2 BENETEAU GOES LARGE ON EXPEDITION YACHTS
Prestige wasn’t the only yard launching a new range at Düsseldorf, sister brand Beneteau also revealed plans for a new line of long-range expedition yachts. Currently known as Project E, it consists of two boats – a 62-footer and a 73-footer. The smaller of the two, labelled E1, picks up where the Swift Trawler range leaves off and shares some of its styling cues, while the larger E2 is a clean-sheet design with a raised pilothouse. Both will be manufactured at the Beneteau Group’s factory in Monfalcone, Italy, where Monte Carlo Yachts are built.
Intriguingly both use new fast displacement hulls designed for maximum efficiency at
10-12 knots but with a top speed of 16-20 knots. Combined with large capacity fuel tanks it gives them exceptional cruising ranges at 10 knots of 900nm and 1,400nm respectively. Both will have full stabilization.
Although the E1 looks similar to the ST range, it features an unusually wide beam of 16ft 6in (15.0m) and a flybridge that runs all the way aft with a crane for launching and recovering tenders and toys. The cockpit has been configured to face aft so guests can enjoy the view through the glass transom. The central galley can be left open for owner operators or closed off when crew are on board. The owner’s suite is amidships with a larger than normal
VIP suite in the bow and either one or two more guest cabins plus crew. It will be launched at next year’s Düsseldorf show.
Fewer details have been revealed about the E2, which is not due until later next year, but it is claimed to have the same volume as most 85-footers. Like the Prestige X70 it features a master cabin forward that occupies the full beam of the boat, pushing the forward half of the sidedecks up to flybridge level. However, the aft sidedecks remain at deck level. Like the E1 it has three further guest cabins, more extensive crew accommodation, an aft facing cockpit and a full-length flybridge.