Is a BENETEAU suited to Bluewater Sailing? (BOAT TOUR & REVIEW) ⛵️ | Ep 24 

Kudos to both of you. I have read and written many marine technical documents during my 30+ year career as a Naval Architect. Your E-Book is very well done and a must-have for anyone planning to do blue water passages on a 40 to 46 foot Beneteau Oceanis of our vintage (2007 to 2012). These boats are very similar to each other in so many ways. It is now filed in my boat's e-library. Thanks for taking the time to publish it!

People swim across the channel, row across the Atlantic and we applaud them. Do what you want. A 40ft Beneteau in comparison is a perfectly rational choice of boat, and I believe your upgrades are very well judged. A modern production boat has many advantages in design, equipment and cost. Ignore the naysayers - you're young and living the dream and your boat enables that, and I'm sure you love her for it. I say well done to both of you.

Jeez! I’m no expert but I’d go anywhere with you guys!

Great job! Added to my cruising guidelines, thank you for providing this kind of information.

the most important piece of equipment is the brains aboard. you are top of the line in that department! safe travels!

Great to hear from you both. Great blog. Say safe and our prayers are with you crossing the pacific. Amazing experience, best of care.xx

Great video, very descriptive and informative. Thank you.

Good stuff again team, nice clean video with plenty of good content.

Great video, straight to the point, no BS. Really like the way you’ve set up the boat, especially the rig. Excellent organization of gear and equipment. 👍🏻

Hi guys, this is just the best video, lots of stuff that we are considering, was so interesting and learnt heaps. Really well done, stacks of relevant, initiative advise. Can’t thank you enough for the time you took and your generous in sharing it. So good to see and hear from thinking sailors. We watch so many RU-vid sailors and love getting tips this way but this video is at another level and so professional, love it. Thank you so much.

Well done Sam & Nicole, super informative video. I will need to go and buy a copy of your ebook too.

Thoughtful and thorough preps, and I can't fault your basic premise: If you are thoughtful about the production boat you choose for trade wind ocean crossings, and then you strengthen its abilities to match the demands of long distance cruising, you should have no regrets. Excellent presentation - congratulations!

Hi Sam & Nicole Just watched arguably one of the most informative videos for anyone with an interest in crossing an ocean in a production boat. Your openess with information is to be applauded. As you know we are in the process of planning our our journey and this video has given a lot of pointers and food for thought for us to ponder on. Thank you again. Keep safe.

Really liked this video .Full of knowledge built from experience.Saved it to my boat library for future reference 👍👍. Subscribed as well

A really great overview of all of the important systems. Thank you for putting this together.

I love your videos, they have a great style and tone - please keep it up. Having discovered your channel this week I have just binge watched it all. We have an Oceanis 361 from 2003 which we purchased this year - our plan is to build experience and confidence sailing the West Coast of Scotland and North of Ireland for the next few years and then when we retire we hope to buy a slightly bigger boat - 40/45ft and see where life takes us ( somewhere warmer...). The Oceanis range of boats are certainly blue water capable with a few upgrades and careful planning. Fair winds and looking forward to seeing the rest of your adventure. 👍. Just downloaded your ebook too 👍

Very well thought out improvements and attention to crucial components for Bluewater sailing and cruising. Thanks for the videos. Fair winds.

Thanks for the video! It seems the answer is a definitely YES. As long as you invest on necessary upgrades. I specially like the changes to the rigging. Makes sailing life easier and definitely safer than the original set up.

Your book is an absolutely fantastic resource. For only $10 it’s a steal and a no-brainer. Many thanks 🙏 to you for doing this work. Very very helpful.

Great boat. Our friend Mark is 1.5 times around the planet on his Beneteau 393. Stay sail/cutter rig is probably the main 'bluewater' safety feature, as is your attention to detail and wear items.

Hello .... big congratulations !!!! It is one of the best videos I have seen, not only addressing the situation about production sailboats such as "blue waters", but also because of the order and logic posed in front of each fraction required to sail safely on the high seas or in a lagoon. . I am preparing a Jeanneau 469 with the same concepts and I felt very pleased and reflected with what they have done. Only that I will go against the traffic, from Chile to Europe, including Norway in some of my routes

Great information! Making a list of the modifications I need to do

Wonderful work. Looking forward to reading more in your ebook. Much of what you’ve shown seems transferable to my B411. Salute!

