Sailing Dusseldorf: Beneteau Oceanis 38
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Sailing Dusseldorf: Beneteau Oceanis 38

Andrey Sharkov shares his impressions of the European yacht of 2014
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Today I will tell you about the European Yacht of the Year 2014. It's about the Oceanis 38. And a little bit about the rest of the Beneteau line. No matter how you spin it, it's not easy to» get the Yacht of the Year title«. It is quite an objective assessment, which is published by journalists of leading European magazines, and it is difficult to manipulate the voting. And by my own feeling, all the yachts I have seen with this title have something in their design that sets them apart and makes them stand out for the best. Innovations in these boats did not always take root for a long time, but certainly gave a boost to new research and therefore to designer finds. So, do not go to the stand of the French, you know, there was no opportunity.

The first impression of the boat: it is, as they say now, in a trend. The wide stern, on the one hand, should have a positive effect on the sailing qualities, on the other - gives the designer a place for imagination.

Add a straight stitch and a clean cut and you get a typical cruiser from the last lines. So what exactly is the thirty-eighth high rank for? Here's to transformationality! Let me get this straight...

NB. Before going further with the story (and not only about this boat) I want to note - I share my impressions of the boat exactly from the exhibition. Here it is not possible to judge anything seriously, for example, about sailing qualities or seaworthiness. At the exhibition, you can go aboard, hold the helm (I noticed that for some reason, everyone does it, but why?), look into the lockers in the lockers, cabins, salon, thoughtfully open the lockers in the cabins, be sure to inspect the latrines (all of them do it too) .... And you have to turn on your imagination and, based on your marine experience, imagine how it would look like in the sea. In a sense, impressions from the exhibition are «furniture»impressions.

Oceanis 38 is a boat for many occasions. It is an attempt to create a yacht that is versatile in some sense, suitable for day trips and for living on board, for example, as a couple, and for a week of sailing on vacation, or even for round the world with a family crew. In small dimensions! I think that's what the jury of the European prize voted for.

But, let's go aboard and watch the furniture! Immediately - feed as wide as a half or more. You can live in a cockpit like this! And this is a 38-foot long shell!


The design of the cockpit is, in general, quite traditional:

Notice that there's no locker on the port side! But the aft cabin is here with a rather high pillowcase:

Such doors, instead of a normal firewall shield, obviously assume that, having received a forecast, the captain will not be able to get into a serious change on this boat:

The geek-scotch wiring is led to the power arch above the deckhouse. «Benet» is already six or seven years old, if I am not mistaken, practicing with such arches, and although at first I had doubts about the reliability of such a solution, obviously, I have already accumulated experience, which allows the designers of the shipyard to put the arch now on the entire line produced.

A staxel-automatic on a yacht where it is supposed to walk in small numbers is quite justified thing. But for the traditional genoa there is also wiring:

Now downstairs. You go down to the salon and... Oh, pinch me! :

)

There is no traditional bulkhead that separates the forward cabin! I mean, there is, but... there isn't one. It's simply removed if desired or necessary. And it turns out to be a studio salon. It's got everything the studio usually has: a small kitchen, that is, a galley...

... ... sleeping area (not small by yachting standards and quite comfortable) ...

... ...the dining area (a person on six is quite comfortable)...

... ...quite a traditional latrine and a separate aft cabin (children's room?)...

... ...and even for the work area or office, there's room (navigator)...

In short, the «studio» is the first thing that came to mind, and the impression, I think, is accurate. If you wish, the bow sleeping area can be fenced off by a bulkhead, it is quite quickly put and removed (photo from the booklet), or you can curtain:

Personal resume: the boat is really interesting. And versatile. Except I would have chosen another one for serious round the world. But, importantly, I think that the price of the yacht corresponds to its price (the figure at the top is the base price, at the bottom - with the tricks and European VAT):

Now fast on the other models of «Benet». Quick, because I wrote about them last year, and these boats have not changed. First, for example, about the Sense 50.

Great dishes for family holidays in the Mediterranean! You can not buy a villa in Azur, better «Sense !»And you save, and you get more impressions.

A boat, I'd say glamorous. The salon is a hand looking for a glass of champagne.

You should definitely talk about «furniture» qualities here. It's me without irony, believe me. For example, there's a sofa in the salon. In the middle.



And the trousers turn... I mean, the sofa turns. :) The island doesn't interfere with walking around the salon in any way. Besides, there's a TV hidden in it:

The «furniture»I'm tired of in «Sense» is the side cabins. They are of course healthy, comfortable, but these doors, or rather sliding walls:

Well, I do not believe that on the wave this structure will behave adequately! The stiffest hull of the ship on the wave will «breathe» along the axes or in a twist, and then such a large vertical bulkhead moves in the guides... Sort of... the lock, for example, is not jammed...

And on deck, for example, there's a question about winches. Tell me, how do you jump to these school winches in a squall? Through these wide mattress jars...

Everybody who's been to the «Sensees»before marks their performance. Fast boats, and it's not clear why «the sailors have been pushed» here. Well, I see, for the sake of comfort. Well, these boats definitely have a buyer of their own. In a sense, the biggest line of Beneteau - the «oceans» - are made as if more «about the sea». I thought the new «Oceanis» were derivatives of «Sense»'s hull, but as the manufacturer says, the hulls are slightly different. At least the boats are fast, too. For example, the «Oceanis»is said to accelerate to 20 knots on a full course. But

unlike «Sensea», Oceanis already has quite traditional insides, which I prefer.

In conclusion, a couple of price tags:



Andrei Sharkov,


president of the Russian Cruiser Club. Author's blog on Livejournal

Takde read Andrey Sharkov's impressions about Moody 54DS and Allures 39.9.

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