Purchase 2018 44 Swfit trawler

Hi all
Just signed a contract to purchase a 2018 44 ST.I have been reading through all of the posts related to the 44ST.You all have provided great insight regarding the 44.Hopeing survey goes well and take delivery by end of December. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Steve

Congrats on your new boat. Hope it all works out for you.

I also have a 2018 ST44. I picked it up in October. So far no concerns.

Good luck with yours.

Great looking boat.
I hope the survey goes well.

Steve,


Sounds like a great time for you. Question: Is there any warranties that come with such a late model boat? Especially the engines?


And, do you have a GOOD Volvo dealer for engine maintenance? That would be my biggest concern as they are hard to come by on the west coast of FL. Especially one that can find parts.



I looked very seriously at that boat. Has a lot of nice features, plus speed, should one want to push it.



Keep us posted!

TowBoat U.S.

pete

Congratulations!

Congratulations!

Does it have the VP D4? We had a D4-260 in the last boat. I really enjoyed that motor...it ran clean and was very easy on fuel. Easy to maintain as well.

Congratulations! I looked hard at a 2004 42 with Yanmar 4cyls, but passed. The onboard facilities, space/volume is huge, even 2 heads/bathrooms/showers, very comfortable accommodation,modern fitout, good cockpit, lots of storage. I hope you get good positive hull and mechanical surveys. Enjoy.

caseclosed said:

Hi all
Just signed a contract to purchase a 2018 44 ST.I have been reading through all of the posts related to the 44ST.You all have provided great insight regarding the 44.Hopeing survey goes well and take delivery by end of December. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks

Steve

Click to expand...

Read not only the posts here but on the facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/beneteauswifttrawlers

There are many known issues that are found on pretty much every ST44. Make sure you check for them / allow funds to deal with the issues.

I spent many hours reading about everything and was able to come up with a list that both myself and the surveyor specifically checked.

Given a 2018 should still be under warranty, get written confirmation of such and that all of Beneteau's crazy steps to maintain warranty were followed. IIRC Beneteau requires a Beneteau dealer to file an annual report on the vessel to keep the warranty going.

Big thank you to all for your advice and well wishes

IRENE said:

Congratulations!

Does it have the VP D4? We had a D4-260 in the last boat. I really enjoyed that motor...it ran clean and was very easy on fuel. Easy to maintain as well.

Click to expand...

Yes D4 300 Thanks

Seevee said:

Steve,


Sounds like a great time for you. Question: Is there any warranties that come with such a late model boat? Especially the engines?


And, do you have a GOOD Volvo dealer for engine maintenance? That would be my biggest concern as they are hard to come by on the west coast of FL. Especially one that can find parts.



I looked very seriously at that boat. Has a lot of nice features, plus speed, should one want to push it.



Keep us posted!

Click to expand...

Yes the motors have a little over 2 full years the boat warranty ends 2/21

Did one of you 2018 boat buyers get the one in MD?

jbinbi said:

Did one of you 2018 boat buyers get the one in MD?

Click to expand...

That would be me.

St 44

We bought our 2012 ST44 new in November of 2012. We've had our ups-and-downs with her but would buy her again.

I like to keep in touch with other ST owners to compare notes and ask questions, so please feel free to contact me.

BTW, the Beneteau customer service has been nearly non-existent.

rclarke246 said:

We bought our 2012 ST44 new in November of 2012. We've had our ups-and-downs with her but would buy her again.

I like to keep in touch with other ST owners to compare notes and ask questions, so please feel free to contact me.

BTW, the Beneteau customer service has been nearly non-existent.

Click to expand...

