Offshore Sailing a Beneteau Blue 2

[Michiel]

I'm in the proces of purchasing a cruising cat. Given my wishes and budget the blue2 is a nominee for sure.

Somebody told me the only drawback of the blue2 is creaking and squeaking noise it makes. This would be provoked by the joints between the glassfiber hulls, saloon and the alluminium beams.

Can anyone tell me how serious this problem is ? If so, is there a solutions for this problem?

I also would like to know if the fixed keels are strong enough to put the boat on the beach at low tide.

Any other recommandations for buying this boat are certainly welcome.

[Adaero]

The Blue II I have been on was on a drying mooring and sat on the mud twice a day so I would have though beaching would be fine.
Sorry can't give you any answers on your other points.

[FOCUS]

I have owned my Blue II since April. I am very pleased with it's performance and construction. I was told when I bought a cat to really inspect the joint between the main cabin and the hauls because of the stress in this area. The Blue II has a gasket that allows for movement with less stress. I have not sailed on any other cat so I not sure if there is more noise or not. Also, I have spent more time on my boat at the dock working on it than sailing. I knew she needed a lot of work when I bought the boat.
When I found my cat I did not think I could get into one at this price. So for the money I don't think you can beat the boat.

[camplong]

According to the guy I bought my Blue 2 from, who has worked for Benteau for 30 years and has buult two beautifull cats (44' and 48'), the creaking is nothing to worry about. The boat is designed to be dismantled into three pieces for shipment. The noise is the joints squeeking.

[camplong]

To all Beneteau Blue 2 owners:

Check your foreward cross beam mounting nuts located on the inside of the hull forward of the bulkhead. These are the big bolts that hold the cross member to each hull. One owner reported that Beneteau had used mild steel nuts on stainless bolts and after 18 years the nuts had completely corroded (due to galvanic action between the different metals).

If these nuts fail the cross member will come loose from the hull(s) with potentially disasterous results. The mast could come down. The hulls will have no lateral support at the bow.

I've been told that the only way to verify that the nuts are OK is visual inspection. This means that you have to gain access to the nuts (without damaging the hulls). One way is to cut a hole in the forward wooden bulkhead. If your using a flexible scope with a camera the hole will only need to be small. Since this is a watwertight bulkhead so all holes should be repaired afterward.

[FOCUS]

I will check it out right away. Thanks so much. My boat was in a huricane about 4 years ago. They kep it at a slip with concrete board walk. The boat was still floating after the storm, most others not. The noses were gone as it hit the concrete. Nice to have a water tight bulkhead. I was told by my surveyor that you have to have a way to see inside the front compartment if I was ever inspected by the Coast Guard. Since he was a retired Coasty I figured he knew what he was talking about. I have since put in 8" screw-in inspection ports. He said without a way to see inside the coast guard could make their own, especially if they expect you might have drugs in there.
I am working on the galley. I am putting in corian counter tops and new faucet. Also "wine cellar". I am having a local guy fabricate a frame for a hard top. Didn't you say you have a hard top?

[SafariBlue]

Hi folks, I bought Beneteau Blue II 'Safari Blue' earlier this year. Right now she's out of the water having work done on her, mainly overhaul stuff. One of the biggest problems I have though is leaking windows. Has anyone tried replacing theirs?

Thanks

Peter

[camplong]

To Safari Blue:

My windows were replaced but they still leak. I caulked with Sikaflex but they still leaked. This year I tried GE caulking (polysulphide) which appears to be working.

[SafariBlue]

Thanks, that's really useful to know. I wonder though whether the windows leak because the material expands under heat? The long front windscreens are going to expand/contract, what, anything up to a 1/3" between cold winters and hot summers, that's asking a lot for an adhesive to cope with.

Apart from that as I work on the boat I intend putting photos up on Flickr, it would be good so share photos of work done and problems solved. Likewise I find the Google (free!) webpages are a good resource for putting up info and photos. Watch this space...

Cheers.

[FOCUS]

My front windows were replaced 2 years ago. When I bought the boat they leaked. I had the boat painted this year and I removed all the calk and replaced at the yard. They still leak but only a little. I will check with the yard and see what kind of calk they used.
With a new hard top, new paint, and I have 2 new yanmar 3ym20s ready to go in, I should be able to call her a 1987/2009 boat. The port motor is already out and working on cleaning up the engine "room".

[FOCUS]

SafariBlue, I am back. Yea, I want to see photos. I will try to post new ones soon here of my boat. I get great ideas of projects. I replaced my sole in the hulls with teak and holly. Also replaced counter top in the galley with corian.
Tom

[tomonguam]

Are any of you Beneteau Blue II owners still out there? I have a Blue II on the Island of Guam in the Northern Marianas. I believe it was the last one ever built and was shipped to Japan in containers where it was commissioned. I have had it for ten years and am getting ready for a major haul and upgrade. I have a pair of 3GM30 Yanmars going in with Aquadrives to smooth it out.
More stuff if I hear from anyone.
Tom

[all-wet]

I am not a current owner, but am currently looking at a Blue 2 as a potential buyer. I am looking to do a 4 hour drive to inspect in the next few weeks and would like to educate myself so as to rule it out, confirm it as a prospect and be prepared to give it a good look over. Any and all info you can provide would be most helpful. My plans are mostly coastal cruising on the California coast, liveaboard for myself and sometimes my girlfriend 4 months out of the year with occasional longer passages into Mexico, the Sea of Cortez, mainland Mexico. Are offshore passages a reasonable expectation? Anything you've got would help as info seems to be limited on these boats in the US. Potential problem areas particular to this boast, bridgedeck clearance/performance into weather, quality of build..... anything!

[tomonguam]

Greetings all-wet,
Not sure where to start. I like the boat well enough to be looking at a major upgrade prior to retirement. The build of the boat is tough as nails. It has the two main aluminum crossbeams; one aft and one under the mast, and a third lighter one forward. Kind of like a monster Hobie cat. Keeps the boat very structurally stiff. I have seen minimal fiberglass checking / crazing etc. The boat is actually made in three pieces; the two hull / cabin structures and the main salon. You could blow out the main salon and the boat would still be rigid.
as far as going to weather, she's a cat without boards. really not bad (35 degrees?) but don't plan on monohull sailing angles. We routinely sail at 9-12 knots in a decent breeze, so we can make up for the angle.
I have had few major problems, but don't expect to get ANY help from Beneteau. The lexan windows have been replaced once and are due again after 12(?) years. it's a problem for me as there is no one here who does any plastic work at all. The hardware was all French and has been replaced as needed with Harken and Ronstan; nothing weird.
She runs well under twin 20hp diesels, has 100 gallons of water in flex tanks, plenty of storage, great cockpit. We sail to islands north of Guam easily making 100 miles per day running as close to the wind as we can. She does pound in a chop, can't really leave anything on the cabin table going to weather.
That's all I have time for right now, send me additional questions and I will respond as quickly as I can. If you want to talk on the phone we can set that up too.
Tom

[andreas.mehlin]

I was very close buying one in Tunisia a couple of years ago.
It was a great deal but needed some work done, but most important was that I found it to be to small.

The Saloon seating is very good/big. Most of these cats have had problem with the headliner falling off.

The hulls feels very small with a cramped toilet and galley.
The cockpit is small.