Beneteau Sense 50
Designed for easy sailing for a couple or family, the latest in the Beneteau stable impresses at every turn...- General fit-out
- Performance
- Twin rudders (on a cruising boat?)
These yachts represent a major milestone as well as embracing a new lifestyle-oriented philosophy for the French builder. Beneteau’s development manager, Bruno Belmont, acknowledges the influences from earlier deck saloons such as the Moody 45 and Feeling 52 in the concept behind the Sense.
With comfort and living space to the fore, the key features of the Sense range are deep cockpits allowing for low entry to the apartment-style saloon where large stern-facing windows and a myriad of other hatches are intended to give an indoor/outdoor feel.
Sailing the Sense is also intended to be an easy affair with functional roller-furling headsails and slab-reefed mainsail controlled by electric Harken winches (in-mast furling is also available). Easy docking options include bow thrusters or the new Dock&Go pod system.
Cockpit locker space is good portside with wide teak-clad seating. Below, the starboard seat is access to a crew bunk/occasional cabin, with space for a washing machine and dryer.
The solid mainsheet arch is part of the dodger which also converts the cockpit, via zipped canvas, into a fully-covered all-weather area. So it should be party time rain or shine on the Sense. The fun continues behind the twin wheels where fold-up bulkheads open onto the stern swim platform.
The teak-clad swim platform and the open stern section can be semi-closed by raising a powered mini transom bulkhead. The twin helms are located well aft and rather exposed to any following seas but do have high back rests, are height adjustable and conveniently fold up on gas struts. Both binnacles have dedicated Raymarine C90 chartplotters with ST70 readouts and the starboard side has the power controls including, on the review boat, the Dock&Go pod system. Dock&Go uses a joystick via computer sensors to synchronise the Yanmar 75hp’s swivelling drive with the forward Maxpower thruster for maximum manoeuvrability in tight marina spots, making it ideal for couples to handle the big Sense.
Elsewhere in the cockpit, sail controls are taken care of via two sets of Harken winches, with H60.2s for mainsheet and the smaller powered H46.2s located forward for controlling the halyards; with their tails neatly stored in bins. Banks of large jammers on each side of the cockpit look more than adequate for managing the halyards and running rigging which all run aft.
Sleeping arrangements on the Sense reflect the philosophy of the boat being built for owners rather than chartering, so the layout is limited to a maximum of three cabins. The volume rivals equivalent powerboats, a target market sector for Beneteau with this range. There are two bathrooms with the forward ensuite and second one with dual entry as it adjoins the saloon from the guest double cabin.
The ensuite master cabin has a spacious island bed surrounded by locker space, vanity table and shelves plus a tall cupboard as well. Yet more accommodation is available if the portside office is converted into two single bunks, an option not available on the smaller 43 model.
The starboard-side galley runs the entire length of the saloon allowing several cooks to do their work on the three-burner stove/oven with microwave, while cold storage is taken care of in the top-opening 200-litre fridge/freezer with the review boat also having a front-opening fridge. Nice features include soft-close drawers, polished metal latches and gas struts on cupboards, which are of various depths and sizes including a wine rack.
Add-ons include an ice maker, washing machine dishwasher, air-conditioning and more which does of course drastically increase the $485,000 base price. Dividing up the interior is a central bench seat with mini work surface which prevents crew rolling around too much on the acres of floor space.
Cleverly, this bench also hides an electric pop-up 32 inch LCD television and combines with a Pioneer DVD-CD-MP3 Hifi system to ensure the party atmosphere continues through the Bose speakers and on deck where Sony ones can blast out your favourite Jimmy Buffet tracks.
The large navigation table runs athwartships against the back of the saloon so allows the skipper to watch the helm and by standing up have an all-round view, an excellent arrangement. Bulkhead space is dominated by the Raymarine C120 plotter but it looks possible to convert the two adjoining cupboards to space for smarts as well. In front, longitudinal bench seating, with solid wood dinette table that usefully converts into a day bunk, completes a functional saloon all finished off in light wood laminates.
Main power comes from the 75hp Yanmar accessed via the companionway steps, which easily lifts on gas struts, to reveal the engine. An 80amp alternator charges the two 140amp/hour house batteries plus a 110amp starting battery and an inverter can be included for running AC as well.