I had to write and call the CEO of Beneteau to get movement on my warranty claims. I had to get in the middle of dealer-manufacturer non-sense. Should not be like that but wouldn't surprise me to hear if its the same with other brands. I am still not 100% satisfied in the support received and have had to pay out of my own pocket to tweak/fix certain things. So I agree with the "ups and downs" statement but I know the boat like the back of my hand. I know what issues are replicated on pretty much every ST44 produced. This forum and the facebook group has been instrumental in my ability to understand and tackle many of the issues. I want to move to a 50-60 foot boat but trying to enjoy the ST44 a little longer as I poured blood, sweat, money, time, dozens of torn shirts, and maybe some tears into her.

We completed the survey on Thursday. The boat performed well through the full RPM range. Throttle wide open RPM 3560.My surveyor did a great job identifying a few issues which will all be corrected by the dealer. The boat is still under warranty. I am fortunate to be purchasing the boat from the Viage group .Who I know from past experience offer great customer service. Hoping to close on the boat shortly. Thanks to all of you for sharing your ownership experience.

Tips for ST44

I owned a 2015 ST44 from 2016 until three months ago. No significant issues (none that required either a mechanic or dealer). Engine parts from Marine Parts Source, excellent service and good prices. Zincs from Boatzincs.com, also great. Original house batteries needed replacement, grey water tank sensor also. Holding tank sensor needs periodic cleaning (not a fun job, but easy). Boat is solid, easy to handle, and well laid out. Enjoy!

Congrats!
We love our ST 44.
is there a list anywhere for things to check? If not it would be nice to create one and be able to add to it.

mystery said:

I had to write and call the CEO of Beneteau to get movement on my warranty claims. I had to get in the middle of dealer-manufacturer non-sense. Should not be like that but wouldn't surprise me to hear if its the same with other brands. I am still not 100% satisfied in the support received and have had to pay out of my own pocket to tweak/fix certain things. .

Click to expand...

Did writing to Beneteau get things moving forward with the dealer?

Where you dissatisfied with the dissatisfied with the response from Beneteau, the work with the dealer, or that you had to get involved to begin with?

The dealership is really just a franchise with the license to sell the new lines of a specific manufacturers boat. It almost sounds like most of your issues were with the dealership and not the manufacturer.

I could be misreading that. But I'd hate to cast a shadow on the manufacturer or brand over the behavior of a single dealer, or possible the individual at that dealership.

I could be mis-reading it here.

Shrew said:

Did writing to Beneteau get things moving forward with the dealer?

Where you dissatisfied with the dissatisfied with the response from Beneteau, the work with the dealer, or that you had to get involved to begin with?

The dealership is really just a franchise with the license to sell the new lines of a specific manufacturers boat. It almost sounds like most of your issues were with the dealership and not the manufacturer.

I could be misreading that. But I'd hate to cast a shadow on the manufacturer or brand over the behavior of a single dealer, or possible the individual at that dealership.

I could be mis-reading it here.

Click to expand...

Systematic issue with multiple dealerships. Beneteau ended up sending their own guys to do much of the work, some still outstanding, but nothing keeping me from enjoying the boat right now.

We had issues with the dealership here in NZ.
It's just standard practice for most manufacturers to push back hard.
Car dealerships have been scoundrels for years and boats are no different.
The key thing now is consumer rights. You don't have to put up with any rubbish or delays that they try to push on you.

Hi all
I want to share an issue that my surveyor discovered during the survey of my 2018 44ST.
He observed a battery cable for the generator improperly installed under the generator that had the insulation rubbed through and would have led to a fire.Please check your cables for this issue.

Thanks, I will be sure to check that in the spring.

caseclosed said:

Hi all
I want to share an issue that my surveyor discovered during the survey of my 2018 44ST.
He observed a battery cable for the generator improperly installed under the generator that had the insulation rubbed through and would have led to a fire.Please check your cables for this issue.View attachment 111824

Click to expand...

where is that? can you zoom out?

thanks!!

mystery said:

where is that? can you zoom out?

thanks!!

Click to expand...

Here is a better photo

It appears they installed the generator on top of the battery cable. I guess the vibration from the gen set rubbed through the wire insulation.

Thank you!

Anchor washdown. Has anyone added a anchor washdown to the 44T.