ME & MY BOAT
In the 1990s production cruising yachts got fatter and faster so Beneteau quickly joined the trend by relaunching its popular Oceanis range. Duncan Kent takes one for a spin
The Beneteau Oceanis 51: ‘extremely easy to handle’
The Oceanis 351 was considered particularly beamy at the time of its launch, which allowed for roomy cabins with wide berths and a truly spacious saloon and galley – something that significantly increased interest in its yachts at boat shows.
Two or three cabin layouts were available, the latter having a slightly smaller head, but the dinette was standard on both models.
Owing to the generous accommodation, the Oceanis 351 quickly became popular with charter companies, so many on the market will be ex-charter. Thanks to high construction standards they have survived well, but a full survey is recommended.
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
In addition to a spacious and luxurious interior, designer Jean Berret was asked to create a yacht that could outperform other production cruisers at the time. The result was a few innovative aspects, such as her winged keel, a shallow bilge, slippery underwater sections and a lengthy waterline.
Though her sail area displacement ratio is quite low, her low-drag hull design means she needs only a gentle breeze to get her moving, and her shallow hull section aft makes for swift and exciting downwind sailing.
Her standard, conservative masthead rig is easy to handle, relying heavily on the large genoa for her power to windward. Stability is created more by her wide form than by ballast, which is fine in normal conditions but does reduce her righting moment should she ever get knocked down.
LIVING BELOW
The 351’s maximum beam is carried almost all the way to the transom, significantly increasing the accommodation space. The linear galley and dinette-style saloon works well at anchor but isn’t user-friendly at sea. The galley has generous work surface and stowage, and the worktop area is well fiddled. There is a large cool box/fridge, and a full-size gimballed cooker with grill and oven, protected by a stainless-steel crash-bar. Twin sinks have hot and cold pressurised water.
The linear arrangement isn’t ideal for cooking under sail, where an L-, or U-shaped galley allows the cook to be strapped in and still reach everything just by turning their upper body rather than walking. The way forward is also blocked when the cook is at work. At anchor or in a marina the dinette seating works well for four to six.
The curved seat and oval table mean creating a further double berth, or even a single sea berth, would be difficult.
The joinery is of a high standard and gives a cosy feel. Stowage is plentiful in, around and under the settees, but there are no lockers above apart from a bottle store. The hot water calorifier is housed in the aft end of the settee.
Headroom is excellent, with 1.90m/6ft 3in in the saloon, 1.88m/6ft 2in in the aft cabins and 1.83m/6ft forward. Ample light and air are provided by numerous opening portlights and hatches, although these will usually need new seals by now.
In the 3-cabin model the two aft cabins are spacious and feature comfortable 2.0m L x 1.5m W (6ft 6in x 4ft 11in) berths. Both cabins have enough floor space for dressing, generous stowage, and three opening hatches and a large portlight. There is some stowage under the berths, where the water tank and batteries are housed.
The two-cabin model has a single, larger aft cabin, plus a deep cockpit locker to starboard and a bigger heads with a separate shower stall.
The 3-cabin model is still roomy with plenty of stowage and a place to hang wet oilies. The toilet is mounted diagonally, facing aft; the skin fittings will only allow a flush on a port tack! The seacocks are easy to access and are located under the sink, and the whole compartment is a moulded insert to facilitate cleaning and avoid any leaks. Ventilation is achieved through a single hatch.
Opposite the heads is the well appointed navigation station, although I would prefer to see a higher bulkhead dividing it from the galley. It features an 80cm x 57cm (31in x 22in) forward-facing chart table with ample chart stowage, a good electrical switch panel and a small area for instruments. Its seat is contoured and has useful stowage inside and more stowage can be found in the pod beneath the table and two large bins to the side.
The forecabin is also quite roomy with a 2m-long vee berth. Below the bunk is a water tank and a large stowage bin. Locker space is plentiful and there is enough floor area and headroom to get dressed comfortably. Three hatches let in plenty of air and light.
The companionway steps are angled up at the edges and have deep, non-slip treads and stout teak handrails on each side. You will also find another handrail on the end of the cockpit table. The deep bridge deck prevents any water from venturing below.
DECK LAYOUT
The cockpit is wide, but the area is broken up by a large, solidly-mounted table with an integral cool box, which also provides a footbrace and two sturdy handholds. The large binnacle carries engine controls and sailing instruments with ease.
Small cut-outs in the seating allow you to walk around the wheel without climbing on the teak-covered seats. The helmsman’s seat hinges down, creating a gated access to the swimming platform, boarding ladder and emergency tiller mounting. There are two deep lockers under the seats and a very deep lazarette which has a rather small aperture. The small sealed and drained gas locker takes a single, large gas bottle.
The side decks are unobstructed by the genoa tracks as they are mounted well inboard and the foredeck is large enough to deploy the ground tackle unhindered. The standard anchoring facilities feature a sturdy single roller and windlass plinth. However, James and Tim have changed the stemhead fitting for a chunky twin-roller setup. The furling drum is below deck too, well clear of the anchor and chain. Cleats and fairleads are a good size, stoutly mounted and in sensible positions.
