Looking at ST 44 2016 - 2019, good/bad/ugly...

jbinbi · Jul 27, 2020

Wondering if those with one of these could give some general impressions.

Coming from a sailing cat, can't do that anymore. But am looking for a boat that can faster than 8kts if needed. I would like something that if I want to do 50mi I can get there at lunch, not dinner. The ST44 hits that.

Q1. Would you buy this boat again? That says alot.
Q2. I had a Bene sailboat, and Lagoon, so I know the family. But I know nothing about their powerboats. I always thought that if you compared to the GM Chevy/Olds/Caddy , the Benes were the olds. Upscale, but not top of the line.
Q3. Anything I should be looking for in those years?
Q4. Anything I should know about in general?
Q5. Dealer is pushing the new 41, I like the galley placement better, but there are a few used boats in the 400hr range, which I assume is close to new like that are about 20% less than new. Does the 41 have anything else major in the running of the boat over the 44?

Thanks!

lipets · Jul 28, 2020

Similar background, had a Bene 36.7 great sailboat a sister-ship won the Newport to Burmuda, the swift42 has much the same quality,

Don't spend $$ on new if U find the right boat used.

boater3 · Jul 28, 2020

jbinbi said:
Wondering if those with one of these could give some general impressions.

Coming from a sailing cat, can't do that anymore. But am looking for a boat that can faster than 8kts if needed. I would like something that if I want to do 50mi I can get there at lunch, not dinner. The ST44 hits that.

Q1. Would you buy this boat again? That says alot.
Q2. I had a Bene sailboat, and Lagoon, so I know the family. But I know nothing about their powerboats. I always thought that if you compared to the GM Chevy/Olds/Caddy , the Benes were the olds. Upscale, but not top of the line.
Q3. Anything I should be looking for in those years?
Q4. Anything I should know about in general?
Q5. Dealer is pushing the new 41, I like the galley placement better, but there are a few used boats in the 400hr range, which I assume is close to new like that are about 20% less than new. Does the 41 have anything else major in the running of the boat over the 44?

Thanks!

Spend some hours (or days) reading this forum and join the swift trawler group on facebook. Tons and tons of info from owners. I dont have the energy or time to summarize it all for you. I have probably fixed/tweaked/adjusted 100+ things on my ST44. Beneteau is not known for perfect or close to perfect boats...

Many of the issues carried over through each year, i dont think 2016-2019 is much (if any) different than prior model years. Luckily I purchased the boat when it was just turning two years old, the original buyer took the initial depreciation hit, and it was still under warranty, so most of the repairs have been done at Beneteau's expense. I bonded with a few ST44 owners who knew their stuff and we all basically figured out every single issue, how to adjust, and fix, on our own boats.

I am thinking of moving up in size, so mine might be for sale soon, its currently near RI, but really was trying to enjoy the boat for a year or two since I spent so much time, energy, money, blood, and sweat.

I do not like the new styles. I dont know what Beneteau was thinking. Some are not functional with couch in way of door, poor seating layouts, etc. They really could've perfected the ST44 with a little effort.

KiwiClive · Aug 2, 2020

Q1. Would you buy this boat again? That says alot.

Yes

Q2. I had a Bene sailboat, and Lagoon, so I know the family. But I know nothing about their powerboats. I always thought that if you compared to the GM Chevy/Olds/Caddy , the Benes were the olds. Upscale, but not top of the line.

They are good but not a Flemming 55

Q3. Anything I should be looking for in those years?

shafts! Engine wobble. Get an engineer to come on the sea trial.

Q4. Anything I should know about in general?

We've had a few problems with voids but all been fixed.

The 44 is a great boat for us, we live on it for 3+ months in the summer up in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. A water maker and lithium batteries help with that. I have an RS Aero sailing dinghy on the roof so I also get my sailing fix.

jbinbi · Aug 2, 2020

mystery said:
Spend some hours (or days) reading this forum and join the swift trawler group on facebook. Tons and tons of info from owners. I dont have the energy or time to summarize it all for you. I have probably fixed/tweaked/adjusted 100+ things on my ST44. Beneteau is not known for perfect or close to perfect boats...

Many of the issues carried over through each year, i dont think 2016-2019 is much (if any) different than prior model years. Luckily I purchased the boat when it was just turning two years old, the original buyer took the initial depreciation hit, and it was still under warranty, so most of the repairs have been done at Beneteau's expense. I bonded with a few ST44 owners who knew their stuff and we all basically figured out every single issue, how to adjust, and fix, on our own boats.

I am thinking of moving up in size, so mine might be for sale soon, its currently near RI, but really was trying to enjoy the boat for a year or two since I spent so much time, energy, money, blood, and sweat.

I do not like the new styles. I dont know what Beneteau was thinking. Some are not functional with couch in way of door, poor seating layouts, etc. They really could've perfected the ST44 with a little effort.

Thanks. Didn't know about the FB group. Will check it out. I keep my boat in RI. Also looking at Greenline.

KiwiClive said:
Q1. Would you buy this boat again? That says alot.

