Bénéteau 343 Keel and centerboard

Sailboat specifications

The Bénéteau 343 is a 34’1” (10.38m) cruising sailboat designed by Berret Racoupeau Yachts Design (France). She was built between 2004 and 2008 by Bénéteau (France). The Keel and centerboard version features a centerboard inside of a short fin-keel allowing shoal draft while maintaining upwind capabilities.

The Bénéteau 343 has also been marketed as Océanis 343 Clipper and she is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft and Shoal draft version (see all the versions compared).

Bénéteau 343's main features

Model: Bénéteau 343
Version: Keel and centerboard
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruising sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Berret Racoupeau Yachts Design
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
First built hull: 2004
Last built hull: 2008
Appendages: Centerboard : pivoting centerboard in the keel
Helm: Single helm wheel
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
EC design category iThe CE design category indicates the ability to cope with certain weather conditions (the sailboat is designed for these conditions) A: Wind < force 9, Waves < 10m B: Wind < force 8, Waves < 8m C: Wind < force 6, Waves < 4m D: Wind < force 4, Waves < 0,5m: A
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

Bénéteau 343's main dimensions

Overall length: 35’ 6”10.82 m
Hull length: 34’ 1”10.38 m
Waterline length: 30’ 10”9.4 m
Beam (width): 11’ 5”3.48 m
Draft: 8’ 6”2.6 m
Draft when appendages up: 3’ 11”1.2 m
Mast height from D_WL: 49’ 5”15.06 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 14374 lb6520 kg
Ballast weight: 4321 lb1960 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron exterior ballast with steel centerboard

Bénéteau 343's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 649 ft²60.3 m²
Downwind sail area: 1245 ft²115.65 m²
Mainsail area: 304 ft²28.2 m²
Genoa area: 346 ft²32.1 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 941 ft²87.45 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 43’ 5”13.24 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 12’ 10”3.9 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 39’ 1”11.93 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 13’ 7”4.14 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire discontinuous

Bénéteau 343's performances

Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 186 ft²/T17.28 m²/T
Downwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size.: 357 ft²/T33.14 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 222
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 30 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 7.44 knots