Everything here is electric and the buttons are actually within reach, duplicated and present in both steering systems so, which does not surprise me, mainsail and genoa come out in a second, very easily.
What does amaze me, however, is that the Jeanneau Yachts 55, as soon as I set off (strictly solo), takes off like a rocket as if propelled by a turbo. I’m at 40 degrees from the apparent wind and I’m going at more than 10 knots, but not top speed, I’m actually sailing at a constant 10 knots, unbelievable.
Intrigued, I bear away a little and again the boat accelerates and exceeds 11 knots, without moving from the wheel I press a button and release the mainsail a little, press another and ease the genoa a little, sails at 11.5 knots. Man how she sails!
Bearing away of course, it slows down even if even at reach, below 8 knots this boat just doesn’t want to go. The thing that wins me over though is the stability of the course, this boat sails as if it were on rails while the wheels remain soft, even when the boat is heeling.
I decide to luff up and, again, without moving from the wheel I haul the mainsail and genoa in. I get the classic 30 degrees from apparent with the Jeanneau Yachts 55 still sailing at 8 and a half knots. Again the boat amazes me and, despite the apparent being well over 20/22 knots, I manage to ride these waves without the boat being in trouble, the bow opens the way and the T-Top (absolutely useful in these conditions) shelters us from the spray and rain that sporadically comes to bother us.
Sure, the boat is heeling a lot and, since we have a self-tacking jib at our disposal, I decide for a headsail change which, once again (after asking the captain’s permission), I want to try to handle solo while the boat is sailing in these somewhat difficult conditions.
We are tacking to port and, without easing the genoa, I open the jib, which overlaps the genoa at the push of a button; when I set it, of course, the genoa loses power and I can then furl it, again without leaving my position.
Total time for the manoeuvre? Two to three minutes at the most, all without hardly slowing down, without struggling and in complete safety. Solo sailing test passed with flying colours, it’s really a nice system, effective and functional.
With the self-tacking jib, the boat now sails in a more relaxed manner, this is undoubtedly the correct way to sail in these marine weather conditions, where the Jeanneau Yachts 55 is at ease and gives back a decidedly larger boat comfort.
On the other hand, its vocation is that of a blue water cruiser, a characteristic that it manages to embody to perfection although, I must admit, it also won me over with its unsuspected performance.
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Test Data
Apparent wind | Sailing speed in knots | | Under power | |
Angle | Woth genoa | With jib | | RPM | Speed in knots | L/h | L/nm |
30° | 8.5 | 7.7 | | 800 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 0.71 |
35° | 9.2 | 8.1 | | 1000 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.74 |
40° | 10.3 | 8.8 | | 1500 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 0.88 |
50° | 11.5 | 9.5 | | 2000 | 7.9 | 7.1 | 0.90 |
90° | 10.7 | | | 2500 | 8.4 | 10.8 | 1.29 |
110° | 8.9 | | | 3000 | 9.3 | 18.4 | 1.98 |
130° | 8.2 | | | 3300 | 9.5 | 21.2 | 2.23 |
Test conditions: Rough to very rough sea, true wind 15 knots, folding blade propeller, 5 passengers on board, water 90%, fuel 70%.
Jeanneau Yachts 55: technical specs
Total length with bowsprit | 16.93 m |
Hull Length | 16.09 m |
Waterline Length | 16.05 m |
Max Beam | 4.99 m |
Unladen Displacement | 18,542 kg |
Standard keel draft (fully loaded) | 2.55 m |
Standard keel weight | 4,900 kg |
Low keel draft (fully loaded) | 1.98 m |
Low keel weight | 5,680 kg |
Fuel Tank Capacity | 230 L |
Water Tank Capacity | 760 L |
CE Category | A12 / B16 / C16 / D16 |
Cabins | 3 |
Engine | Yanmar 110 CV – 81 kW |
Standard Sail Plan | 131 m2 |
Optional Sail Plan | 159 m2 |
Asymmetric Spinnaker | 250 m2 |
Code 0 | 110 m2 |
Mast height above the waterline | 25.20 m |
Architects | Philippe Briand – Andrew Winch Design – Jeanneau Design |