Beneteau Oceanis 34.1

Unobtrusively brilliant

Sam Je erson tests the unobtrusively excellent Beneteau Oceanis 34.1

There is a time and place for being showy; and designing a 30 foot or so cruising boat probably isn’t the right time. Life itself can be much the same; Kim Kardashian is an example of a showy person and, while this serves her very well on Instagram, it probably does her little favours when she pops out to Tesco Express to buy a pint of milk. Another example, Boris

Johnson, a natural showman, great at entertaining but perhaps someone you wouldn’t want to being doing a job any too serious. Ok, never mind.

Boat design is much the same.

We boat testers all love a bit of showiness but there’s a time and a place. I vividly recall a contemporary of mine waxing lyrical about a chopping board that integrated beautifully into the galley worksurface on some boat or other he was testing. It was a neat feature believe me but a erwards I couldn’t help but think that if the most notable feature of the boat was the chopping board, perhaps that was far from a positive thing. Yet, perhaps this isn’t fair.

Good design shouldn’t always smack you full in the face with its astonishing innovativeness. ere is a place for a bit of unobtrusive, unshowy but clever design.

All of which preamble brings me to the Beneteau Oceanis 34.1 designed by Marc Lombard who most recently also did the

Beneteau Oceanis 41.1 for the company. I’m sad to report that his latest o ering lacks a chopping board integrated into the kitchen worksurface – maybe I’ll drop him a line. Anyway, in an unshowy way this is a very satisfactory little yacht. ese days it would de nitely be looked on as an entry level boat and sits just in front of its smaller sister, the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 as the second smallest yacht in the

Oceanis range. I don’t suppose Marc

Lombard was complaining when he landed the contract to design the boat but I couldn’t help but feel he faced a bit of a challenge given that its predecessor, the Finot/

Conq designed 35.1 came out pretty recently and was a decent little yacht. I imagine the design brief was something like; ‘the same again but better please’. Anyway, Mr Lombard seems to have stepped up as he has produced a boat a touch smaller, 500kg lighter, yet with the same internal volume. Well done Marc.

He has achieved this by using a trick that has become de rigeur in the design world since the launch of the Beneteau Oceanis 51.1. is is to provide full forward sections above the waterline which are slimmed down considerably below. is results in reasonably

ABOVE

Full sections above the waterline provide power when the breeze is on and also boost internal volume

BELOW

Clear, uncluttered side decks low wetted surface area – allowing for good light wind performance, combined with more power in heavy conditions. Of course, the extra bonus is more internal volume. I say this commenced with the Beneteau Oceanis 51.1 and that is somewhat nefarious – go to the racing world and it is a concept that was widely seen in Mini Transats some while ago now. ose who want to head to pedants corner could point to the clipper ship Marco Polo built in 1851 which achieved fame during the Australian gold rush using this concept of a ne underbody and full sections above the waterline. Doubtless Mr Lombard is completely au courant with Marco Polo's 68 day run out to Melbourne in 1852.

Anyway, I digress, the result of all this is a 34’ boat with decent though not excessive beam -15cm less than the old 35.1 - carried well forward. ere is a full length hull chine carried close to the waterline which fades out as you reach the bow. e forefoot is emersed when the boat is at rest, further reducing wetted surface area in light airs. Freeboard is generous but not jarring and there is a low, wedge shaped coachroof that, combined with plumb bow and vertical transom, makes for a sporty looking little yacht. e Oceanis 34 features twin rudders and twin helms – the latter of which used to be quite unusual in a 34 foot yacht, but now it is about as remarkable as

a chopping board integrated into a worksurface. I tested the First Line version and the boat had all the options including bowsprit, at deck furler, genoa instead of self tacker, plus a square top mainsail. As already noted, this boat is lighter than it’s predecessor, the 35.1 and features more sail area – all good signs. As an added bonus, this boat is also available with a swing keel which is a huge boon to UK based sailors used to dealing with huge tides.