Yes

Q2. I had a Bene sailboat, and Lagoon, so I know the family. But I know nothing about their powerboats. I always thought that if you compared to the GM Chevy/Olds/Caddy , the Benes were the olds. Upscale, but not top of the line.

They are good but not a Flemming 55

Q3. Anything I should be looking for in those years?

shafts! Engine wobble. Get an engineer to come on the sea trial.

Q4. Anything I should know about in general?

We've had a few problems with voids but all been fixed.

The 44 is a great boat for us, we live on it for 3+ months in the summer up in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. A water maker and lithium batteries help with that. I have an RS Aero sailing dinghy on the roof so I also get my sailing fix.

Appreciate the detailed answers. Just looked up RS Aero. I had Laser #74, but that was I think also 73/74? Couldn't imagine sailing that now ;-)

emilanderson · Aug 14, 2020

We have ST44 2014. Love it and would buy again and again. I know several ST owners have had battery or charging issues. Personally I think the exide batteries they use are garbage had one actually explode! My wife and I have been talking solar but there simply isn't a good place to mount them because we use our boom/mast for our dinghy a lot. Side rails are for paddle boards. Bow cushion is used by kids and dog. I am not putting them on canvas. Nice thing is lazarette is HUGE. I say get an eFoy and use that. We are planning that and a watermaker as our additions.

twistedtree · Aug 15, 2020

I have zero experience with Beneteau, but you might also consider Back Cove, or even Saber.

SOJOURN4 · Aug 17, 2020

We have had a ST34 and ST44 (5 years). The ST44 is a production boat that is above average. Yes, there are issues - but in terms of sea worthiness - terrific: fuel economy - 23 mph = 23 gph!!!!! Storage - terrific. We like the idea that the systems are SIMPLE not a lot of bells and whistles. And the fly bridge is a winner.
Good Luck

rclarke246 · Sep 20, 2020

jbinbi said:
Wondering if those with one of these could give some general impressions.

Coming from a sailing cat, can't do that anymore. But am looking for a boat that can faster than 8kts if needed. I would like something that if I want to do 50mi I can get there at lunch, not dinner. The ST44 hits that.

Q1. Would you buy this boat again? That says alot.
Q2. I had a Bene sailboat, and Lagoon, so I know the family. But I know nothing about their powerboats. I always thought that if you compared to the GM Chevy/Olds/Caddy , the Benes were the olds. Upscale, but not top of the line.
Q3. Anything I should be looking for in those years?
Q4. Anything I should know about in general?
Q5. Dealer is pushing the new 41, I like the galley placement better, but there are a few used boats in the 400hr range, which I assume is close to new like that are about 20% less than new. Does the 41 have anything else major in the running of the boat over the 44?

Thanks!

Q1: Bought our ST 44 new in 2012. YES
Q2: Volvos reliable but expensive parts
Q3: Around 2014 they redesigned the head / shower space. A good upgrade from my 2012 design.
Q4: NOT a "blue water" vessel. Perfect for inland or coastal cruising.
Q5: I don't know the 41.
I feel that this ST44 was and is a great value. Apparently they hold their value and there usually aren't many available for resale, which tells me owners' are keeping them, like me. Launching the Dinghy from the fly bridge is a pain. I actually sold my dinghy because it wasn't worth the effort.

sunchaser · Sep 20, 2020

twistedtree said:
I have zero experience with Beneteau, but you might also consider Back Cove, or even Saber.

Good hint TT. The Back Cove 41 is well worth checking out. Good quality by a top notch Maine builder. The same company builds Sabre

Seevee · Sep 20, 2020

I'm following this thread with interest as I shopped for the ST for awhile, might still be on my radar.

Talked to owners, dealers etc., and there certainly is a good following and satisfied customers.

Agree that the build isn't perfect, but seems easily fixable. (Just like my Mainship that I have no regrets with). My goal was to just add some speed, however now thinking of adding some size, too.

Will follow.....

jbinbi · Sep 20, 2020

sunchaser said:
Good hint TT. The Back Cove 41 is well worth checking out. Good quality by a top notch Maine builder. The same company builds Sabre

Thanks. Great quality boats. Very familiar with their quality. However, for the same size boat, about 200k more for 2-4 yr old used model. Breaks my budget

However, you get what you pay for. To use my car analogy, the Sabres are the Mercedes (or maybe higher), the Benes are Olds (maybe Chevy)

emilanderson · Sep 20, 2020

Spent some time on a back cove, they are nice but IMO very expensive for what they are. I feel the ST is a wonderful value boat. I think what makes the ST line special is that it isn't a specialist. It is really great at a lot of things not perfect. Like it isn't super fuel efficient at 7kts like a krogan or nordhavn, but they can go 7kts at 3mpg and 23-27kts at about 1mpg! similar size trawlers might have more berths and more livable sq ft, but the ST's all have about 340 degrees of visibility from lower and upper helm. I could go on but it is all about trade offs. All boats have trade offs and For me and my family and dog it is near perfect combination for us.

Looking at ST 44 2016 - 2019, good/bad/ugly...

jbinbi

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lipets

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boater3

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KiwiClive

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jbinbi

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emilanderson

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twistedtree

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SOJOURN4

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rclarke246

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sunchaser

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Seevee

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