Beneteau Oceanis 461

[martin]

I would appreciate any and all oppinions on this model as I am in the middle of negotiation on the purchase of a two cabin owners version, lightly used 1998.
I know there are a lot of choices but sometimes deals come along.....
Great Lakes cruising.
Thanks in advance for for any advise, Martin

[Paul Ouellette]

Martin :

Four years ago, friends of ours took their 461 to the east coast, Ches Bay, & then went south with the West Marine Caribbean 1500 to the BVI & have been cruising the islands since then.

I'd suggest you contact them to ask their opinion as to what they think of the boat.

They are Ken & Cindy Zigmund aboard "Secret of Life".

You can find their email address in our "fleet" listings at www.clubbeneteau.com

Regards, Paul.
www.winpipe.ca

[martin]

Thanks Paul, I have emailed them and look forward to a response.
You have a wonderful website!
May the winter speed by for us and April be around the corner ! Martin

[forcemajeure]

Martin,

I purchased a '97 two cabin model (also a lightly used great lakes boat) about two years ago. Because there are so many used charter 461's, it seems to have depressed the market price for this model. I used this to my advantage and picked up a spotless freshwater boat with 200 engine hours for $150k. I have seen many of the charter versions (3 and 4 cabins), and what I have doesn't even compare to one of those "rode-hard-and-put-away-wet" boats.

The 461 won Cruising World's Best Value award in '97, and still seems to be a lot of boat for the money. You will find many naysayers in the cruising community about anything "Beneteau", but when you dig for specifics, they all come up empty. There are many boats built for many purposes. The design and features of the 461 lead me to believe that the boat was built for island hopping and getting where you are going quickly and in relative comfort. There are many 35'+ Bene's that have sailed around the world, crossed the Atlantic, etc. While it's not a Morris or a Hinckley, it's also about half a million less.

This is my third Beneteau in 16 years, and I am currently outfitting her for a 2 year cruise in the islands. I am quite sure she will serve me well.

PS. My boat had virtually nothing on it when I bought it, which I preferred. I will likely have about $35k more into it when I am ready to cruise. My main list of upgrades:

Raymarine C70 w/ radar
AIS receiver
26,000 BTU A/C
Victron MultiPlus Inverter/Charger
Well Marine Radar Arch/Dinghy Davits
20gal/hour watermaker
3.5kW genset
Hard top dodger and bimini
Upgraded lighting and fans
600 amp/hr battery bank
150 W Solar panels
Wind generator

Cheers,

Jeff
Force Majeure

[martin]

Jeff, just received an email from a cruising couple which bought your boat axacly and have been down on the carribean four years. What a wonderful testimonial for the model. They love it, are first to most anchorages, have had no problems with systems, and are constantly holding happy hour because the 461 two cabin has so much room ! (that was the downside)
I pray that the deal goes through for me and I'm following you down south in a couple years...Thanks, Martin

[Paul Ouellette]

Hey Martin :

Was that my friends Ken & Cindy ?

If so...might you post here what they had to say ?

Just curious.

[martin]

Paul, yes it was them. I will look at forwarding the email into this forum ?
Extremely good people ! Thanks again. Martin

[Hal]

Martin,

I have been looking at Bene's for some time. I would grab one like that in a heartbeat. Sounds like you already have.

Jeff,

Love your upgrades

Hal

[mythryal]

I would just like to post another glowing report on our 461. After living 4 years onboard our oceanis 461 and having sailed more than 25000 miles including atlantic crossings bothways and in strong wind conditions, both forward and aft of the beam. I would say that these are lovely safe and extremely competent ocean cruisers, exactly what they are built for. We have fast passages and have sailed in over 30knts. What I would say about free advice from armchair sailors is that it is worth exactly what it cost :-)

[GulfportGeorge]

Hi All, my wife and I are looking at buying a well equipped 2000 Beneteau 461. Everything is in working order, but with 15 year old electronics we are wondering if we will need to replace all of it sooner rather than later. The Yanmar is virtually new, but some of the electronics are discontinued (Raytheon ST-6000+ Autopilot, Raymarine ST-60 Tri-Data) and we are wondering when we should upgrade. We live in Florida and plan to sail to the Islands, Cuba, Mexico etc. Your answers will help make the decision to buy her. She is in above average condition otherwise. Thanks!

[hoppy]

I have a yacht from 2002. Still has the original ST60 instruments and AP with a ST6002 controller. I did upgrade my MFD as I like the latest electronics and I added some extra ST60's as I have twin helm and only one had instruments.

I am toying with either replacing my AP or getting a new one and leaving the old one as backup, but that is because I sail solo and may do the Atlantic.

I believe you can still get charts for the older RM units.

Anyway, I don't think those electronics should be a deal breaker especially if they work.


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