BEN39 AN INTERESTING INEXPENSIVE FAST CRUISER

If you have never heard about the Ben39 you have been distracted because it is one of the boats that has been raising more curiosity and interest among the ones that like sailboats including the professional media. The 39 comes after the Ben24 that is also a relatively interesting boat but in my opinion a lot less than this one.

I never posted here about the Ben24. The design is interesting but I find it a bit too much voluminous for that type of day sailer, weekend cruiser. I find other boats on the category more interesting even if in what regards price few can compare to the Ben24 and maybe that is the main reason why the boat stands out and sells very well.

I find the Ben39 design a lot nicer, more elegant with a solid dodger that is part of the boat design and can be extended for better protection. The hull has very fine entries, it is moderately beamy (4.05m) with all beam pulled aft. It has a twin rudder set-up.

The hull is a GRP sandwich using vinylester resins. No mention about the core material. The boat is light, with a 6590kg displacement. It uses a fixed torpedo keel (bulb in lead) with 1.95m draft. It can be lighter with an optional 2.65m keel or with a swing keel (1.20/2.80m), thus needing less ballast for the same RM.

They don't say the ballast and therefore it is difficult to have an idea of the boat overall stiffness but as it is designed by a good cabinet ( Judel and Vrolijk) the sail area upwind would be proportional to the sailing stability and as it is a big one (96sqm), the boat should have a considerable ballast and would be a powerful fast one.

The only thing I really dislike is the interior. That solution with an integral dodger allows for a big interior volume that could be used for providing a very agreeable interior. The designs show a very poor approach. They should put a good interior designer cabinet redesigning it. That would not make the boat substantially more expensive.

And talking about money we reach the better part. The price at which the boat is offered is really very good. A ready to sail boat will cost without VAT 145 000 euro. To keep the prices down they don't have dealers and the boats can be sold by internet or at the boat shows. The first boat should be at Dusseldorf and it is one that I will not miss for sure. More about it in February.