Beneteau 57: Ready for Blue Water

Beneteau will premiere it's new 57, a blue water cruiser, at the Paris Boat Show this December.

The new 57 puts Beneteau firmly in competition with the Oyster and Boat Sales International and their 50+ foot raised salon pilothouse yachts. For a designer, Beneteau turned to Annapolis based Farr Yacht Design (who are not coincidentally designers of BSI's Farr Pilothouse series). Interior design and overall styling is by AB Concept / Franck Darnet Design.

The 57 will be available in either a 2 or 4 cabin configuration, the former has two equally large staterooms fore and aft, each with its own shower /sink/head. The latter splits each stateroom with a center wall, again giving each cabin its own complete washroom.

The hull is a solid GRP laminate with a balsa rib band and a structural hull liner bonded and laminated to the hull. The deck is a balsa sandwich providing weight savings as well as thermal and sound insulation. Sidedecks are teak-laid, with moulded non-skid on the coachroof. As with standard pilothouse configurations, there is a cockpit windscreen. Winches -- 5 of them in the cockpit -- are from Lewmar.

The mast is aluminum, 9/10 rig with three spreaders. The boom is mounted fairly high to clear the windscreen; two folding steps are on the mast for mainsail access. A roller furling genoa is standard, with electric furling as an option.

Two keel options are available: the standard at 2.60m, and an optional shoal draft of 2.10 m.

Steering is mounted on the forward port bulkhead, in a protected nav station. Optionally the steering can be pedestal mounted in the center of the cockpit. An hydraulic autopilot is an available factory-installed option.

The engine Yanmar 4LHA-HTP 160cv, diesel engine, 4 cylinders, 4 stroke, direct injection and supercharged, with 480 liter fuel capacity in two takes located in the after cabine.

There are four freshwater tanks totalling 1000 liters, all tanks are baffled and integrated with the inner hull grid. Hot and cold water is pressurized with an automatic pump and compression tank. An electric pump takes care of the icebox. The water heater is a Raritan with 42 liter capacity, warmed by either the engine or 110/220 V.

Beneteau has paid particular attention to detailing and stying in the salon and staterooms. All the woodwork is cherry stained Douka wood, with Iroko parquet flooring, padded ceilings and wood door frames. The salon (identical in both the 2 and 4 cabin options) is to starboard, as is the chart table. To port are the dinette table and settees. Two more removable chairs can be placed around the dinette table.

The galley is as complete as you need aboard any yacht, including two stainless sinks, a four burner store with oven, electric overhead exhaust fan, side by side refrigerator, freezer, a 220v microwave and even a 220v dishwasher.

The Beneteau 57 will initially be made just in France, the first hull to visit North America will be in the spring of 2003. There are as yet no plans to manufacture the boat in the U.S.

Specifications