Beneteau Swift 42

[aviatorth]

So I've identified a few Beneteau Swift 42s that are of interest to me and started digging into details of the boat's design.

To my absolute horror I found the following in the brochure:

HULL Composition:
• Sandwich (Polyester resin - Glass fiber / Balsa core)
• White gel coat
• Structural hull counter moulding in monolithic laminate (Polyester resin - Glass fiber)

Now... I may be biased here because I've been privy to a lot of the benefits of properly constructed GRP hulls (friends Nordhavn I wish I could afford for instance). But are modern constructions like this as reliable as well constructed GRP? Any Swift Trawler (particularly Swift 42) oweners able to chime in?

[Bruce Beard]

We just built a new American Tug 395 that we took delivery of last year. Although the hull on ours is solid laminate, they in fact use balsa coring in a couple of spots in the deck. When I learned of this I too was distressed. After a long discussion on the virtues of Balsa coring and the strength it can add if used properly, they did offer to build our deck with other coring materials if we chose. In the end we elected to go with the Balsa.
I believe a lot depends on the manufacturer and the construction of the boat.
I’d find a good surveyor familiar with the Swift line to speak to on the subject...
Bruce

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by aviatorth

Now... I may be biased here because I've been privy to a lot of the benefits of properly constructed GRP hulls

What benefits are they?
Tiara Yachts are using balsa too. Unless you are going to drill holes in the hull, you will never know what is below the gelcoat.