Egress

Cruiser-Racer Egress

The Beneteau 323 was first introduced in 2004 and is equipe'd to appeal to buyers looking for a mid sized boat with a big boat feel, with generous interior volume and a large aft stateroom, combined with a roomier cockpit that incorporates a swing away Helm wheel for ease of access while at the dock or out on the Hook, this along with the a helm seat that is attached in a way that allows it to be tilted out of the way for simple and easy access to the transom boarding platform.

 Given 30-plus developmental years, Beneteau’s system appears to have reached maturity. Hulls are solid fiberglass with vinylester resins in the outer skin to prevent osmotic blistering. Behind the skin coat are computer-cut sections of fabric wetted with polyester laminating resin.

The company is now using zone-specific stitchmat in the layup, varying the weight of the fabric to meet calculated stress loads in specific areas. In theory, this method avoids overbuilding in certain areas, and we suspect it may also reduce the cost of the lamination, while slightly reducing the weight of the final product.

The hull liner consists of a pre-formed grid system of fiberglass stringers, beams, engine and tank supports, and cutouts into which tanks are installed. Chainplates are attached to stainless steel rod bedded in solid fiberglass. The lamination schedule employs non-woven stitchmat fiberglass, and unidirectional rovings. Hull and deck liners are bonded with a polyester adhesive compound.

Bulkheads are bonded to both hull and deck to produce a monocoque structure; they are bedded in a two-part polyurethane adhesive, an alternative to the traditional method of tabbing with fiberglass strips.

The deck is a sandwich cored with Trivera, a polyester cloth that provides some structural support while preventing print-through during the lamination process.

Areas where deck gear and stanchions are installed are solid fiberglass. Deck gear is secured with nuts, bolts, and backing plates. This can almost be considered a “traditional” method of construction these days. 

In the hull-deck joint, the deck rests on an inward-turning hull flange, and the two are married by a combination of stainless steel fasteners, polyurethane glue, and a toerail secured with through-bolts and nuts.