Beneteau Oceanis 373 Clipper

I first noticed the Beneteau 373 when it rolled into the yard of the yacht club on the back of a semi. It immediately got the attention of a few of us who were in our customary positions on the veranda enjoying a chilled article.

It got our attention not only for the fact that it was obviously the new Beneteau replacing the 361, but also for the fact that it looked bigger than its 37ft length.

Make no mistake, the 373 is a big boat. It has higher freeboard than the 361 it replaces and has a higher cabin line. It brings its 12ft 4in beam aft, which not only makes for a roomy cockpit but also adds to the already impressive interior space - but more on that later.

The 373 comes from the design board of Berret/Racoupeau whose resume not only includes some impressive race boats (Open 50s, Open 60s and mini 6.50s for example) but also four previous Beneteaus - the 33.7, 361, 36CC and the 381.

The first time I saw the 373 on the water, I thought it was a 393 as the lines are similar due to the 'panorama' windows on the front of the cabin. This gives it almost a deck-saloon look from some angles.

The 373 also has a few more of the '3-Series' attributes including the lift-up skipper's seat that opens up to a walkthrough transom. However, the big news is the swivelling wheel.

When reading the specs of the boat, this is one of the things I thought was a bit gimmicky but turned out to be really handy. Beneteau has patented the idea of having the wheel swivel through 90° to clear the cockpit when the boat is berthed. It's a great idea that provides a clear thoroughfare from the transom to the companionway - and yes, the steering does still work when it's swivelled.

We clambered aboard on a cloudy Melbourne morning with a steady sou'wester and a crew that included David Beck from Sundance yachts and Ross Lloyd from North Sails. Ross was onboard to see how his new suit of sails was performing.

The yacht was bought without its usual delivery sails from Beneteau. Instead, the owner opted to fit it out with a set of Norths to give it a little more performance as he's looking to run it around the cans in some midweek racing.

Standard rig is a swept-back two-spreader affair that seems to have a more narrow section than the 36. Interestingly, Beneteau has gone from its traditional masthead rig to a 9/10 fractional.

Standard equipment includes a roller furler and lazy-jacks. All lines lead back to the cockpit under the standard dodger, and two single-line reefs are also standard.

HEAD ROOM AND HEADROOM
The volume below decks is more akin to a 40-footer than a 37. The higher cabin lines give around 6ft 5in headroom right to the forward bulkhead and there's still around 6ft 2in in the forward cabin.

The test boat had the two-cabin layout, which gives a very large double berth aft and a huge cockpit locker (which now has shelves to break it up a bit, unlike the 361 which just had a giant void). However the big news with the two-cabin version as opposed to the three-cabin version is the bathroom.

Don't even think of calling it a head. This is a bathroom. Full standing headroom in the shower area, a folding screen, enough room to swing the proverbial moggy and even a teak bench to sit on while you shower! It is without doubt the best bathroom I've seen on a yacht under 50ft. A vanity unit with hot and cold pressurised water and a manual loo with standard holding tank complete the picture.

I'd go for the two-cabin version just so I could show my mates the bathroom and maybe even entice someone of the female persuasion to come sailing with me...

The galley is well equipped too. You get a two-burner stove, front-opening fridge, a separate top-opening icebox that can easily be converted to a freezer, stainless-steel double sink with hot and cold pressurised water, opening port and hatch for ventilation; and this particular vessel had the added benefit of manual foot pumps for both fresh and saltwater (an added extra for cruising).

The main saloon is very well lit thanks to the panorama windows above. There's a U-shaped settee to port with a bar locker behind, a very nice folding dining table with fiddle rails, two overhead halogen lights and four reading lights.

The nav station to starboard has both red and white lights, storage under the seat, a 12-function 12V control panel and, in this boat's case, a Raymarine chartplotter with a relay to the helm station.

Heading back to the companionway, the steps hinge at the top for engine access. Gas struts support the steps in the up position - a nice touch - and there is also access to the side and rear of the engine from the aft cabin.

