Canadian Boating June 2024 - 18

Double sliding doors separate this posh bedroom from " the
lounge " . To port is an L-shaped settee with a triple-section table
and pop-up TV. To starboard is a straight-line galley with a threeburner
Bosch stove and extraction hood, a double sink and up
to four refrigeration drawers. A short island provides a bracing
point in the galley although washing dishes under way on a starboard
tack will still be challenging. To the delight of tall sailors:
interior headroom is 6' 7 " .
The two aft cabins are completely separated, without direct
The master stateroom, salon and galley form a self-contained
miniapartment.
access to the salon which can only be reached by going up and
through the protected part of the cockpit. Each cabin has its own
staircase with gullwing doors, a double bed and a wet head. The
port cabin is about a foot longer but otherwise, they're the same.
An optional crew cabin can be tucked into the bow but at 55
feet LOA, this model will be an owner-operated boat in North
America leaving the bow for stowage of fenders and lines.
Standard teak and white oak wood finishes are available. Softclose
drawers, leather cabinet pulls, indirect lighting and plentiful
USB ports add an upmarket feel.
The center island in the galley creates a boundary and provides a
bracing point when under way.
PERFORMANCE THAT PACKS A PUNCH
We had lovely sailing conditions but with a chill in the air,
we all soon gravitated to the warmth of the forward cockpit.
Anyone careless enough to leave a seat open under the bubble
soon lost it to someone else. We had a number of sail tweakers
aboard all trying to own that last .1 knot of boat speed and
at times the electric winches ran in stereo as adjustments were
made. We were 10 aboard and not only did we not get in each
other's way but our combined weight was a rounding error on the
boat's performance.
The master head rivals those in many apartments both in size and
luxury.
outside in the Gulf Stream as she flies from northern climes to the
Caribbean and back.
INNOVATIVE INTERIOR
The Yachts 55 is immensely practical for owners looking to
optimize privacy. The interior is by Andrew Winch who has created
three distinctly self-contained cabins. The forward full-beam
master stateroom is part of a comprehensive apartment that takes
up nearly two-thirds of the hull. This grand cabin has a double
berth offset to port, a large head and shower stall forward, oodles
of stowage space and a square array of four overhead hatches for
light and ventilation.
18 CANADIAN BOATING | JUNE 2024
In a true breeze of 13-14 knots, we made good 7.8 knots of
boat speed on a beam reach and we still held onto 6.8 knots with
the Code 0 when we cracked off to 135 degrees apparent wind
angle (AWA). Under the waterline, our boat had the 6'2 " shoal
keel which helped with the skinny waters of Chesapeake Bay.
The deeper draft option reaches down to 8'4 " but even without
that, our boat pointed well up to 38 degrees AWA and sped
along at 8.1 knots when the breeze freshened to 17 knots. With
push-button command and electric winches, tacking was so easy
that some aboard didn't even notice it was happening.
On the way back to the marina, we put the 110-hp Yanmar
diesel and 3-blade Flexofold folding prop on a shaft to good use.
We slipped along at 9.5 knots which is plenty of speed to run
home ahead of a storm. The engine and generator sit well aft of
the salon which keeps the master suite whisper quiet.
The wheels were quick to respond and we turned nearly in our
own length. As we approached the slip, Paul Fenn, Jeanneau's
Annapolis-based rep, backed and angled the boat into a ridiculously
tight spot. It was a thing of beauty.
The Yachts 55 is a 24V boat with nearly 700 Ah of AGM batteries
which may be upgraded to lithium. With Scheiber-based
digital switching that the company calls Ship Control, and their
remote monitoring app SEANAPPS, this Jeanneau presents
quite a sophisticated package.
As tested, our boat (which was hull #2 and the US premiere of
the model) came in at $1.3 million USD. At press time, 20 hulls
of the Yachts 55 were sold worldwide and that was in less than
six months of the model's introduction. The bubble dodger adds
Canadian Boating June 2024

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