The monolithic GRP hull has the increasingly fashionable single chine running forward, intended to aid tracking while the bow section is shallow and there’s plenty of beam running back aft. A relatively long cast-iron keel with bulb and twin rudders ensures the Sense is no slouch when going to windward. My only gripe with twin rudders on cruising boats is when backing up though, due to water force on the blades. However fitting the Dock&Go pod drive overcomes this problem.
The world’s largest yacht builder, Beneteau, used the recession in 2009/10 to develop its Dock&Go pod drive system in conjunction with German company ZF Marine. Beneteau’s system, made for Yanmars, simplifies manoeuvring by using a joystick control.
Operation is simple -- you push the joystick in your desired direction of travel and the boat slides that way. For more power simply twist the joystick and away you go. As you can imagine there’s a lot of clever electronics below decks that allows this all to happen. Up front, the traditional bow thruster (a Max Power) is doing its usual job, with separate battery and electronic controls, but the big innovation is the 360-degree rotating saildrive at the stern. Designed for a minimum of a 75hp engine (Yanmar) the rotating sail drive is electronically synchronised with the thruster when in docking mode, which automatically blocks the helm when engaged. The sail drive is rotated by an electric motor and can be turned in half a second.
Connecting all this up is ZF’s Smart Control System which uses the industry standard NMEA2000 connectivity protocol, part of the motorcar industry’s CAN-Bus (Controller Area Network) technology, patented by Bosch.
The alloy twin-spreader Selden rig is held up by outboard shrouds (allowing clear decks for crew) with hefty chainplates integrated into the hull, an adjustable backstay, and the boom has a hard vang. The 9/10 rig comes with twin bow furlers for genoa and additional Code Zero. The layout also includes a deck fitting for a staysail, a good option for a cruising sailplan. Blocks on the hardtop dodger control the mainsheet and the boom is safely well above cockpit working height. The Dacron fully-battened mainsail is controlled by lazy jacks but with a boat of this luxury level, the optional in-mast furling would be more appropriate.
Given the ethos of this range, anchoring is likely to be an important part of owners’ itineraries and the Sense is well equipped with twin stainless-steel bow rollers, 1500W vertical Lewmar windlass with remote control and a deep locker for the galvanised chain.
I pressed on, pointing the Sense hard on the wind (about 48 degrees) and watched as the Raymarine C90 showed 6.6 knots over the ground with the anemometer showing 9.2 true wind.
Twin rudders meant tacking was a nimble affair apart from the big headsail which tangled against the Raymarine radar dome -- fixed just the above the lower spreader -- but a regular genoa wouldn’t have this problem (or fit a cage to the dome). Sheet handling was also good with the primaries within reach, so again ideal for short-handed crews.
Gybing in the light airs went without dramas, especially with the big boom well clear of the heads of the crew in the cockpit. With the conditions lightening the beamy hull kept up a respectable speed, with my notes showing 3.2 knots speed in the 5.5 knot breeze. But this was the cue to crank up the donk, which sprung into life with barely discernable noise, acceptable even in the saloon. Cranking it up to 1550rpm gave a reading of 8.5 knots as we sped towards the marina and a final test of the Sense.
Overall this new range of Beneteaus do live up to their branding, being sensible cruising boats that increase comfort levels substantially while not comprising seaworthiness, so bluewater sailors take note.
Buizen 52 -- Sydney built top quality deck saloon with hand finishing that is designed for world girdling.
Feeling 52 -- French built deck saloon with strong emphasis on inside/outside living and available with fixed or swing keel.
Mechanicals/Equipment/Rig, etc: 4.7/5.0
Packaging and Practicality: 4.7/5.0
On the water performance: 4.5/5.0
Value for money: 4.5/5.0
X-factor:4.7 /5.0
LOA: 15.27m
Hull length: 14.98m
LWL: 14.05m
Beam: 4.86m
Deep draught (min): 2.10m
Deep ballast weight: 3965kg
Shallow draught (min): 1.75m
Shallow ballast weight: 4,450kg
Air draught (max): 22.62m
Light displacement (EC): 15,295 kg
Mainsail area (classic): 63 sqm
Genoa area (105 %): 60 sqm
Asymmetric spinnaker: 185 sqm
Fuel capacity (max): 830 litres
Freshwater capacity (max): 730 litres
Engine power: 75 hp Sail Drive
Designer: Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design
Interior design: Nauta Design
Tel 02 9327 2088. Web: www.vicsail.com
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