Beneteau Series 9

Everyone’s talking about bio diesel, hybrid cars, gas conversions, wind, solar and alternative power sources. But if you want efficiency and miles per gallon (okay, kilometre per litre) from a powerboat, a new-age diesel motor takes some beating.

Encase the cutting edge kicker with common-rail fuel injection and electronic controls in some fibreglass with flair and you’re halfway to making a smart boat.

This is exactly what French boatbuilder Beneteau has done with its Series 9. A handy-sized single-screw cruiser, the Series 9 is very much a la mode, or of the moment. Yet, in Europe where diesel costs upwards of $2 a litre, such single screw cruisers are well established – which is what happens when fuel goes up.

As with Beneteau’s smaller diesel-powered cruisers, the Series 9 has been designed to be couple-friendly. There are walkaround decks, a single lower all-weather helm station, a nice big head and just a single cabin in the bow with an accommodating (offset) double berth and, throughout the cabin, high head room.

Outdoors, the Series 9 has a lot of deck space for doing what we covet most: fishing, eating, entertaining and just hanging out.

But for all this it was the engineering which, I’m told, tempted this boat’s owner to jump aboard. Hailing from a commercial-fishing family in Geraldton in WA, the owner sought a single-diesel powered boat that was low-maintenance and practical in the often wild local weather.

In fact, given the climate it was originally built for, the Series 9 wouldn’t be out of place in a lot of other southern ports. Add a generator and reverse-cycle air-con and you have climate control. You should order the optional flybridge helm station if you want a boat that’s even better for hot-climate cruising.

STRONG AND SUCCESSFUL
Since starting up in 2004 at Jones Bay Wharf in Sydney, where it owns a harbourfront office and marina berths, Beneteau powerboat agents JW Marine has opened branches on the Gold Coast and Melbourne and, deservedly, is now reaping the rewards of its investment.

 The Sydney Boat Show was excellent, I’m told, and by rights boats like the Series 9 should be where the market is at (Beneteau’s best-selling powerboat is the 760 model with a similar layout).

JW Marine has sold more than 60 Beneteau powerboats and, as was announced in Cannes this year, it’s the eight biggest dealer in the world. Not bad considering there are 273 dealer service centres worldwide and the business is less than three years old.

Part of the dealer’s success can of course be attributed to Beneteau, which is committed to producing sturdy boats that meet European certification, which are mindful of ergonomic and safety issues, and fashioned from fibreglass with a structural inner liner bonded to the hull for stiffness. The decks are balsa-cored to reduce weight and the stainless deck gear is typically sturdy.

The Series 9’s (standard blue) hull is one of Beneteau’s signature shapes, that is, with a gull-wing aft running surface that provides longitudinal lift and good stability at rest.

The fine forward sections slice the waves and there are big chines and a flared bow to keep the sea at bay. Importantly the boat also has a keel for tracking that protects the prop tips – a selling feature in skinny waterways.

Access to the single Volvo 260hp D4 diesel engine – latter boats will be fitted with the 225hp D4 which gives just a knot or two less top speed – is gained by lifting the saloon carpet and jumping down a floor hatch.

You can access the fuel filter and sea strainer aft of the engine, but there’s limited servicing room on the port side of the motor. In fact, you must remove the dinette, clip-in carpet and open a separate floor hatch to check the oil and reach the dipstick.

JW Marine said it would fit an aftermarket inspection port to make oil checks easier if you are one of those skippers concerned with such things.

I noted foam sound insulation, a hot-water service to port, separate house and engine-start batteries, a battery charger, the water pump and labelled seacocks with double hoseclips below the waterline. All good routine stuff. Aft, the lazarette is accessed through two separate (lockable) cockpit floor hatches that lift on gas struts and I could see the internal liner bonded to the hull.

I also noted a Willow 55lt esky and fenders in the starboard hatch, 400lt of fuel forward in an aluminium tank, and an aft emergency tiller.

The portside hatch revealed the polypropylene 100lt water tank, a stack of folding deck chairs and yet more valuable storage space for stashing water toys and fishing and dive gear, a barbie or whatever.

OUTDOOR DAYS
The Series 9 has a teak-slatted boarding platform that’s big enough to sit on, a swim ladder, handheld hot/cold deck shower and starboard door to the cockpit. There are hawsepipes and below-deck cleats, side pockets with twin racks for holding gaffs, landing nets, boat hook and so on, with the shorepower connection to starboard, and the gas bottle locker for the galley stove nearby. The boat was crying out for a barbie.

The self-draining non-skid cockpit – measuring 2.05m x 2.80m – is big enough for assembling a table and chairs for al fresco dining under the extended canopy (optional and courtesy of JW Marine).