Thanks for this boat tour. Lots of things that you have upgrated are really pragmatic especially when you cross oceans. Many things that I will retain on my side, sure !

Great video(s) you are making. Love to follow them. We (family of four) crossed the Pacific in a similar boat in 2018. Looking forward to watch the rest of your journey. Hope to see you Raroia/Kontiki Motu some time❤️ fair winds and following seas.

Great video I’m also a Kiwi and have the Oceanis 43, love the boat got caught in a southeast low off the Queensland East Coast and it preformed well but does need a 3rd reef.I have 20 sq meter Solent setup, great in heavy weather. I love the fact that they are a fast cruising boat couldn’t stand going slow cheers Jay.

Just watched your video regarding your systems on your boat. I was very impressed with your thoroughness with each system, it is very apparent you worked through each system completely. Kudos, a lot of people think that you just get on a boat and go. Just take a look at sailing gbu

Have a Dufour 470 and have been cataloging many of the same tasks to complete to go “blue water”. You two have lived it in a typical production boat and made it work. Thank you for putting all your experience into a e-book reference that is well worth the price of a couple beers.

Excellent video and prep work. Time to go!!

From another kiwi, an excellent video. I have had 4 Beneteau's and loved them all. Your boat is an excellent example. Congratulations.

PS to my post below. Every Sailboat I have had has been a Conventional Rig with Classic Mast and Main Sail with Lazy Jacks and Stack Packs and Hank on Sails, apart from my last boat which had a Furling Genoa on a basic Sloop with no inner forestry (I don’t like them tbh) Maximum fun was bouncing around on the foredeck changing Sails, loved it. They all can be made to work but Disability forced on me learn what a total pain in the backside to work with a Classic Mast really is, hence my Conversion to - after a serious look into them in Mast Furling, and the UV protection they can offer. Battens in them cause serious wear and tear, and seriously shorten the Life of already short lived Crosscut Dacron Sails and seriously reduce furling and unfurling reliability. So as a Cruiser looking for Reliability and a long Service Life Shape maintaining Sail, I started looking for a Sailmaker that would make me a Triradial Furling Battenless Main. It turned out to be quite a long search. Usually only getting the response “We Only Make Batten Ones” Eventually, I got a Yes, we’ve made a number of them, and if you need heavy duty Offshore specification, just tick the box on the order form - this from Precision Sails, and much to my surprise, they added, that the Triradial Construction recovers most of the power lost by having No Battens ! Wow. Now they do cost from about double a Crosscut Dacron Sail, but instead of being Stretched and buggered inside three years, with occasional Valeting, and re stitching, they can maintain their shape well for over 20 years- So cost per year of Service Life Plummets. Same goes for a Furling Triradial Genoa too as Reinforced Reefing Points to retain shape can be added. Partially Furl a Crosscut Dacron one, and the Sail Shape can be buggered within a few hours. So I’m thinking of about around a 140% Triradial Genoa, to have enough Sail room to properly fit three Reefing points, or a self tacking Jib plus a Furling Reaching Code Zero to fill in the Wind angle gaps plus a Furling Gennaker depending on Sailmaker advice. Since, other Sailmakers, including Quantum, Ullman, and others have started offering Battenless Furling Triradial Mainsails as well, so things look up. Bob. 👍⛵️🌟🌟🌟

Your boat is DIALD. Well done. I love it and would cross oceans with you guys all day long 👍🏻.

You guys inspire me to get going on my journeys! We’ll be checking out that ebook soon.. Cheers 😊⛵️😊

That is the cleanest and most organized boat! Jeesh!!

First time viewer and very pleased with your presentation and your provisions for safety. I'll like and subscribe, too. Safe travels.

Outstanding and insightful job. Bought the book too! Thanks for sharing.

I bought the e-book and skimmed it. It looks to be a concise and useful collection of what's probably been many hours of research for you. I'm learning as much as I can about sailing because that will probably be the next adventure when we have had a few years traveling in the bus. It'll be awhile... Likely when the nest is empty.

The sheeting angles can make a huge difference with rolling. Use tweakers and adjust the raveller to make it as comfortable as possible. Then sometimes a slow roll in a swell can improve performance greatly. Its called ooching.

