Hi Kevin I didn't see anything to worry about either. Ours is the wing keel version and we love it. To Steve's comment: It's fast as heck. On our lake, (No wave surfing) I've seen sustained 8+ knots many times with bouts in the low 9's. I saw 9 momentarily in just 14 knots wind last fall with our slick bottom (Pettit Black Widow PTFE paint) and new sails.
It's very competitive on the race course. We win regularly and the PHRF committee even felt it was "too fast" and came to my dock to measure everything when we first started racing. Local PHRF is 108 adjusted for the 135 genoa. Accommodations wise the cabin prett much as roomy and as comfy as my friends' newer 38 ft Beneteau Special Edition (Beneteau copied the layout) but much nicer with lots of beautiful teak wood everywhere instead of fake stuff. Compared to older boats it's roomier / more comfortable than many 40 footers... About the "Tenderness". It's a bit over-canvassed for speed and fun but it's not tender. I don't reef anything until I get to 18-20 sustained and then rolling 15-20% off the 135 genoa takes the edge off when close hauled / hard on the wind . I have not reefed the main in a few years. It takes 22-25 sustained to even start considering reefing the main and that would be close hauled / hard on the wind only, all other points of sails it's all out way past 25 knots. When the boat speed gets above 8 knots you do have to keep a close eye on things and ease a little in the puffs to flatten the boat and get the most speed boost. The weather helm is very adjustable simply by setting the rake. I took a fair amount of rake off the setup with my new sails, the new 135 genoa pulls like a freight train and I had to loosen up the bow. Some of the "Tenderness" might be attributed to older sails. It was a noticeably more tender with the old sails but with the new ones, It just flat rocks! Expect to spend $8,500 + on a decent set of custom made sails and somewhere between $6,000 - 7,000 bucks for chinese off the rack stuff. On the concerns: 1) The window thing is no big deal, mine has it too. I think it's related to the windows "Pulling" on it in cold weather. If you look in the crack, the lining is made out of Styrofoam... I'm planning on capping it with a nice teak strip as trim and to restore the shearing strength. You can also just glue it back, 5 minutes epoxy will work fine there. Most cyanoacrylate glues (CA or 'Crazy Glue type) will dissolve the foam. 2) The steering bracket is "Regular thing" caused by Edson's terrible material choice of mild steel. You can contact Chuck Scheafer about a replacement. He had a nice stainless one made by Garhauer a few years back. Mine is still fine as the boat has been in fresh water most of its life. 3) Most or all of the cabin top is not cored. I have removed a couple dodger fittings near the companion way / "business area" where the winches and main traveler are located, I checked the holes carefully, and was happy to see that it's solid fiberglass. 4) The cooling system is no biggie. It's one of the few things that are easy to reach and work on in the engine compartment. I would just replace the pump and all the hoses to be on the safe side. The heat exchanger can be easily cleaned with wood dowels, there are access caps on both ends. The whole thing is a couple hours' work tops. I hope that works, PM me for more details if you want. Regards, Francois Rivard 1990 34+ "Take Five" Lake Lanier, GA
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