beneteau 34 sailboat

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Beneteau 34: 2009 Best Value

• By Mark Pillsbury
• Updated: December 12, 2008

Beneteau34st

The final morning for Boat of the Year sea trials dawned a crisp one, with 15 to 25 knots of north wind whipping up a good chop on the Chesapeake. It was a perfect time, perhaps, to sail a big, dry boat, but our first ride of the day was the Beneteau 34. We needn’t have worried. This stiff little cruiser stood up to its canvas like a champ, and nary a drop of the bay landed in the cockpit as the judges tacked and reached back and forth, each eager to take a turn at the helm.

And when the furling mainsail and nonoverlapping jib were finally stowed away and the motoring drill completed, the judges stepped off the Groupe Finot-designed sloop and declared it to be the year’s Best Value. As judge Tim Murphy noted, the 34 was the least expensive of the cruising sailboats we looked at, but by the numbers, its performance under sail ranked in the top third, and according to the judges’ fun meter, the sailing feel-good quotient was off the scale.

The 34 is at the small end of the new Beneteau range of boats with interior styling by Nauta. Below, straight lines dominate the furniture, counters, and shelving. Double berths in the forward cabin and the athwartships aft cabin flank the saloon, which has U-shaped seating to port, a settee to starboard, and a centerline table.

On deck, the helmsman has easy access to primary winches, which are located just forward of a wheel that’s leather covered and wide enough that you can sit outboard to steer. Because the mainsheet is led to a winch on the cabin top, the skipper must leave the wheel to trim the main, but on this boat, the helm stays put when left on its own, and the end of the cockpit’s not far away. Moving about topside, the judges appreciated good handholds on the sides of the dodger and the nonskid molded into the curved edge of the cabin top. It was these sorts of details-often lacking on more expensive boats-plus its sailing performance that make the Beneteau 34, they concluded, a heck of a buy for the money.

JUDGES’ NOTES

• The cockpit locker is gasketed and heldopen with a gas strut.
• Under way in a good breeze, the Beneteau 34 was stiff and quiet below.
• All through-hulls and the propeller shaft are easily accessible.

To access CW’s complete 2009 Sailboat Show and Boat of the Year contest coverage, click here . To read Cruising World reviews of Beneteau sailboats, click here . To visit Beneteau America’s website, click here .

• More: beneteau , Boat of the Year , sailboat , Sailboats
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Beneteau 34

The beneteau 34 is a 33.92ft fractional sloop designed by finot / conq assoc. and built in fiberglass by beneteau since 2008..

The Beneteau 34 is a light sailboat which is a reasonably good performer. It is stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a coastal cruiser. The fuel capacity is originally small. There is a short water supply range.

Beneteau 34 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Beneteau 34

Beneteau 34 is a 33 ′ 11 ″ / 10.3 m monohull sailboat designed by Jean Marie Finot (Groupe Finot) and built by Beneteau starting in 2008.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Shallow draft vers: draft- 4.5’ ballast - 3556 lbs. Similar to OCEANIS 34 built in France.

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We built our first sailboats over 135 years ago and many things have changed since then. The oak we once relied on has been replaced with strong but lightweight resin and carbon fiber. Where canvas once caught the wind, now it’s Kevlar and Vectran. We’ve transformed dark, confining saloons and cabins into bright, open living spaces. And the list of innovations in hull design and navigation continues to grow at a rapidly increasing pace.

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