I think a lot of people could use this video as an example of how to impart wisdom with just the right amount of detail in an articulate no nonsense but friendly way . Its sort of ok ploughing through the mumblings and meanderings of happy folk with the details of their passion project but this is so different and a joy to watch . Not to mention what an excellent job youve done with the boat ! I feel you two have rare skills. Thank you so much

Well done guys. I had an Oceanis 40 such a great sailing boat but I only sailed up and down the Windward islands. The one thing I did not have was a water maker. Would not sail again without one. Enjoy and safe travels.

The Quartermaster* Very impressive and well thought out! One thing that we carried on our Beneteau 40 c/c was a Luke 3pc. 80lb, fisherman storm anchor. This saved tons of space when broken down and could be put together with just 3 large locking pins. 100 ft of three eights triple strength chain and 300 ft, of three quarters triple braid nylon rode. When things looked hairy it was nice to know it was on board! Best wishes and safe travels!

Great vid, well put together and thought out. The main question ‘is this boat good enough for ocean crossings’ is fairly simple to answer. Every boat has somewhere a builder’s data plate, on this plate you’ll find reference to a ‘design category’ - A, B, C or D. Category A is ‘Ocean’ - designed to be capable and self sufficient in wind that may exceed force 8 and wave heights in excess of 4m. Obviously there are boats out there in category B (offshore), C (inshore) and D (sheltered waters) that are taken across oceans but consider the implications of your insurance not paying out should something happen and you have to bail into the life raft with your beacon. FYI Oceanis 40 is Class A, as are most boats above 30 ft.

Fabulous video and very informative . Living the dream.

Hi! This is the first video I've seen from your RU-vid Channel. I'm very impress with all the details you have gone thru. Thank you for putting this out. Subscribing!

Tidy and clean boat, nice video!

Great information, cheers

Hy guys, from my heart you look like a really true couple, all the best to you, knock on wood! I was 10days in quarantene so i had time to watch all yr episodes. Great job, for sure not another usual sailing couple. Fair Winds⛵ and cheers to the Beaver! 🥂

I saw one in 5-6 m seas and it did excellent! From Africa to the Caribbean.

A) there are more beneteaus on the ocean than all other brands combined, and more crossing oceans than any other single brand. B) you can cross in anything if you watch the weather window properly.

Great stuff very valuable info👍👍

Great taste in music in this video. Great content. Well done!

Awesome descriptions. Lovely life. Keep living it

great explanation easy well structured well done. thank you . Klaus

Looks like a great setup! Thanks

Really good video guys, lots to consider👍🏻X

We crossed the atlantic 3 years ago on our B43 which is quite similar to your boat. We made this first crossing with the boat as we bought it. We are now preparing to leave next summer for a 5 year trip and replaced, modified, reinforced a lot of stuff. New sails, purpose made (reinforced). New sprayhood and bimini with 400 watt semi flexible pv panels on the bimini. Lithium batteries and modification of alternator charging to protect alternator. New motormounts, replaced all standing rigging with dieform. Installed watermaker, …. And the list goes on and on. With our experience i could maybe make some small additions to your ebook

excellent video, well done!

Excellent job setting up the boat for offshore. You might consider mounting the EPIRB on the cockpit rail. If you get rolled over at night, or have a fire which can fill the boat with smoke in a matter of seconds, you can't get to the EPIRB and it can't float free. Speaking of getting rolled, a bluewater boat will have a higher ballast to weight ratio and a narrower hull so that it comes back upright even in a severe knock down. Hull shape and weight also give a bluewater boat a slower, more comfortable motion. Crew skill and attitude are the most important factors for passage making, as well as having the right equipment on board. You can sail just about anywhere with your setup, but a "true bluewater boat" will still make a difference in the worst of conditions.

Nice video, great with the spray bottle tip 👌 keep up the good work 👍

You did an awesome job with all of your additional equipment - like inner stay, great anchor, solid self steering in Hydrovane that can be used as an emergency rudder if needed, very detailed approach to lines and blocks and probably much more. But a solid captain and crew - are the most valuable part of your boat-home and you did spectacular from everything I've seen so far. To be fair, I need to share my experience and view on an issue. I've participated in delivering a couple of Beneteaus and was able to notice an uncomfortable design feature of the boat - it is pounding while going upwind in moderate winds. However, deliveries are done on a schedule and you often forced to sail a shortest route within a time frame and often not a better one. With that in mind, knowing limitations of the design, it is easily avoidable by being flexible - like falling off and sailing comfortably and faster on a reach. Besides, nobody in their right mind would cruise upwind in moderate winds and choppy waves for so many reasons. I'm sure, that you and your boat will have a ton of success and fun while taking each other to any and many places within your comfort zone, and that zone expands with every passage you make. Fair winds and stay flexible

Everyone has to feel comfortable with their decisions as they head out. For me, I'm thankful for my full-keel, heavy displacement double ender. Every bit of it is built like a tank. No keel bolts. No exposed rudder. It's been around the world once and we're taking it around again.

