Last year at the same time, Jeanneau presented the new 54-footer for the upmarket Jeanneau Yachts luxury and blue water programme (test in YACHT 20/2015). The new concept featured a surprising number of exciting new features on and below deck and was therefore nominated for the 2016 European Yacht of the Year award in the cruising yacht category.
Now the shipbuilders on the French west coast have implemented the same concept with the Jeanneau 51, almost unchanged and shortened by one metre. The ship is to be presented to dealers these days and later to the public at the autumn trade fairs.
On deck, the 51 has essentially the same features as its larger sister. A special feature is the seating bays that run along the side of the companionway. They offer the co-sailors a relaxed and safe position to enjoy and relax both upwind and downwind. The aft cockpit floor can be lowered like a lifting platform to serve as a bathing platform. Jeanneau introduced this sophisticated mechanism with the 54 as a world first and also had it patented. So the exclusivity remains.
In general, the Jeanneau Yacht concept clearly focusses very strongly on life on deck. There are more opportunities to linger and sunbathe than on other boats of the same size. There is also a comfortable sun lounger on the foredeck, as well as a small, folding bimini as sun protection over the head.
Jeanneau has changed the arrangement of the winches. The main and genoa sheets are led all the way back to winches on the side of the helm station, where they can also be easily reached by the helmsman. However, the halyards and trim lines are operated much further forward, also via winches on the cockpit coaming. Large halyard swivels also keep the cockpit tidy. As an option to the short overlapping genoa, the ship can also be equipped with a self-tacking jib.
The technical specifications of the Jeanneau 51 (see below) are largely the same as those of the Sun Odyssey 519, the flagship of the French company's cruising programme. Length, width, draught and weight are identical. However, as Product Manager Erik Stromberg assures us, the designers from Philippe Briand's office have designed a completely new hull for the Jeanneau 51.
For the interior, the yacht builders at Jeanneau worked with designer Andrew Winch. The attractive interior is available in either teak or a lighter-coloured oak. The standard boat comes with three cabins and three heads. As a variation, owners can have the aft cabin on the starboard side converted into a workshop or skipper's cabin. In addition, a separate room for the washing machine and tumble dryer can be realised instead of the third wet room.
Jeanneau will only announce the price list in the next few days. However, Erik Stromberg has already given an initial estimate: the new model will cost around 330,000 euros including 19 per cent VAT. This means she will be around 70,000 euros cheaper than her bigger sister Jeanneau 54 (399,360 euros).
