Best 55ish Foot Sailboat

[BuzBay Sailor]

looking for thoughts on the best 55ish foot sailboat that sells for around $1 million:

[accomplice]

what is the boat's purpose?

[BuzBay Sailor]

both coastal cruising and off shore east coast to Caribbean and Central America.
unlikely any extended (1000 mile,etc.) ocean passages like some in this forum

[accomplice]

Do you have a preference between mono- and multi- hull? You posted in mono-hull section, so I will assume, mono-, but there are many excellent multi-'s in that price range.

Most of the boats at that price range will be capable of distant cruising. There are many excellent cruising boats built for longer travels or higher latitude sailing, but they involve some trade-offs to achieve that. What have you looked at so far, and what do you like? What are the features that matter most to you? (Large cockpit for entertaining? Large master cabin? Many staterooms for crew/visitors? Easy engine access? Pedigree?).

Unless you have special requirements or tastes that require a custom boat, even at that price, I would recommend a newer used boat, as it not only represents greater value, but also has a lot of the equipment installed and wrinkles ironed out that new boats haven't gone through yet.

I think that most people's answer to this question (and I'm surprised more haven't answered yet), will tell you about their taste in boats, as my answer will tell you about mine. Ultimately you need to follow your own taste.

For my money, if I had $1M to drop on a boat now, I recently was aboard a Hylas 70 (bigger than you asked, I know), that could probably be had for that.

Sticking with the 55-foot-ish length, you might want to take a look at Oyster 54 or 56, Swan 56 or 57, HR 54, Hylas 54, Discovery 55 -- all of which go for roughly $1M.

I'm very happy with our Tayana 58, but that's a little bigger than you asked for and if you paid $1M for a used one you probably didn't bargain hard enough.

[Kenomac]

Oyster 54

[DoubleWhisky]

My - personal only, of course - list:

1. Najad 570
2. Contest 57
3. Hallberg Rassy 55
4. Gunfleet 58
5. Oyster 575
6. Oyster 545
7. Discovery 55 MkII
8. Euphoria 54

in this particular order

[savoir]

Out of the boats mentioned so far I would go for the Swan 53. Here's one.

2007 Nautor Swan 53 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com


I like shopping with other people's money.

[DoubleWhisky]

Originally Posted by savoir

Out of the boats mentioned so far I would go for the Swan 53. Here's one.

2007 Nautor Swan 53 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com


I like shopping with other people's money.

They were nice boats

Just after they started to built oversized daysailers and weekenders in place of proper cruisers...

[barnakiel]

Why not just type 55' and 1 mio into Yachtworld???

Best is what you perceive best. There are no absolutes in this field. In none.

I like Besteavers, Bougainvilleas, Amels, Cigales, to name a few. I like some one offs too: Ourson Rapide is a decent boat, I think.

Not sure how much they are asking. Probably something around 1 mio, except of course for the Besteaver.

Check them out. Maybe they are your best too.

b.

[sy_gilana]

Bit of a typo there its a BesteVaer (Best Voyager)

Bestevaer / K&M Yachtbuilders

Great boats!!!!

[savoir]

Originally Posted by DoubleWhisky

They were nice boats

Just after they started to built oversized daysailers and weekenders in place of proper cruisers...

The 53 from the 80's was a better boat. Here's a nice looking one with plenty of upgrades, teak in particular. Different price bracket though.

1989 Nautor Swan 53 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[Dockhead]

Contest -- gorgeous boat. Made in Holland.

Discovery -- if you like the unusual layout below. Very beautifully made in Southampton, England.

Various Oysters -- 53, 56, etc. This is a very elegant, classy boat, which also has a certain brand cachet. Very heavily built with full skeg rudder and the only boat in this class with an uncored hull. For some people, this is nirvana. For others, not so much -- as sailing performance suffers.

Two Moodys, from the English company -- 54 (like mine) and the slightly updated 56. These are very good boats with very good sailing performance. Not quite as elegantly fitted out as the equivalent Oysters, but better in some functional ways (better rig, more winches, etc.)


So much for traditional cruising boats. But the OP didn't specify that this is what he wants.

Maybe he wants a modern "deck salon" type of monomaran? Like the Beneteau Sense or any number of other European boats? Not my cup of tea, but just the ticket for some tastes.

Bill Dixon started this with the Moody branded (but having nothing to do with the old English Moody yard; they are made by Hanse in Germany, with cheap mass production methods) 45DS; now there is a a 54DS: Moody 54 Deck Saloon - Cruising One Level Luxury |

Beneteau Sense 55: Sense (55') / Sense / Sailboats - BENETEAU USA

Hanse 575: Hanse 575 - Windcraft - Hanse Yachts |

and others.

Not what you'd want, probably, for long distance travel, but for coastal work like it sounds the OP wants to do, these offer a lot of comfort for a relatively modest amount of money, compared to the lists above.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by sy_gilana

Bit of a typo there its a BesteVaer (Best Voyager)

Bestevaer / K&M Yachtbuilders

Great boats!!!!

Yes, my Dutch is sub prime.

Cheers,
b.

[Island Time O25]

No if or buts - a Swan in mid 50s range.

[barnakiel]

Yep. As said above Contests are nice. Also Atlantic Yachts. Koopmans are fine boats too but I believe you have to hire a boatyard to get you one.

I am not sure if their size is right but Morris, Rustler, etc. makers seem to deliver well looking, well built and well sailing boats too.

And if one wants a more classic look, I would add Cherubini to the mix.

b.