Awesome video. First time viewer as well. Well done presentation and well addressed subject. You guys have done a marvelous job in preparing your boat. Bear in mind that so called "production" boats are sailed all the time between continents, so at some point they have cross an ocean. The biggest benefits to true bluewater sailboats are standing rigging, tankage and storage. However because their designs, they are not well suited for island hoping, as they are primarily designed to go the distance. I'll be looking for that Ebook. There's always room for more learning. Fair winds.

Sam Holmes sailing / wind hippie sailing both boats crossing oceans. 50 years ago there was no iridium go or windie apps, when you had to be be prepared for storms/waves. Pick your weather window and have your batteries ready.

great video keep it up!

It's about what one feels safety and comfort. Some may want the slow boat that has a higher comfort rating. Go for it be safe. Your yacht is beautiful and so livable

I liked it! I am an experienced blue water sailor, and on my 3rd long term boat, and in this very position of converting or changing boats, and I want to convert :-) I do not plan to be in the narrow band of conditions/locations that would sink a plastic fantastic, but spare a blue water boat....it is not a very broad band.... A side note, you should mention that the Hydrovane is essentially a pre-rigged emergency rudder, which considerably offsets the risk associated with the spade. I consider this essential insurance and peace of mind in the blue water with my 'fin n spade', never mind the great crew member it is who sails better than anyone, eats nothing, never sleeps, and doesn't miss a windshift :-)

I went cruising on a 57 foot strip planked fin keel spade rudder ocean racer. Everyone in those days said that you can't cruise on a fin keel spade rudder ocean racer. We ignored this and went cruising. It was the best choice because it sailed so well. Also, because it was a narrow racer it went to windward very well and performed fine in light winds.

Love your video's!

I met a guy in Fiji who hollowed out a tree built a mast in peru and sailed across the Pacific. And a guy who bought a boat for a dollar off Craigslist on a different trip to Fiji. you can do it in all almost anything. On a production boat I would modify the rudder tube and attachment etc.& probably not heading into high latitudes

It doesn’t sound like you guys are new to this, it sounds like an extensive amount of research has been made here, Although many experts say these boats are not recommended for blue water, It’s awesome to see you guys getting it done, We’ll done,

Beautiful, enjoy.

There is a modified attachment plate available for the Vang boom attachment. It is much more substantial and has more attachment points and was only 250 sterling. A very good investment!

Great video!

Absolutely 100% yes. Alright, now I'll watch the video! ;)

Great video. this the first time we have viewed your work thanks for the insight into your work on your boat. we are in the market now. our issue with this type of boat is keeping the keel on and attempting to save the boat and every aboard if this happen in the deep blue. bolt on keels are the issue for us. you guys have done a great job on every thing above the water are there things that can be done blow the water line? again great video.

The companionway is my preferred spot to keep watch while offshore in our Beneteau Sense 50. I have resisted mounting another full array of instruments as each of my helm stations has full instruments and large plotters. Instead I use Android tablet as a plotter with AIS on a RAM mount along with a handheld remote for my autopilot. I'm still looking for a solution that would permit visualizing the radar over wifi. Cruising is 10% sailing and 90% at anchor. Beneteau has the "at-anchor" part very well designed and implemented. With experience, each sailor can slowly customize the 10% to their individual tastes. In essence creating a custom solution paid by sweat equity. Well done!

Just found your channel. Great video!

New subscriber. Thank you great show.

Thx... subbed... binging!

Very informative.

Modern cruisers seem so much easier to live on, which unless you plan to spend all your time in the middle of an ocean is not a bad plan. I think the real issue is acknowledging and planning for the weaknesses of a modern cruiser.