Big moulded steps lead forward to wonderfully wide walkaround decks, backed by a bowrail and grabrails, to a flat foredeck that can be used as a second lifestyle area or as a teenage retreat. The foredeck feels nice and safe and comes with a self-stow anchor and Lofrans windlass.

Aft, a steep ladder leads from the cockpit to the flybridge, which you can option as a second helm station. As it was, the bridge doubles as a neat sunbaking area, with room for lashing the ducky when passagemaking, and scope to plonk a deck chair or two for doing sundowners. Emphasising the boat’s utility were the two rodholders on the low stainless rails. The Series 9 can do a bit of everything.

CABIN COMFORT
Despite the broad walkaround decks there is a great sense of space indoors – thanks to the abundance of surrounding glass, much of it sliding and with a forward hatch for natural ventilation. There are white headliners and head room up to 1.90m. The satin-finished cherrywood joinery and nautical-blue upholstery are a timeless match.

When seated the glass works as picture windows, framing the views from the U-shaped lounge to port set around a dinette. It’s big enough for four people and can convert to a double bed for the (grand) kids. A section of the lounge backrest folds forward to create a co-pilot seat. Chart storage and space for stowing personals is nearby. The galley is concealed behind a cherrywood panel to starboard, on the same level as the saloon and cockpit, and therefore practical for serving.

Amenities range from a 42lt 12/240V fridge to a two-burner gas/240V (on shorepower only) stove, sink with hot/cold water, pot and/or appliance drawer to veggie basket and cutlery drawer. There was no microwave, but you could fit one with another house battery and inverter instead of a generator. That would be my choice.

The helm to starboard has a comfortable single seat and fetching timber wheel, 240V outlet nearby in a strange spot, Volvo single EVC electric throttle, bowthruster controls, trim tabs, wipers with washers, a logical spread of switches and storage for personal effects.

The owner added a top-shelf Raymarine C120 chartplotter, sounder and VHF radio for added insurance around Geraldton. And there was a marine stereo.

The boat’s main battery switches are under the steps to the single-cabin accommodation. Interestingly, the boat has a large foyer at the foot of the stairs with head room, hanging space, a seat and the holding tank tucked away in a cupboard. Though there aren’t two cabins, the foyer adds to the room belowdecks and the opening port will keep the interior well vented at summer anchorages.

 The boat’s one big head to port has almost 1.80m of headroom, a handheld hot/cold shower (watch the 100lt water supply) and a manual marine loo that, I suppose, could be upgraded to an electric number.

More pleasant surprises exist in the master cabin in the bow, where owners are treated to a big offset double berth that’s seriously sleepable, with a nice nautical atmosphere thanks to the cherrywood surrounds. Storage exists in side lockers, cupboards and in that hanging locker in the foyer. Opening ports and a hatch direct the fresh air inside. And a padded seat will help you pull on the clobber in the morning.

BENETEAU CRUISING
Though far from France or Geraldton, Sydney Harbour proved a suitable test track for the Series 9. The wakes from the mass exodus of craft leaving the Sydney Boat Show, the wash from the passing ferries and RiverCats near Circular Quay, and the stone retaining walls bouncing the swells back from either side of the Harbour Bridge provided plenty of speed bumps.

The 9 Series carries on Beneteau’s tradition of building smooth-running boats.

In the enclosed helm I remained dry, protected from the winter air, and it was pleasant enough that I could commute to an anchorage up or down the coast somewhere. Unlike a lot of boats with sub-saloon engines and lower helms this was a quiet boat. I guess Volvo is partly responsible for that.

We left with the aid of the bowthruster, which also makes berthing in reverse a breeze, and trim tabs allowed me to make adjustments for everything from uneven crew load to quartering winds. It wasn’t long before I started entertaining thoughts of heading offshore, on a fishing trip or ocean passage. The off-the-wheel steering was responsive, too, thanks to a decent rudder.

Speed trial revealed the flat cathedral hull holds an efficient planing speed of 9.2kts at 2200rpm, a slow cruise of 11.5kts at 2500rpm and a carefree cruise of 16.6kts at 3000rpm ranging up to 20.5kts at 3200rpm. Top speed of the lightly laden boat was 23kts at 3600rpm, which is as fast as you need to go. At 3000rpm, the D4 uses about 33lt/h, according to Volvo. Thus, the boat’s safe cruising range is about 225 nautical miles. But best of all you don’t have to be an oil barren to pay for the fuel bills. While the boating tenet is ‘bigger is better’ these days, there’s always a place for a smart single-screw diesel boat with a bowthruster and sleeping for two. Even more so in the current and future climate.

HIGHS

LOWS