I been using my
beneteau first 26 for bleuwater the last couple of years , but you need to do a lot of
refit , in my opinion 30 to 34 feet is ideal.
Now to give you an idea the changes I have done :
Replace toe rail with different design
Replace the hole forestay chainplate to stronger and different design , replace backstay chainplate , my boat came with a fractional
mast so I have
running backstays adding extra strength
Add 5mm backing plate to every fitting on
deck
Replace opening windows with 10mm plexiglass glass
I do my best to keep the boat as light as possible and have efficient sparea
Through I been crusing in the
med and
canaries without
water maker my 100litter tank is not enough for more than 3 weeks so I added a
water maker ( I could add an extra tank but you can't overload a
small boat )
Add
wind generator
Add
solar panel (not much but just enough )
The
interior of my boat is not Spartan , it's pretty spacious for the size but God I would love to have
shower inside .
I have replace all the
rigging and roller
I do have storm sail , storm trysail , 2 Genoa's and 2
mainsail (sailmakers are making small boats
sails lighter so you gonna destroy some of them )
I made the
rudder mounts stronger by spreading the weight half on the bottom
hull (micro skeg) and half on the transform.
Those all some.of the changes I did and the boat needs a lot more ,
After the last
survey the estimated cost of the boat plus
gear is 38.000 euro , without calculating the
work hours .
Do I regret it ???
Hell no I love this boat everything is cheap and easy to
repair , do I recoment someone else to do it ????
No except if you really knowing where you are
diving in , small boats are nice and safe but they are uncomfortable , slow and wet .
It's better to spend the money for a 30footer if you are going for a long run .
Now 4 years after the
purchase I am looking for the next boat that will be 34 feet so I can
cruise with girlfriend