There is nothing wrong with a Beneteau. I owned a 461 and it was a solid boat, quite fast and was well furnished. I had it modified from a four cabin to a three cabin to make it more livable to me. I agree with your sail modifications, it needs a self tacking jib and a third reef in the main. I had the teak decks refurbished and replaced the foredeck to give it a new life. The exhaust elbow replacement is a must. Mine was almost completely blocked. I replaced all the hoses, throttle cable, standing and running rigging, the guide wires and batteries to increase the storage to 560ah. You can never have enough! The fin keel needed some work due to corrosion. You can argue all day long about a blue water boat and I agree a steel or aluminum keel is safest, particularly with a full length keel but they are hard to maneuver backwards and slow. Amels have a fin keel and so do lots of other boats costing a lot more money and most boats today are made of fiberglass. I have heard you tubers sneer about “plastic fantastic” boats when that is exactly what their boat is. Ignore the detractors, you have a solid boat which will serve you well.

Bravo both. It's not the boat, it's how you sail her. The upgrades are well considered, I particularly like the gybe proof double foresail and double pole for trade wind sailing. The fact that you're doing it, rather than talking about it should piss off the armchair captains; keep going!

The paddle speedsensor should be taken out after the trip and replaced with the dummy. Second I would place the wooden bungs next to the thruhulls so in case they are already there.

Very interesting, cheers

very nice guys I wish you all the best of luck

You all good to go.

HI! Thanx for posting!

wow great work ! I have hardly seen an Oceanis 40 so well and thoughtfully equipped as you did (e.g. staysail). One thing is missing though....the answer of your question in the video title...I have just seen a video with the Kraken CEO and he defines the properties of a blue water sailboat as following: 1. integral keel 2. robust rudder system 3. no gas 4. thick hull 5. protected centre cockpit 6. sail handling from cockpit 7. foot braced somewhere when doing deck work 8. Keel stepped mast and heavy rig Probably your boat covers points 6 and 7. What are your thoughts on that ? Thanks for your answer and good luck for the upcoming passages !

We sailed our 2017 Oceanis 35 from Florida to New Zealand

It’s all about the STIX number from my recollection that boat has a STIX a close to 40. The higher the number the better. For all the Cat 1 offshore racing I have done that’s more than enough I’d say it’s a perfect offshore boat very strong and good reaching speeds

God how awful those "Internet forums" are!!!! They've never crossed a bathtub,let alone the oceans!!! Beneteau and Jeaneau are fantastic brands and they absolutely get the job done!!!! Piss on them and you two have done a fantastic job...keep it up!!!!

How much weight do you think your carrying when fully loaded, and thoughts of effecting the boats AVS.

Wonderfull chanel, congratulations

I think it was the late Patrick Childress (RIP) who, many years ago, sailed a Catalina 27 around the world after beefing it up for sailing the oceans. Three years ago another guy I saw on You Tube sailed a Catalina 27 from California to Hawaii. Sam Holmes made a similar crossing to Hawaii on a 23 FT Ranger about a year earlier. More recently a young Polish guy built a 16 FT plywood sailboat, purpose-designed for the passage, and sailed it across the Atlantic Ocean. Webb Chiles, among his many voyages, made it 3/4 of the way around the planet in an open (no cabin) sailboat, I think it was 18 or 20 FT. Famously in 1965, 16 year-old Robin Lee Graham sailed his 24 FT sloop named Dove around the world solo. James Baldwin has circumnavigated twice in his very simply outfitted 28 FT Pearson Triton. The first time around with no engine. And of course probably the most famous sailing couple, Lin and Larry Pardey circumnavigated their 24 FT home-built wooden Seraffyn, the "wrong way" around the Southern Ocean, also without an engine. These and many other stories are proof that you don't need a Westsail, Island Packet or Pacific Seacraft to make a safe passage across an ocean. What you need is experience, good judgement, selection of proper season, route and a good weather window, and appropriate rigging and equipment. If anything, your Beneteau is probably overkill the way you've prepared it, for trade winds passages.

great video! even if it was horrible I would still watch just to here you talk ;)

You guys have done an awesome job getting your boat ready to carry you safely to your next anchorage. Even if someone is not a sailor they can learn a lot about planning. We look forward to your next post!

Great job setting up your boat for cruising. I’m very interested in the solar arch mounted on the push pit.. is that a custom build or is it something available for purchase. If so, could you let me know where I can find? Cheers!

Great video. Your boat is more than capable of blue water sailing.

I would install backing plates on the keel bolts, I believe the Beneteau has only washers. The next time your on the hard drop your keel for inspection.