This month we have two very nice cruising boats to review. It’s hard these days to clearly define “cruising boat.” My definition is any boat that you can cruise. That leaves a lot of latitude. 

The new Jeanneau Yacht 60 is a big boat with huge interior volume so, to my eye, the emphasis here is on cruising comfort. Design credits are shared between Philippe Briand, Winch Design and Jeanneau Design. I’d break that down to: Briand for the hull, appendages and rig, Winch for the interior and styling and Jeanneau for the engineering. Sounds like a very competent team.

Starting with the hull I see a hint of reverse rake on the stem profile. Why? I’m not sure other than that it’s fashionable today. Of course you have to have a short sprit to get the anchor away from the stem. LOD is 57 feet 1 inch and LOA is 59 feet 11 inches. There is less than 2 feet of total overhang indicating that interior volume for the LOD was the goal. It’s a very common theme today. The L/B is 3.35 and the plan view shows a very full bow and max beam carried almost to the transom. For a boat with a D/L of 118.15 this would add stability but more importantly, in my opinion, it is the designer’s effort to maximize the deck area, especially in the cockpit area. 

Displacement is listed as 44,467 pounds empty. I’d take that number with a grain of sea salt. If we add the gear and fluids you need for cruising, say an additional 5,000 pounds, it brings the D/L up to 131. That sounds reasonable. You can choose from the shallow-draft cast iron keel drawing 6 feet 10 inches or the standard-draft keel drawing 8 feet 4 inches. There are twin rudders and that’s what you need with this much beam aft. There is a chine starting about where the mast is. Again, this adds interior volume where you need it and some small amount of additional form stability.

If this layout leaves you wanting for more comfort, the only solution would be a bigger boat. This is a very comfortable layout with a handful of thoughtful options. The owner’s cabin is forward with a large head with shower forward of that. There is still enough volume forward to have a big fo’c’sle for a workroom or additional crew sleeping accommodations. The galley is forward just aft of the mast. It spreads across the boat with the option of a “full-height” refrigerator to starboard. If you give up the full-height refrigerator you gain more counter space. The main cabin features a large U-shaped dinette to port and a deep settee to starboard. If you would prefer Streisand chairs to starboard they are an option. Some day I’ll tell you why I call them “Streisand chairs.” 

Aft of the main cabin there are heads to port and starboard. The starboard head has access from the starboard quarter cabin and a shower stall. The port head is tighter and presumably intended for the crew living in the snug port quarter cabin with upper and lower berths. If you give up the shower in the starboard aft head you can have a nice, facing aft nav station along with the deep settee. OK, I’ll nitpick. Look at that starboard aft head with the W.C. facing athwartships. I snuck around a Boeing 747 some years back, tape measure in hand and measured the head. I figured I could learn some thing about tolerance from the Boeing engineering team. I learned that you must have at least 22 inches between the lip of the W.C. and the adjacent bulkhead. As drawn here I don’t see 22 inches. I would turn the W.C. 90 degrees and move it aft. That would be better. Nits aside, regardless of your choice of options, you will be very comfy below.

The rig is a tall fractional rig with a SA/D of 22.4 if I use the “empty” displacement. If I use the displacement with 5,000 pounds added to it the SA/D is 20.67. The spreaders are swept 24 degrees with chainplates on the rail.

The deck is the fun part of this design. There are two deck layouts. I’ll call one of them the “normal” deck, which features a large, retractable, I presume, dodger forward, anchored to an arch over the cockpit with the mainsheet base on top of the arch. This is a great looking deck. The big dodger blends in with the svelte lines of the deck very nicely. 

The other deck—I’ll call it the “keep me out of the sun” deck—has a hard bimini off the arch extending all the way to the transom. There is a retractable panel in the tip of the bimini in case you change your mind and would like some sun. I would not call this version good looking but it is well thought out and very practical. I don’t like sitting in the sun. The transom is wide open and there is presumably access to the huge lazarette where you can stow your dink and toys. Twin wheels leave the middle of the big cockpit wide open.

I could be quite happy cruising on the new Jeanneau 60.

LOA 59’11”; LOD 57’7”; LWL 55’2”; Beam 17’;  Draft standard 8’4”; Draft shallow  6’10”; Displ. 44,467 lb.; Ballast standard 10,240 lb., shallow 12,438 lb.; Sail area standard 1,410 sq. ft., optional 1,754 sq. ft.; Fuel 84 gal.; Water 101 gal.; Auxiliary 150-hp; D/L 131; L/B 3.35; SA/D 20.67