Beneteau 50 Performance - Different Designers

[Xpets]

There are from 1985-2004 tree different designers for the hulls of the Beneteau 50's
First the Frer designed (called Idylle)
Then the Briand designed called 50 or 510 (do not know why )
Then the most sold one by Farr called the 501

All designed for the charter in America so most with shallow keels around 5.11 feet , wing or bulb

Does anybody have experience with them and can judge the ' performance' of these yachts?

We have experience with the Jeanneau 51 designed by Farr in the beginning of the 90's and in the short waves of the Med here in Europe she was not comfortable at all / bounced around.

WE are busy as a family buying one of these but ' the sailing feeling' has to be there if possible.

*I promised my wife space and myself a great bed next to the mast so after many racing yachts am afraid to buy a floating caravan......

Eric

[s/v Jedi]

Ha ha, we were always complaining about the bouncing around on short waves on the North Sea.... later found out that the waves in the Caribbean are just as short and bouncy (not at all like the postcards!) and now you tell me that it ain't no different in the Med ;-)

I think the two most important factors are the length of the boat and the weight of the boat. The longer and heavier, the less bouncing. As 50' is a pretty good size already, you should look at the weight first, plus hull shape secondary.

Weight: the Jeanneau 51 was a charter boat? If so, you don't have to worry much because once you load everything aboard for cruising on your boat, your weight will be way up!

Hull shape: the bow can slice through the waves or "slam" into them. Our bow is without overhang (maximum waterline) and with a very fine entry angle, so it tends to slice through the waves pretty good. However, over a certain wave height, this effect is becoming less and less. Also, this means that we are very shallow draft at the bow (and less buoyancy), often coming out of the water and slamming back in. So, it's not all paradise either. We need speed for lift at the bow, unlike boats with overhang and a bigger entry angle which get much more buoyancy as the bow immerses more. The shape of our hull would not be so comfortable at 50' length I think; The Sundeer 56's are also much slower, more difference than just the length. Probably, some hull shapes work best within a range of length of the boat while others are more relaxed.

We sailed Jeaneau's too, but not the 51. I tend to feel that they are more bouncy than Beneteau's. But I wouldn't know about the difference between the versions of the Beneteau you mention.

cheers,
Nick.

[Xpets]

thanks Nick ; we understand your point as we produced some carbon yachts
World Class Cruising Yachts - Home

but as we close shop we just now go sailing.......no business

unfortunately we can not affort your kind of dream yachts as we lost our money producing the ' perfect' carbon cruiser

appreciate your input

fair winds and we keep pushing to gind a good big boat that sails for with a litte price tag

Eric