Beneteau First 235 Forums

nquigley · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 12:57 pm Post subject: F235s for sale in Europe

There are about 5 F235s for sale in Europe now, via Yachtworld.com:

Euro F235 Listings

Also, have a look at the 'Specifics' link of the boat in France asking E15,000 (US$18,170) - it has a portal in the cockpit knee wall AND a little round one (presumably it opens too) in the head/nav station.

Yachtworld French F235
_________________
Neil Quigley
Ericson 32-2 'Molto Bene'
Knoxville, TN
(ex - F235 #252 'Traveler')

alisdairs · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:20 pm Post subject:

On that French boat...what is that behind the table - something for a lifting keel ?

nquigley · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:48 pm Post subject:

Frodo · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 1:59 pm Post subject: Glassed in Keel

Here it is!!!
http://beneteau235.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=680&start=0
_________________
~Frodo
Crescent Yacht Club
4-Play...for now, Crush...(when we get the graphics changed) it'll go with Squirt, our sailing dinghy!
1988, #129 Wing Keel

www.crescentyachtclub.org

alisdairs · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:48 pm Post subject:

Wow - that is a LONG keel - interesting to read through the post and see all the different views and pros / cons versus swing / wing / etc...

nquigley · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject:

alisdairs · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 3:09 pm Post subject:

Remind me of a Boat Show stand I was building years ago. We had a Beneteau Oc400 turn up for positioning on the stand in a cradle. Trouble is, there had been a mis-communication with the French and the boat arrived in a very small cradle, with NO keel attached.

Our stand design included a 'double deck' c/w stairs, etc so the boat had to be approx 4 feet higher than it was. In the end our stand contractors made two huge wooden 'boxes' to put under each end of the small cradle and lift boat to correct height.

If you could have seen FOUR forklifts all trying to lift a corner each of the cradle at the same time, while we then slid these boxes under each end...'brown trousers' all round as us Brits would say !

Luckily it all worked out OK in the end !

abstrait · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 3:32 pm Post subject:

I still shake my head at the sight of that shot. Leave it to the beneteau235.com forum members to be anal about some things, while others, like the almost absurd notion of "glassing" in a lifting keel, seems fine. You can never read these guys. This application has so many issues, it seems more than I can count, most of them covered.

One of the things I have always preferred is the reduction of movable parts below the waterline, especially dealing with HEEEAVY objects. The maintenance issues of swing keels, whether cable or worm roller, is always going to be an issue, especially in highly corrosive environments. Having any gearing/cable operating an object of such mass and weight via an open hole in the bottom has never struck me as good, especially as the boat ages. I have seen so many swing keel issues in the past from Catalinas etc (which are cable versions) that I try to steer clear. The two BIG advantages are the shallow water aspect with the added ability of dropping a deep keel when needed for pointing and the EASE of launching from trailer as the boat is just so much lower. When you bring in the liabilities, they start to add up, most covered in that thread.

As for that guy that GLASSED his keel, I see so many points of contention that it's hard to know where to begin. I keep forgetting to add that beast to the site though. I have never seen anything quite like it. I guess it solved his leaking issues....for the time and being until he runs aground at 5knts on a hard bottom....ouch.

kh
_________________
Kelly Holsten ï¿½ abstrait
'89 "clear" WK | Hull #327
www.beneteau235.com

Frodo · Posted: Wed Jan 11, 2006 3:38 pm Post subject:

Hey Kelly,

Maybe you can get him to write an entry of "Owner Mods"-heh
_________________
~Frodo
Crescent Yacht Club
4-Play...for now, Crush...(when we get the graphics changed) it'll go with Squirt, our sailing dinghy!
1988, #129 Wing Keel

www.crescentyachtclub.org

audeojude · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:25 am Post subject:

Swing keels are great in usage but I've seen first hand how it can go wrong..
the block attached to my swing keel which the cable goes through "on Comes Around Goes Around my santana 21" exploded and the cable snapped.. I thought it had ripped the bottom out of the boat when 550 lbs of cast iron went from almost all the way up to down in a second. If it had compromised the integritey of the hull I would have sunk. To maintain it or fix it you have to totally remove the keel from the boat not a easy thing for an owner to do.. It requires lifting the boat off of the keel.

I still like using one.. great windward performance down.. very good downwind performance up and under 2 ft draft in the up position.....
_________________
Scott Carle
Sea Puppy
Hull # 27
Wing Keel
Conway, SC

abstrait · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:34 am Post subject:

There are a number of reports of Catalinas being holed, sinking from dropped keels. I helped sell my friend's Catalina 25 and while in the water at our dock, the cable gave way and the keel luckily hit the bottom before going to full extension. Preventive maintenance is a must with swing keel boats because neglect can cause serious issues. At least the F235 is a worm roller affair. There are more than a few reports of part wear and leaking, unfortunately. But those swings at full extension can be beasts upwind.

kh
_________________
Kelly Holsten ï¿½ abstrait
'89 "clear" WK | Hull #327
www.beneteau235.com

audeojude · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:49 am Post subject:

The way my santana is designed it is very dry.. there is no possibility of leaks. The only way you could get leaks is around the 6 keel bolts if you ripped them out of the bottom of the hull.... but i wouldn't put it past that potentially happening .. when it fell on us the whole boat jumped in the water hard.. and when it stops its not a downward force its down and to the front which is pushes up on the front keel bolts and down on the back ones.
_________________
Scott Carle
Sea Puppy
Hull # 27
Wing Keel
Conway, SC

abstrait · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:22 am Post subject:

audeojude · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:38 am Post subject:

not sure if i can describe it and I didn't take good pictures when we had it off..
for what I do have go here and look
http://www.scottcarle.com/wordpress/?p=51

in simple the keel is a two part keel.. a cast iron top that bolts to the boat with six keel bolts. and the pivoting blade that is attached to the part that bolts to boat.. the keel box inside is only for the top of the keel to pivot thru.. and has no openings to the inside of the boat other than the hole the cable comes straight down through the top to go to the block on the bolted on part of the keel at the bottom of the box and then back up to the top of the swinging blade. this opening on the inside is well above the waterline.. by as much as 18 inches maybe. anyway I have never seen the least amount of water come up through it.

so in the end it is like a fixed keel that has a swinging component that comes up through the center of the fixed keel...

make sense? lol.. im confused now and and I have taken it apart and put it back together.. its simple in practice.. just hard to describe.
_________________
Scott Carle
Sea Puppy
Hull # 27
Wing Keel
Conway, SC

abstrait · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 12:01 pm Post subject:

Ok, I see. A complete explanation is located on the Santana site as well. I cant believe that beast relies on that block. Nice to see the pivot pin is in the iron and not the fibreglass but many of the issues remain. Sure pays to replace the cable BEFORE it gets compromised. At any rate, you're done worrying about that headache from now on! heh...

http://www.santanasailboats.com/history/santana21.htm
_________________
Kelly Holsten ï¿½ abstrait
'89 "clear" WK | Hull #327
www.beneteau235.com

audeojude · Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:06 pm Post subject:

yep .. that block was a bugger.. should have seen the old one.. looked like it exploded from the inside...

the new one has a 2000 lb working strength and 4000 breaking strength...
_________________
Scott Carle
Sea Puppy
Hull # 27
Wing Keel
Conway, SC