thats your problem, too many.

What were you thinking of doing with her, sailing to? how many crew.

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Old 29-08-2010, 10:41   #3
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Thanks Pete.

The three I have eyed off over online are the owners versions. 34 ft do seem to be too small for the twin rear cabins.

I suppose there are a lot of boats to choose from but I have been biased towards Beneteau and Jeanneau when looking at production boats. The 331 best fits my age/price range at Beneteau and Jeanneau's So34.2 cancels itself out because headsail tracks/winches are on the cabin roof.

as for what, where and who.....Ultimately I want a boat I can handle by myself and a boat that would be just as good here in Stockholm or down in the Med. Then there is the possibility I will move back to Australia in 2012 and may consider bringing the yacht with me.

Right now I am thinking I should have the boat here, at least for next summer so I can maximise my sailing time to get up my skill and experience levels. I sailed a lot on 34ft boats 20 + years ago and memories from then makes me feel that 34ft is a good sized boat I can handle myself (once I get back up to speed)


I have just come back from looking at my 2nd Sweden Yachts 340. Such lovely boats with fantastic mahogany interiors and teak decks, so much nicer than any of the new boats I looked at before summer. I would love one of them but I am not sure if I am up to keeping one in the perfect condition they were in.

I feel like I am stuck between what I want verses what I should get verses what I deserve..

Theres a cheap high hours ex-charter 331 down your neck of the woods that is perhaps what I should get or perhaps not
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Old 29-08-2010, 11:27   #4
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Choose what ever yacht you fall in love with, that way you will keep her a long time and look after her like a baby. Maintaining a yacht that is in good condition is planned routine stuff, working on something that has been neglected is another story.

The Southampton Boat show is on in the UK this week, jump on a plane and fly over.

PSP Southampton Boat Show - Home
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Old 29-08-2010, 12:15   #5
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The Southampton Boat show is on in the UK this week, jump on a plane and fly over.

PSP Southampton Boat Show - Home
Err... it's actually in Sept. I'm trying to see if I can get down on the Tuesday.
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Old 29-08-2010, 12:39   #6
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Choose what ever yacht you fall in love with, that way you will keep her a long time and look after her like a baby. Maintaining a yacht that is in good condition is planned routine stuff, working on something that has been neglected is another story.

The Southampton Boat show is on in the UK this week, jump on a plane and fly over.

PSP Southampton Boat Show - Home
Cool.... and the correct date is better than "this week"
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Old 29-08-2010, 12:54   #7
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Oops, well spotted I was going on Tuesday

Worth contacting Ancasta to see if they have any free show tickets for buyers, especially if you coming from abroad, or even the show itself, certainly London Boatshow used to do free tickets for foreigners.


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Old 29-08-2010, 13:08   #8
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Oops, well spotted I was going on Tuesday
That would have been interesting for you... a bit like going to work on a Saturday and wondering why the office is empty.

If you plan to be there on Tuesday 14th maybe we'll bump into each other.
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Old 29-08-2010, 13:10   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hoppy View Post
I'm currently swinging between getting an 20 to 30 year old "quality" Swedish built yacht and a relatively new modern production boat.

So I have been looking around the broker sites for the new boats and the one that best fits my requirements. I'm after something around 34 foot, 2000+ and something that could be easily handled short-handed or solo and the Beneteau Oceanis 331 seems to fit the bill.
Hi Hoppy. I sail on a friends 34' Benny ocasionally. Your right, it is a good size to single hand although I don't know if it would be my choice to sail to Australia in.

On new v older, in my business I used to own a fleet of buses. We sometimes bought older (15years) that were well looked after and we sometimes bought brand new. The older ones saved us a lot of money at the time of purchase but cost us dearly with unplanned maintenance issues. I would not go down that road again. Unplanned maintenance seems to be needed at the worst possible time. Buying new means that you minimise unplanned maintenance, provided you don't skimp on the planned stuff. My first boat was 28 years old when I got it and I'm always spending money on planned and unplanned maintenance. My 2nd boat is being built at the moment and I'm hoping that my logic from the bus company will transfer to boats. Being a new boat, I know that I can plan for about 5 to 10 years before things start wearing out. There will always be minor unplanned issues but I should be able to avoid the expense of major component failure early in the boat's life. Just my $0.02 worth.

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Old 29-08-2010, 13:26   #10
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That would have been interesting for you... a bit like going to work on a Saturday and wondering why the office is empty.
at least there would be no queues to deal with
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Old 29-08-2010, 13:58   #11
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That would have been interesting for you... a bit like going to work on a Saturday and wondering why the office is empty.

If you plan to be there on Tuesday 14th maybe we'll bump into each other.
Great idea, a forum meet at the Boatshow, let me check with the boss at work, but shouldn't be a problem.

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Old 29-08-2010, 14:08   #12
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Your right, it is a good size to single hand although I don't know if it would be my choice to sail to Australia in.
If I was to take the boat to Aus, I would be shipping and not sailing it there

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I know that I can plan for about 5 to 10 years before things start wearing out.
This is one of the reasons why I keep changing my mind between old and newer boats. The newer boats in my price range are close to 10 years old which then makes me wonder if I am gaining much. The old boats potentially have many newer components as a result of the upgrade cycle that the newer boats may not have gone started with.

I have been looking at both the 34 & 340 from Sweden yachts. The two 340's I have seen have the original 21 year old motors whilst the 30 year old 34's have motors were replaced between 1 and 10 years ago.

I suppose comparing the Beneteau 331 and the SY340 is like comparing a recent used Volvo S80 and a 20 year old S class Merc. Not helping myself here..

I think I need to take a trip to check out a couple of 331's to see if they inspire me or maybe I should just go to the boat show and order a new Bavaria 32. The swim deck is quite cool and I have always liked Farr yachts
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Old 29-08-2010, 14:20   #13
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Boats are a combination of mechanical systems that have reasonably well understood service lives. If you start with a sound hull, you should be able to figure out where you stand, systemwise. Most ten year-old boats have had no system replacements and are coming do. There are 25 year-old boats out there that have had total system replacement. I'd rather the latter than the former, but that's just me.
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