Captain's Report

The Mission of the Oceanis 55

The Oceanis 55 is designed for cruising in all of the different permeations it might take. For example, by having three different keel depths available, the boat can be used nearly anywhere on earth. With her five layouts available, she can be used by a family for weekend cruising, for charter work, club rendezvous, or long-distance voyaging. By having nearly all of her sail controls brought back to the aft end of her cockpit she is easy to sail short-handed work -- or, even single-handed.

Major Features

5 Layout Plans.

Few boats of any size offer so many different configurations.

3 Keel Designs.

The Oceanis 55 comes with three keels, each with a different draft and weight. All are cast iron.

Twin Wheels.

Twin wheels come standard to make boat handling easy, more fun and comfortable.

"Dock & Go" Optional.

Beneteau's popular "Dock & Go" joystick system uses a pod drive in the stern and a bow thruster managed by a software controller that translates the movements of a joystick into digital commands for fool-proof docking.

CE Category "A."

The Oceanis 55 has a CE rating of "A" when carrying 12 or fewer people.

Wide Beam and Form Stability.

The state-of-the-art lines of the vessel have been drawn by Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design in France. The hull shape is good to windward and fast downwind in a blow.

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Innovative Interior Design.

The interior design is by Nauta Design, which has paid particular attention to making this boat feel cozy inside and quite versatile. All interior bulkhead surfaces are covered in Alpi wood or in designer fabrics.●

8 Hull Portlights Plus Many Skylights.

Getting light below is a major objective of the designers and to that end they have designed in 8 portlights in addition to side windows in the trunk cabin, three deck hatches forward, and numerous sky lights both large and small on top of the coach roof.●

Electrically-Controlled Transom.

The vessel's transom opens fully, allowing it to turn into a swim platform. Its decking is made of natural wood and has a stainless steel ladder with wood treads. ●

Alpi Mahogany Interior.

The joiner work inside is all Alpi mahogany. The cabin sole is parquet laminated wood. ●

Sails Included.

A roller furling headsail with UV protective strip and a fully battened mainsail with lazy jacks and lazy bag is standard equipment.

The Cockpit

In many respects the cockpit is remarkably conventional for a Beneteau. However, the builder has run virtually all of the controlling lines for the sails, including the mainsail sheet, below deck and through the cockpit combings to jam cleats just forward of the secondary self-tailing winches. These jam cleats and winches are placed just forward of the port and starboard wheels making it handy for the captain to get to, when sailing short-handed. These jam cleats and winches are also equally handy for crew seating or kneeling in the cockpit.

The Salon/Galley

Thanks to the prodigious beam of the Oceanis 55, there is plenty of room in the vessel for three to five sleeping cabins, and with two to four heads. That means the boat can sleep up to 10 people in private cabins. The settee also makes into a double bed to sleep two more.Virtually any family should find the Oceanis 55 large enough. Cruising sailors who like to have other couples around will have room for another couple and their kids as well -- or how about five couples?

The Settee.

With the addition of two stools the table can seat eight people for dinner. The aft end of the settee is double wide and also serves as a seat for the navigation station. Headroom in the salon is 6'6" (1.91 m).

The galley

has a two-burner stove top and oven. There is a 100 L top-loading icebox in the corner of the counter. A front loading 12 V electric refrigerator has a 130 L capacity. Beneteau has utilized all available space in the standard galley module for storage of dishes, pans and food containers. The galley module stays the same size no matter which of the layouts are selected and simply moves forward or aft depending on which of the layouts is selected.

An adjustable sofa

is placed on the port side opposite of the settee in the primary three-cabin layout. However, in the other four configurations this sofa is shrunk into a love seat. Remarkably, this is the only reduction in utility that is made to accommodate as many as five cabins and four heads in the 55.

The Iron Jib + "Dock & Go"

A Yanmar 75-hp diesel with three-bladed prop drives the Oceanis 55 through a pod drive, a concept that has been around a long time in the sailing world and used to be called a "sail drive''. This engine in concert with an electric bow thruster allows the boat to be controlled with the optional "Dock & Go" system through a joystick in the cockpit. A Vessel Management Unit (VMU) has the software that converts the movement of the joystick and the input from a gps to digital commands for the thruster motor, and transmission and engine. Our test of the system installed in the Sense 55 proved the system to be responsive, accurate and easy to use. We have not tested the Oceanis 55, but our test of the Sense 55 with the same propulsion system gave us a great deal of confidence in this engine which can easily push the boat at 8 to 9 knots.

Three Keels

Some of the best cruising grounds in the world are where the water is relatively shallow. Moreover, by their very nature, the harbors, rivers and waterways where marinas, waterfront houses and docks are located are often shallow. As a result, Beneteau is offering three keel depths so that every owner can still be able to go nearly wherever wanted.

The "Very Shallow Draft"

keel is 5'1" (1.55 m) deep and weighs 11,677 lbs. (5,298 kgs). The merely "shallow" draft keel draws 5'11" (1.80 m) and weighs 10,703 lbs. (4,855 kgs.) The "deep" draft keel draws 7'7" (2.31 m) and weighs just 9,326 lbs. (4,230 kgs.) All three keels are made out of cast iron. Remember that the Oceanis 55 gets much of her stability from its bottom shape and wide beam with hard chines. This design has the advantage of saving weight as well as making the boat a down-wind flyer.

Construction Details

The Oceanis 55 is designed in accordance with European Directives and CE requirements, according to Beneteau. The builder uses infused polyester and balsa core in both the hull and the deck. The hull-to-deck joint is screwed, chemically bonded and banded with a 1" thick piece of wood molding. The keel is affixed to the hull with stainless steel bolts going through a stainless steel plate in the bilge. Standing and running rigging are all made of conventional materials.

The 5 Accommodation Plans

Observations

We think from a sailing standpoint the advantage of the Oceanis 55 is that she can be easily sailed by one or two people. Performance-oriented sailors can choose any number of sail options to make the boat faster off the wind. From a living aboard standpoint the five layout options speak for themselves. Finally, we think the Oceanis 55 is well laid out for cockpit dining or cocktail parties. Ladies will like the two sun pads placed so close to the cockpit. Everyone will enjoy the swim platform, which we think is the coolest thing on the boat.

Standard and Optional Features