Beneteau Antares 710

The French have a thing for wheelhouse boats with inboard diesel power. Whole marinas in the Mediterranean are given over to rafts of the craft. Closer to home, at this year's Sydney International Boat Show there was a record line-up of the cute little cabin cruisers from the likes of Arvor, Beneteau, Jeanneau and Ocqueteau.

These fetching French cabin cruisers didn't arrive on a whim, but they coincide with the blow out in the fuel prices. Besides their cute looks and cabins with accommodation and a separate head, these boats offer low-maintenance and miserly fuel burn from their modest diesel motors with shaft drives.

Of the French foreign legion, the Beneteau brand appears to be soliciting the most attention. Buyers are often ex-yachties who know the badge and have grown weary of tugging ropes, I'm told. Or they might be families who want a walk-on boat in the water or anglers who like the ratio of cockpit to cabin space.

 Which brings us to Beneteau's Antares 710, a compact and, evidently, highly popular cabin cruiser. This was hull 401 of a boat measuring just 6.99m or 23ft overall and fitted with the latest 155hp Nanni turbodiesel engine - an adaptation of the very popular four-cylinder 3.0-litre Toyota block - that was good for cruising to a sprightly 21.4kt.

DECKED OUT
Outdoors, I noted a handy boarding platform deep enough to sit and watch the world go by, a central swim ladder, water (50lt) and fuel (130lt) fillers, but no handheld deck shower. A simple removable washboard across the transom lifts out for terrific access to the self-draining non-skid finished cockpit. Underfloor was a lazarette providing useful storage space for fenders, fishing and dive gear, and perhaps even a small ducky.

Built to European CE certification, the hard-chine hull has solid GRP below the waterline, a keel for directional stability and prop protection, with a moulded internal liner for stiffness. The deck is balsa-cored to save weight and provide strength. All the deck gear is through-bolted including the hawsepipes and cleats in the aft corners.

There was a manual bilge pump as well as the usual auto number, plus an emergency teak tiller that, together with the optional cockpit throttle on this boat, lets you drive from the transom while trolling a line for tailor. This was something I simulated around the headland at Broken Bay, noting good response to the rudder.

There were seats in the transom corners - you could improve the simple lift-out ply boards by adding cushions - teak-capped gunwales each with a plastic rodholder, and a small bait tank or fish box with a drain. Keen anglers might add a bigger livewell and better fish storage, a rocket launcher to the aft edge of the cabin top and perhaps even outrigger poles.

The mid-mounted engine certainly frees up the cockpit for fishing or simply kicking back at anchorage on a teak deck chair or two. An aftermarket awning, portable cooler to supplement the boat's (optional) 12V fridge, and a good book and you're done.

Lift the lid on the engine box and fold back the helm seat in the cabin and you get clear access to the dipsticks and header tank, fuel filter and sea strainer, and the single 140AH battery linked to the Nanni's 80A alternator. The engine space was soundproofed and being outside the wheelhouse it removed much of the noise, but like many diesel motors there was an annoying drumming noise at certain revs.

Moulded steps and walkaround sidedecks, backed by a useful bowrail with intermediate wire and handrails on the cabin top, make this an easy boat from which to throw the mooring lines. Anchoring is aided by a windlass and levered stainless-steel bowsprit. The anchor hatch needs a bungee cord to keep it open when you reach in for the anchor, however.

CUTE CABIN
Considering the compact dimensions of this boat the lock-up cabin is surprisingly accommodating. There is headroom of 188cm and, unlike some French wheelhouse cruisers with walkaround decks, excellent adjustable helm seats for two. The views through the windscreen (with wipers) and rear window span all corners of the boat.

 Sliding windows provide cross flow ventilation, with an additional hatch forward, ventilating the separate WC, which featured a manual-pump Jabsco marine head superior to the usual portapotti in a boat of this size. Back near the helm, a three-tiered storage shelf alongside is bound to come in handy.

Headroom diminishes as you step down from the helm to the port side galley and dinette with cherrywood joinery and quaint blue upholstery. The boat had a yachty ambience. Hardly surprising, I suppose, given that this is a Beneteau.

The galley had an optional 42lt 12V fridge, a sink with pressurised water, generous food-prep space and an alcohol stove to heat the kettle. I'd add a gas barbie back outdoors.

The dinette was cosy but accommodating for two people for a meal or hand of cards while waiting for that jewfish to jump on the line. Converted, it made a surprisingly comfortable double bed. I could easily grab 40 winks in this cute and cuddly cabin.

FRUGAL CRUISER
The test boat was fitted with a Raymarine electronics package comprising an RC435 chartplotter, DS500X sounder and a Sony marine stereo. The sounder worked exceptionally well even at high speed thanks to a through-hull transducer.

The dash also sported a neat switch panel for lights and pumps, a fetching timber wheel and a trolling valve that lets you reduce your idle speed to a crawl. Vision while seated was excellent, with the boat running with a slight bow-up attitude when on the plane. This contributed to a dry ride.

At trolling speed, where the boat puts up a nice wave patterns for running lures, the weight of the supplied anchor gear sees the bow sit lower. However, its flare provides lift and it's not so low that you scoop water aboard - not that it would matter with a self-draining deck.

With most of the weight down low and amidships this is a remarkably stable little boat. The gullwing or cathedral shape of the hull and flat eight-degree shaft angle provides the 710 with lift and that leads to excellent efficiency and willingness to plane at low revs of 2200rpm and just 8.5kt.

With little engine noise and great comfort, the four-pot Nanni, whose turbo kicks in around 2500rpm, ran at 2800rpm for a composed 14kt cruise. Offshore, I reeled in the sea miles at 3000rpm and up to 17kt without shaking the fillings loose.

Top speed was 21.4kt at 3400rpm, but there was a hard landing coming off an ocean roller. I think the crash sounded a lot worse that it was due to the timber floor panels in the cabin not being fixed in place.

 While it's no longer than a lot of trailerboats, the 710 has a wide 2.70m beam and a surprisingly generous amount of space. It's not a boat in which you would plan to spend days living aboard, but it does have a convertible double bed, separate head, fridge and an alcohol stove for spur-of-the-moment overnighting.

Add the low-maintenance diesel and low fuel bills and it's my guess we'll be seeing a lot more French-made wheelhouse boats like the 710 on waterways in years to come. It is a seaworthy little boat, as adept at roaming the deep blue with a few lines in the water as it would be cruising the river.


HIGHS