SETTING SAIL
As mentioned earlier, we had the pleasure of the company of Ross from North Sails who had equipped the 373 with a nice set of sails to help the owner take home some glassware from the yacht club.

I asked Ross what gain he thought they'd get from the new sails as opposed to those supplied by Beneteau: "Cruising isn't about racing," he said. "And a lot of people don't really care about getting better sails - and for them, the sails the boat comes with are fine.

"However, if you're going to do a bit of racing, the slightly better sails will help you point a bit higher, perform better and they'll hold their shape for longer."

Ross reckons he's fitted out plenty of more cruising-oriented yachts with slightly better sails for racing and the difference is marked.

If the boat isn't delivered with sails, you can get a rebate from the factory which offsets some of the price of the new sails so the hip-pocket isn't hit so hard.

We set sail in about 14kt of breeze for the boat's third sail. According to David Beck, the first sail was to give it a bit of tune, the second was in the twilight race the previous night (in which it came second) and then it was our turn.

Straight away, the 373 picked up her skirts and headed out into Port Phillip with a lovely motion.

The 373 has a deeper hull shape than the 361 and that, added to the extra waterline length, gives it a slightly better action through a seaway. I found the steering to be light and responsive with just enough feel to let you know what's happening.

As I got used to it more, and as we got some trim, the speed picked up to around 7kt.

The high freeboard makes for a particularly dry boat and even though there was a reasonable chop, we didn't even look like getting wet. The Beneteau handles the slop well and I'd hazard a guess that it'd be a good sea boat too.

The breeze built slightly and at 18kt I don't think we had far to go before shortening sail a tad, but it still felt solid and the reef would probably only stand it up a bit.

Reaching towards the city we were up around 7.5kt and flat. Our photographer Ellen wanted to get some shots from the foredeck and I was happy to just keep going as she sat up there talking to Ross about... well, who knows? About stuff people talk about when they're on the foredeck, I suppose.

Soon, though, she'd finished snapping pics of the North logos on the headie and we spun the 373 around and headed back toward the marina. As mentioned before, the 373 is very manoeuvrable and easy to handle.

The boat spins effortlessly through tacks and the sheets run smoothly and come in with ease (the owner of the test boat, however, had opted to go up one size on the primaries and halyard winches to Lewmar 48s and 40s from the standard 45 and 30s).

As with a lot of cruising yachts, the mainsheet traveller is short and it didn't look like there was an opportunity to extend it without some creative renovations to the cabin top - but we'll live with that.

The mainsheet comes back to the cabin top under the dodger so the trimmer can stay warm and dry if it rains.

All too soon we were back home and had to hand the shiny new Beneteau back to its rightful owner. We flicked on the 30hp Volvo, rolled in the headsail and dropped the main into its bag and it was virtually all done. No flaking the main and folding the genoa on the dock for us... it really was a nice, comfortable sail. Just the thing for a Friday, I thought.

STANDARDS AND OPTIONS
The Oceanis 373 with its 'Clipper' pack comes with huge amount of standard equipment that makes it a comfortable sail-away package.

But there's more - in addition to the steak knives, Australian yachts get what is termed the 'Plus' package, which consists of: electric anchor winch, holding tank, spray dodger, tridata instruments (wind, log and depth), hot and cold cockpit shower, cockpit table, decals fitted, cockpit cushions, spinnaker pole with topping lift and downhaul, plus safety gear including VHF radio.

Apart from some more electronics, there's not a lot more the average weekend cruising enthusiast would want.

The Beneteau guys have really put together a good package here. It's a strong boat, a well-equipped boat and one that you don't have to add much to in order to sail off into the sunset.

The 373 has quite a few advantages over the 361 - mainly in hull design, which is reflected in performance, roominess, and style. I'm still a bit unsure about the height of the freeboard, but if you can live with that, you can easily live with the rest of the boat.

Then there's the price. By way of comparison, the 361 last year would have cost you around $285,000. The larger replacement boat starts at $293,000 and has some tantalising additions - not the least of which is the bathroom.