Sir, I am considering the purchase of a 1992 Beneteau Oceanis 440. My ideal boat would be around 38-40 ft., but since the 440 appears to be offered at a substantial discount, both the longer waterline and the extra budget room for refit attract me.
I am keen on performance, and the 440's hull is the same of its First 45S5 sister, both designed by Farr. I don't like the high centre of gravity of the boat, and consider changing the keel (currently 1.7 m) to a deeper, lead-bulbed one, as the draft on a similar size performance boat would easily reach 2.2-2.5 m. Later on, I will upgrade the rig. I understand the boat is capable of handling the extra loads.
My question is: Would you recommend such an operation? In other words, is it worth the trouble? I reckon the keel upgrade can be achieved with a budget of circa Usd 5000, because a preventive anti-osmosis treatment already is getting me close to the keel base, thus I am only counting the cost of the new keel and installation. However, especially for lighter wings I presume only a larger sail area will make a substantial performance change over present, and on a boat of this size I assume I will get pretty close to Usd 13000-15000 for a new bigger rig.
With best regards, Murat
Hi Murat:
Some tough questions!
First, on the economics of what you are doing, in general, when you upgrade a well known "class" of boat you don't normally significantly increase the value as the prices tend to be established by other boats. This is like owning the most expensive house on the block. However, when the time comes to sell, yu can usually get a price at the top of your boat's price range, and the boat will usually sell faster than her less well set-up sister ships.
Bottom line–don't look at this as an investment per se. Better to approach it as a way to get what you want at an efficient price.
If you lower the vertical center of gravity by putting on a deeper keel–a good theoretical idea with the type of boat you have as it will help with your limit of possitive stability–you are also increasing the righting moment and therefor the loads on the hull, keel floors, bulkheads, rig, and rigging. This applies when sailing, and when running aground (the latter as the keel will have a longer lever arm).
I cannot answer the question about the boat's ability to handle the increase loads. You need to sort that out with the design team or the builder, or an engineer who has a feel for these things. But, it is definitly worth checking into.
Regards–Steve Dashew
Posted by Steve Dashew (November 30, 1999)
