Beneteau Monte Carlo 32 Open

Eurovision

There's a lot to be said for diesel power, not least the fact you pay a premium. Take the Beneteau Monte Carlo 32 Open featured here. Go for Volvo Penta's twin 190hp inboard diesels with sterndrives instead of the twin 280hp 5.7 Gi petrol engines we drove and you will shell out a not inconsiderable $25,000 premium. Given that the average Australian boater clocks up just 50 hours on their engines each year, it would take virtually a lifetime of Sunday boating sorties to recoup the cost.

So think about how you use your boat before you tick the boxes. If dayboating is your thing, if you're content with cruising to anchorages in your backyard, which are generally no more than 30 minutes from a marina or mooring, then pocket the difference and go with petrol power. What's more, with a pair of V8s and Beneteau's Air Step hull, the 32 Open rewards with true sports performance. But more than a point-and-shoot boat, the 32 Open isn't short on creature comforts. The $298,000 package I drove included a 3.5kW Kohler petrol generator so you can use, among other things, the optional ceramic griddle above the optional fridge in the cockpit, and make hot water when you are away from the dock for that après-swim deck shower.

While lunch and a swim are motivators for most weekend warriors, the new Monte Carlo 32, which was released on the back of the inaugural 37, is a handy sized family boat for spending days and nights aboard. There are sufficient seats above decks to lounge or entertain, a neat spread of amenities down below for a small family to hunker down, and speed that lets you make a quick exodus and beat a hasty retreat on Sunday afternoon.

The local Beneteau powerboat importers tweaked the 32 Open to make it an even better boat. Besides the genset, cockpit fridge and griddle, there were cockpit carpet and canopy, plus a Raymarine C80 chartplotter that, along with the twin engines, lets you navigate to less-crowded anchorages and cruise the coast with confidence should the bug bite.

EURO DESIGN
Backed by Europe's biggest boatbuilder, the Monte Carlo is designed by Italian Pierangelo Andreani, hence the sleek styling and Euro lines. However, CAD technology should be credited with getting the ergonomics right and digital production equipment has ensured that what's designed on screen translates to something that works in the water.

From a technical viewpoint, the 32 Open is built to CE Category B, meaning it is designed for offshore conditions up to wind Force 8 (30 to 40kts and near gale) with wave heights up to 4m or 13ft. Yuck!

Thankfully, we didn't have a tempest with which to test the mettle of the Monte Carlo. Rather, we drove this boat at the end of winter, a fact that prompted me to note that a sportscruiser can indeed be agreeable even in the cooler months. The high-aspect windscreen cut the wind wonderfully well, but if you live in extreme climates then the optional hardtop and reverse-cycle air-con worth considering.

Meantime, construction goes beyond the accepted standard for a production boat, with composite balsa-cored hull and deck. The Air Step designed hull has notches in the chines to, in theory, reduce wetted surface area. However it works, the 32 Open maintains Beneteau's reputation for sweet-performing hulls.

Engineering meets the popular European CE standards. A cockpit hatch on struts and a short ladder lead down to the Volvo Pentas, which feature plenty of servicing room, screw-on fuel filters, and a strainer on the raw-water pickup. The aluminium fuel tank, hot-water service and gennie are nearby, and I noted a good amount of sound insulation. This wasn't a noisy cruiser, either, though it's outdoors that this boat really sings.

AL FRESCO
The integrated teak-topped swim platform is deep enough to kick back with drink or lunch in hand, the swim ladder and hot/cold shower are handy, and a 160lt watertank will do a family for a weekend. Seating comes via a C-shaped lounge for six pushed well aft so you gain the best waterfront aspect, before a moulded dinette that converts to a sunpad. There is also an option of sunpad cushions for the bow, which you access by the sidedecks, as there is no centre opening windscreen pane.

A two-seater helm seat and flip-up bolster lets you drive with one arm on the wheel and one around your crewmate. A Cleopatra lounge is behind the helm seat, with the amenities centre featuring fridge, ceramic griddle, sink, drinkholders and servery space opposite. A gas bottle locker is provided so you could mount a bigger barbie on the gunwale.

The high windscreen with stainless steel frame is practical and looks the goods, the overhead targa arch adds to the sporty lines and is a mounting point for the canopy, while the dash is a racy silver number designed around twin sets of Volvo Penta gauges, fuel and leg-trim gauges, a trick switch panel, and centre-mounted Raymarine C80 right where you can see it. This really is a model dash that other boatbuilders would do well to copy.

Wipers are optional, so use RainX or some such thing, and the boat had cable gearshifts instead of electric, which would have added another $8000 to the bottom line. Last but not least, there's a handy stainless steel grabrail at the dash. Not that it's a hard ride, au contraire, but more of a fun one, with great handling that inspires you to throw the boat around.

INDOOR COMFORTS
Full marks for the trendy industrial alloy roller shutter over the companionway leading below decks, where the finish is contemporary, with light oak joinery, dark wenge timber flooring and solid white counters. There's plenty of natural light through opening ports, a skylight and escape hatch. Light and airy, it is.

Being a deep rather than just sleek sportscruiser means you get plenty of headroom and shoulder room. Borrowing from its yacht-building nous, the boat boasts a surprising amount of storage from side lockers to sub-lounge holds and underfloor areas.

Double berths are at either end of the open-plan saloon, which houses the well-equipped galley and dinette for four. Galley has a deep sink, two-burner electric stove with potholders and a handy fridge with freezer tray. Opening ports ensure cross-flow ventilation.

A curtain is used for privacy in the forward sleeping arrangement, whose offset bed is turned into a bigger double with an infill panel. There are storage, mirrors and opening ports, too. But the big aft cabin with queen-sized bed gets my vote as the stateroom. While there isn't headroom over the bed, there is two metres of it at the foot of the bed, room to pull on your clothes in other words.

The moulded head is spacious, with hot/cold shower, sink and electric head. Trick Euro fittings and lighting adds to the style in what is a snappy sportscruiser even on the anchor.

SPORTY SPICE
Trim tabs weren't included, but for an uneven passenger load or strong crosswinds, they aren't needed. The boat performs perfectly in natural trim, running where its bow slices the swells, but freely on its aft sections.

With full leg-in trim, the 32 jumps to 20kts, a handy offshore cruise speed, with its bow slightly hooked in and great vision ahead. Everyday cruise was around 26kts at 3600rpm, where the flat wake underscores the slipperiness of the hull, and the boat isn't noisy.

At 4000rpm, there is a noticeable roar but it's a racy V8 note and you're flying along at 30kts. Fast cruise was 33 to 34kts at 4500rpm after which, with the legs trimmed up, we hit 39.5kts at 5500rpm and were flying. I'm supposing, run in, the V8s will eventually propel the 32 Open to 40-knots plus.

Beneteau's new sportscruisers have been well received and it is planning the release a Monte Carlo 27 and a new flagship 47 next year. Meantime, the 32 Open gives the Yanks a run for their money, is well priced without an over-the-top inventory, and a great water stage for some serious and not-so-serious naval gazing.

LOWS