Beneteau oceanis 55

[AJPT]

After a year plus of looking, viewing and researching cats and monos my gf and I have finally narrowed down our long and exhaustive list of boats to 3. The other two we have been on and we're very impressed with, they both have their own merits and we could see us living on either of them with ease.

The last one is the oceanis 55 which is more my choosing than my other half's. We have yet to step abroad one or see one in the flesh.

I particularly like the layout, deck space, massive options, how beamy it is, the shallow draft options, interior layout, the overall look and the fact that it is 4000lbs lighter than the other mono we are considering although it is slightly smaller in length and beam.

To that end has anyone sailed one, is there anyone on here who lives on one for long term?
Does anyone have any experience with the shoal draft or shallow draft 55?
Build quality, any faults, the need for dock and go or not bearing in mind the twin rudder configuration. Necessary options, what you would change knowing what you know now!

Our next step is to sail all 3, charter them and then make our final decision.

Cheers.

[DDabs]

sweet boat

[zboss]

What is the shallow draft on that boat? Where are you located?

I see the shallow draft on newer bene boats is like 6' 3", which only increases when you load it for cruising.

That can be a lot in the keys and the Bahamas if that is where you are. We have a 5'5" draft that increases to 5'9" when cruising (always) and we needed to be careful in the Bahamas and most of the anchorages were off limits in the keys.

[MarkJ]

I was on the Oceanis 55 at the boat show">Annapolis Boat Show and i was highly, highly impressed!
The huge windows in the saloon hull, not just the coach roof, and the forwad cabin are a scene stealer. Realy good stuff.

As for keels, get the deep keel every time unless you have absolute necessity for shoal.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by AJPT

After a year plus of looking, viewing and researching cats and monos my gf and I have finally narrowed down our long and exhaustive list of boats to 3. The other two we have been on and we're very impressed with, they both have their own merits and we could see us living on either of them with ease.

What were the other two boats?

OK, you didn't say anything about children, but if it's just you and your girlfriend, do you really need a 55' boat? The Oceanis 55 is enormous. I haven't sailed it but I've been inside several times. I love the boat myself, but it's huge. It feels like a house. It feels bigger than most 55' vessels. The aft cabins are like small apartments.

The windows are amazing. When the boat heels a bit, you will likely be able to see fish underwater. I have been told the windows are very strong, but still I would be nervous about crossing an ocean in that boat.

[AJPT]

Shoal draft is 5ft 1
Shallow draft is 6ft 3

The shoal draft is a T keel.

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

I was on the Oceanis 55 at the Annapolis Boat Show and i was highly, highly impressed!

The huge windows in the saloon hull, not just the coach roof, and the forwad cabin are a scene stealer. Realy good stuff.



As for keels, get the deep keel every time unless you have absolute necessity for shoal.

+1 on the deeper keel.



I just looked at the Bene55 video on their website.. the in-hull windows are a major benefit to the interior!

Sent from mTalk

[AJPT]

No children just us and all our friends and family and watersports equipment, hence needing a big boat. It's actually 52ft although it's marketed as a 55.

It will be our home so I don't want to feel like I wished I had gone bigger. The 55ft mark fits all our needs.

Other two boats are the new lagoon 42 cat and the hanse 588.

The cat because we feel we have to give the benefit of the doubt and try one, the lagoon 42 came up trumps for us, we loved it but weren't buzzing about it. We really like monohulls if I'm honest.

The hanse 588 is just amazing, we were properly blown away by it, the build quality and fittings are of a very high standard and for its size is actually a very reasonable boat, the only concern I have is the keel depth, hence looking at the 55 as our 3rd boat.

My gf is sold on the hanse, she'd be on it tomorrow if she could, me, I'm holding out to see the 55 as I've heard good things, I want to see how the hanse and 55 compare when at sea and in rougher conditions if possible. Although the people I speak to both say they pull like a train and eat up the miles with no fuss as we'd expect.

And to throw a spanner in the works there is a hanse 538 coming out soon!

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by AJPT

No children just us and all our friends and family and watersports equipment, hence needing a big boat. It's actually 52ft although it's marketed as a 55.

It will be our home so I don't want to feel like I wished I had gone bigger. The 55ft mark fits all our needs.

Other two boats are the new lagoon 42 cat and the hanse 588.

If you are looking at the Hanse 588, why not the 575? It has an amazing nav station which is the size of a personal office. I especially like the dinghy garages on both those Hanse boats.

[MarkJ]

Can the dinghy garage hold a proper size dink? I'll bet they can't. You need to get a full 9 or 9.5 foot dink, inflated, inside... And the OB will never fit so the dinghy bottom will still get dirty.

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Can the dinghy garage hold a proper size dink? I'll bet they can't. You need to get a full 9 or 9.5 foot dink, inflated, inside... And the OB will never fit so the dinghy bottom will still get dirty.

Even if you can't fit a proper dink, it's still a hell of a large storage locker. The tradeoff of having that garage though, is how high the hulls go; you end up with a lot more freeboard than you need.

[AJPT]

The 588 is the replacement for the 575, same hull upgraded systems and fittings.

Ref the dinghy garage, I'm not sure how big a dinghy it can take but as stated a great addition to have.

[Three Sisters]

Dinghy garage but the same mini stove dimensions that have been around forever. Any larger choices with the cooker beyond the present offerings ?

Especially the oven.

[daletournier]

I've been looking into the smaller 461'hanses and i agree with you the keel depth is a turn off. I have no problem with 2m but 2.6m starts to be a problem IMHO.
Like others have commented, the windows on the 55 are amazing, i know old salts will cringe, but to me you spend more time living on your boat than anything else therefore lots of space and light can really improve that living. And regarding the windows and ocean crossing, if they weren't designed to be there they wouldnt be there.

Sent from my vivo Y35 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[AJPT]

It seems they all have a 3 gas stove on these boats, they all seem to be the same size no matter what brand you choose, could always get a upgraded one, it's hardly a deal breaker though.

I agree ref the windows, cats have windows that are submerged constantly, I'm sure they will be fine.

The light in these modern boats is what we are looking for, we are youngish and don't like rich mahogany, I've tried to like other older boats that many people talk about on here(I won't say which ones) but to us they look old and dark. I like modern and that's that really, we all like different things the world would be boring if we were all the same.

Keel depths are my main concern with hanse as we want to go far and wide, I'd hate to get somewhere and be restricted by depth, hence asking on here for advice on the shallow draft oceanis 55.