SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 51 feet, 9 inches • BEAM: 14 feet, 4 inches • WEIGHT: 30,063 pounds • DRAFT: 3 feet, 5 inches HULL TYPE: modified-vee • POWER: twin 435-hp Volvo Penta D6 diesels, IPS600 pod drives • SPEED: 29 knots top, 25 knots cruise • TANKAGE: 344 gallons fuel, 106 gallons water • PRICE: $1.1 million CONTACT: Beneteau America, Annapolis, Maryland, (410) 990-0270. beneteaulife.com
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That mantra may serve plenty of boatbuilders well, but not Beneteau. The company is resisting complacency by replacing its best-selling Gran Turismo 49 with the Gran Turismo 50.
Officially launched at the Miami International Boat Show in February, the sport cruiser has a more angular and aggressive exterior than the 49’s and is more Mediterranean in feeling.
Two below-deck configurations will be available. The two-stateroom scheme has the master slightly abaft amidships, with a head and enclosed shower. There’s a guest stateroom in the bow with hinged berths that push together to form an island berth or pull apart as twins. The three-stateroom interior replaces a starboard L-shaped lounge with an enclosed stateroom and a pair of twin berths.
The galley is below and to port, across from the guest head. It includes a stainless sink, a two-burner stove, a microwave, a grill, a Corian countertop, cabinetry and two drawer refrigerators.
The main deck/saloon has a starboard-mounted helm and, to port, a J-shaped lounge with a flip-out dining table and neighboring bench-style seating. Sliding glass doors open to join the saloon and cockpit, which has an L-shaped lounge wrapped around a dining table. The hydraulic swim platform raises and lowers with the push of a button. The transom has a dinghy garage for a Williams jet tender, which is included, with a winch-and-roller launching system.
Under the cockpit sole is a pair of 435-hp Volvo Penta D6 diesels mated to IPS600 pod drives. The pods include joystick steering, which reduces anxiety-inducing encounters at fuel docks, when waiting for bridge openings or when sliding into a slip in a nasty wind or current. Out on the open water, expect a top speed of 29 knots and a 25-knot cruise. n
This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue.
