The Oceanis Range
The Bénéteau Oceanis Clipper 523, together with her smaller sisters such as the 473, and others in the ‘3’ range down to the 323, were a huge success story. They were used extensively for the major charter fleets such as The Moorings and Sunsail.
This particular vessel, built in 2007 just before the global financial crisis of 2008, I believe represents the best years of the Oceanis range. Proper internal joinery, often in cherry or teak. While it was built to a price, it was notably less obvious in appearance than more recent models, particularly with regard to the internal joinery.
Post 2008, the newer models seemed to engage with other brands such as Bavaria, Jeanneau and Hanse with a race to the bottom on cost and this became apparent.
Frequent issues in older vessels
With any vessel that is around 20 years old, inevitably there are certain points a surveyor is particularly aware of. My general advice for a potential buyer is to look for a vessel with a white hull and with GRP non-slip decks rather than teak deck sheathing.
Coloured topsides
This vessel, being blue, had faded, and had been recently sprayed with Awlgrip to re-instate the cosmetics of the topsides. After a certain length of time, depending on the amount of UV the vessel has been subjected to, any coloured topsides will require more and more cutting and polishing to maintain a good appearance including the depth of lustre.
Eventually most owners will throw in the towel and start painting. Or as is fairly common these days, apply a vinyl wrap finish, which although cheaper is less durable.
Teak Decks
The teak decks are another item to be particularly wary of on any older boat. Traditionally, teak planks were screwed to the structural deck underneath. When wear occurs, the dowels that cover the screws can often pop off. This leaves exposed screw fasteners which allow water to puddle, eventually seeping through to the deck.
In the case of the Beneteau First and Oceanis ranges, they have a balsa cored deck, coachroof and cockpit construction. With more recent boatbuilding techniques decks tend to be pre-fabricated in panels, often with a thin veneer of teak externally. These panels are then bonded on to the deck, now usually with vacuum bagging used at the build stage to remove air and ensure a good bond.
In older vessels, staples were used to fasten the teak down as the bonding paste cured. As this type of deck wears, often the staple fasteners become exposed. Again this creates potential access for moisture to travel though the fasteners and into the balsa cored structural deck below.
Worn teak deck with exposed fasteners
I have seen this regularly, and certain models (such as the Beneteau Sense range) seem particularly prone to this. Once any balsa core within the deck, or any other structure becomes wet, inevitably it will deteriorate over time, as any natural product would do.
With a teak sheathing to any deck, the structure of the underlying GRP cored structure cannot be inspected. Occasionally internal panels can be removed to allow a moisture reading to be taken internally from the underside, but often internal liners prevent this. Drilling core samples is the only way to inspect the balsa core and measure the moisture levels.
Some Bénéteau History
This 2007 Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 523 was arguably built during “peak” Bénéteau years. It is the world’s largest production boatbuilder, founded in 1884 building wooden trawlers in Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie, France. The GRP construction models, built for pleasure boating rather than commercial fishing, began production around 1964, when Annette Bénéteau Roux and André Bénéteau took over the management of the company.
Bénéteau have built thousands of models of all types. From small day fishing vessels, racing yachts, and cruising yachts starting with the Idylle and later the Oceanis range. Plus recreational semi-displacement trawlers and the more sporty ‘Gran Turismo’ range as well as the highly regarded Antares range. A more detailed history can be found on Bénéteau’s own website.
Please do contact us to discuss your survey requirements.