9' ft Beneteau First 345 1985

Accommodations


3 Cabins - 2 aft and forepeak.


Galley


Eno 2 plate Gas cooker with oven. Fridge, Addler Barber, Double sink


Electronics


Garmin 45 hand held GPS, fitted below. Raymarine ST 60? Autopilot, Wind, depth & speed instruments. VHF, 2000 watt inverter, 110 smart charger, 2 solar panels mounted on bimini, airmarine wind generator.


Deck


Electric Windlass, Bimini, Dodger, Awnings. 2 Bruce anchors and 1 Brittany, 300 ft chain, 300 ft rode


Sail and Rigging


Mast Head Sloop Rig. Fully battoned main, 150% low cut Genoa,130% low cut Genoa, Jib, and Storm Jib, Spinnaker and sock


Additional


10’ Caribe inflatable rollup Dinghy with 4 hp yamaha


Features and Benefits


We must have been destined to own this boat. We took her for a test sail in 1985 when she was a demo model in Cape Town, and loved her right off but she was out of our price range, so we just stored the memory away.

We moved to the Caribbean in 1993 and purchased a wooden Hilyard which served our family well for the next two years. Eight years later, some fellow South Africans arrived with the very same Beneteau into the anchorage and as fate would have it a few months later the island was the target of hurricane Luis in 1995. We purchased this boat from the insurance company and spent the next few years repairing the Hilyard and our new Beneteau. As I was working in the marine industry at the time, resources and knowledge were easily available to me. We did have her surveyed after repairs and no structural damage was found, only cosmetic and there are still some battle scars left, otherwise she is in great shape.

My family and I have been live-boards since then and have had a very happy 13 years with her.
I am a SACA yacht master sailing instructor with the Cape Sailing Academy and have had a vast amount of sailing experience in many different sailing vessels and in some testing sailing conditions and have found our Beneteau to be a fast performer and a sea kindly boat. She is the type of boat that makes one love sailing, and because of her relatively deep fin keel, she is able to go to weather with power and speed, and she gives me the pleasure of being able to pass much bigger boats with ease. Downwind she carries a 150% Genoa and a fully battened main with a deep roach, and to really get her showing off we have a beautiful tri-radial spinnaker with a sock for ease of control. My family has been able to show her paces on many occasions and my two boys have gained experience and confidence with her. They both now own their own boats but measure them to the standard of our Beneteau. There have been many additions to the boat since new. Binnacle steering, one of the best additions to the boat and very professionally done, rod steering that alleviates all slack in conventional cable steering and allows perfect "feel" of weather helm, I even taught my wife to steer upwind with her eyes closed just by feeling the helm. I installed a new engine controls at the wheel, the original was at the chart table, making it impossible for one person to adjust the throttle at start up.

We fitted the boat for a Pacific crossing as we were headed to New Zealand but got side tracked in Panama where we have decided to settle. So we now reluctantly have decided that it would be best to sell her to some other fortunate couple who can carry on and have as much enjoyment from her as we have had.
We installed a new Volvo with full panel and wheel steering and controls in 2005 and are very happy with the results. The Total engine hours are still under 1000 hrs. We love to sail but the engine will perform faultlessly if needed. We have used a portable generator to assist with the charging needs and this seems to be a perfect way to balance the voltage budget. We fitted a new electric windlass in 2006. There are two Bruce anchors and a Brittany. 300'chain and 300' 3/4 rode.

We will be sorry to sell her as we know that it will be impossible to replace for the same price.