SAILPLAN
Her Z-spars, twin-spreader masthead rig is robust and supported by caps, inters and aft lowers and twin, non-adjustable backstays. A gas-sprung vang supports the boom and supplies a degree of flattening for the main – necessary due to the forward position of the mainsheet on the coachroof.
The theory behind bringing all the control lines aft is to facilitate sail handling and eliminate the need to leave the cockpit to put a reef in. However, the most annoying element of the 351’s setup is that she only has two winches, which are on the coachroof. Despite being decent Lewmar 42STS, it is virtually impossible to sail the slab-reefed main rig without needing another winch. It also proved pretty tricky even with Witchcraft’s furling main, especially once we had the chute hoisted. During our sail we regularly ended up with two lines around the same winch, or one taken around an already loaded winch and fed to the winch on the other side. Crucially, rope jammers are provided for the genoa sheets, but these cannot be released without winching the sheet in first. James and Tim plan to put in extra winches.
UNDER SAIL
We sailed Witchcraft on a beautiful June day with a healthy sea breeze blowing into Chichester Harbour.
In light airs the in-mast furling mainsail is a little smaller than I’d have preferred but, being new, at least it had the best shape possible. Her genoa, though reasonably worn, still had an acceptable shape and provided the bulk of the driving power to windward.
Closed-hauled under full white sails she was making 5-6 knots and was happy to helm herself. She tacked through 78°-80° briskly, losing little momentum, provided the crew could get the 135% genoa around and tight quickly enough. Having the genoa tracks on the edge of the coachroof makes the most of her pointing ability, although it was a faff having to repeatedly go forward to flip the foot of the deep sail over the rail.
In past sails of the 351, where the wind has been stronger and the seas bigger, she has proved just as nimble. On a reach she stretched her legs, her fastest point of sail being around 50° AWA, where her slippery hull can easily attain a hull speed of over 7 knots in a Force 4-5. She remained well balanced throughout. Out at sea, after a few more white sail manoeuvres, we hoisted the asymmetric cruising chute in 12-15 knots of sea breeze. In these perfect sailing conditions she creamed along with the log persistently over 7 knots. Her deep keel and spade rudder kept her straight and true sailing downwind so helming was a pleasure, even when we finally sailed
back over the bar against the surge of an ebbing spring tide.
I’m no fan of in-mast mainsail reefing, particularly offshore, but it has its place in coastal cruising, especially when young children are on board. To a hard-pressed, short-handed crew it lowers the stress levels when a reef is needed. Also, on this boat, the smaller mainsail improved her balance.
UNDER POWER
Originally Witchcraft had a folding 2-blade prop which ‘we found fairly hopeless for close-quarter manoeuvring,’ says James. When they changed the engine, they installed a fixed 3-blade prop which has improved her handling under power and dropped the revs when motoring. ‘Unfortunately, it has also increased the prop walk, but once you have mastered it it’s not a problem.’
He went on to prove this later by expertly parking her stern-first to the pontoon with just the lightest kiss on the fenders. Engine access is tight for servicing, although most areas can be reached from the front or through the two side panels.
VERDICT
WHAT’S SHE LIKE TO SAIL?
The 351 is no ocean passage maker but she does exactly what she was designed to do, which is to offer exciting but safe coastal sailing in reasonable weather and sea conditions. If pushed too hard she becomes harder to handle and the ride gets more lively and onerous. Having a wide, flat stern with a single spade rudder means that if you don’t reef down in time the steering gets heavy and the rudder loses its bite on the water, allowing her to quickly gripe up head to wind. But sailed within her correct parameters she’s a pussycat.
James says: ‘She sails brilliantly upwind in 20kts on a relatively flat sea and is totally balanced, so no need for anyone on the helm or autopilot. On a reach she is fast but due to the heavy in-mast furling gear, prone to exacerbated roll with a beam-on sea. She sails well under a cruising chute, although we’re thinking of upsizing and adding a bowsprit.
‘She’s extremely easy to handle. I can sail her singlehanded, but the windage can be a handful when mooring so I’d fit a bow thruster if planning to do it regularly.’
IN PORT & AT ANCHOR?
Her ample beam means she’s spacious below so families with young children don’t feel trapped. The dinette works very well in port, and the saloon and galley are ideally suited to preparing food and feeding six people in comfort.
Likewise, the sleeping accommodation and bathroom facilities are equally light, airy and generously appointed. The layout might not be ideal for long, gruelling offshore passages, but for coastal cruising and hops across the English Channel she fits the bill perfectly.
James says: ‘She’s very comfortable to live on with fantastic beds, big table, lots of light, great big fridge, good chart table and ample headroom. One heads is enough.’
WOULD SHE SUIT YOU & YOUR CREW?
The Oceanis 351 is a solidly built cruising yacht with plenty of space for an active family both down below and in the cockpit. Sailing her within reasonable limits will give a good deal of satisfaction to the crew and an impressive performance in light airs. Over-canvassing her in windy conditions, however, will make the sailing hard work and uncomfortable.
James sums her up perfectly: ‘She is a wonderful family boat, not at all cramped with six on board, including kids. We chose the version with three double cabins as it is big enough to go away with two families.
‘She is safe to sail with the kids, but powerful enough to fall back on the engine if needed. The cockpit feels secure and also offers excellent visibility forward.’