On deck

e boat features a roomy cockpit with seats a of the wheels which give the helm a perch on an otherwise open transom with fold-down bathing platform. e fractional rig has swept a spreaders and no backstay, keeping the a end of the cockpit clear. ere are some innovative touches which I rst saw in some of Beneteau’s sister company Jeanneau’s smaller boats such as thimbles used for the jib sheets instead of the traditional track. is keeps weight down and provides an excellent sheeting angle. e mainsheet is set up on a bridle system as opposed to a traveller which keeps things uncomplicated. Ease of handling is obviously key in a boat of this size constructed for pure cruising pleasure and all the sheets are brought back to a pair of winches each side of the helm while the halyards are run to two banks of jammers on the coachroof with a single winch for raising and lowering sails and a second winch as an option.

ABOVE

e 34.1 proved a sprightly performer despite modest conditions out on the water

BELOW

e cockpit is roomy and well laid out

Down below

e interior is very bright and feels extremely spacious for a 34 footer. Partly this is due to the hull form with that aring out of the topsides above the waterline provides extra volume but it’s also because the accommodation has been cleverly laid out. e sofa berths in the main saloon, for example, are set well into the sides of the hull giving a greater feeling of width and space. Both saloon berths are long enough to sleep in and on the port side there is an in ll cushion that can be li ed out to give you the legroom to sit at the a facing chart table that ips up and down – a neat touch. e nish on the test boat was light oak and this, combined with long portlights set into the topsides provided a lot of light and nice

views when seated in the saloon. Six could be accommodated for dinner around the saloon table. e small L-shaped galley is to starboard and is thoughtfully put together with good storage and a double bin next to the sink. A of this is a double berth. I tested the three cabin version which had another double in the a starboard quarter and a heads and shower compartment forward of this. ere is also a two cabin option with a bigger heads compartment and extra storage in the starboard quarter. Heading towards the bow, double doors open out to a spacious forward cabin with a decent sized V-berth with modest taper towards the bow. Two big cupboards either side of the entrance provide a decent amount of stowage. Headroom remains good. e overall feel was very pleasant with plentiful room for a family of four to cruise for a week or two without unnecessary discomfort of bickering.

Under sail

e test sail took place o the coast of Barcelona in early autumn. I have sailed here many times but never in more than 12kn of breeze and the weather gods clearly felt I hadn’t had quite enough of this sort of light weather testing as they dished up a day when the breeze peaked at about 8kn. As an added bonus, some wild weather over the preceding days had le us with a nasty hangover of short wave period swell. e sort of conditions that you’re your teeth rattle until you get the sails up. Although this was far from satisfactory we powered out at a good lick. e engine in this boat is a Yanmar 29 which certainly has plenty of power to spare. Sails up and the boat dealt manfully with the challenge we had set. As you might expect, the best tactic was to get the Code 0 up and then go as close to the wind as we dared. Sail controls were very simple and everything was well laid out. is would be a good boat to learn on essentially as it was reassuring and simple. Yet it was also more than that. With the Code 0 suitably overheated, we started to make really rather impressive progress – 5.3kn in 7kn maximum breeze. at’s good going by any standard. e helm was light and, given that there are twin rudders, you’d maintain plenty of grip even in stronger winds – I just wish we’d had some.

ABOVE

e feeling of light and space is tangible in these photos

BELOW

In the light airs our best strategy was to put up the Code 0 and sail as close to the wind as possible - the results were compelling

SAM’S VERDICT

e Beneteau Oceanis 34.1 is a likeable and clever little yacht. It’s not spectacular or showy but it is well thought out, was easy to handle and sailed impressively in what were extremely trying conditions. e interior was comfortable and there were decent amounts of storage down below. All in all, there isn’t a lot more you could ask from a boat of this size designed with cruising as its primary purpose. I wish Marc Lombard or whoever is asked to improve on this little boat, the best of luck when the time comes. I suppose a chopping board integrated into the galley worksurface might be the only hope.

PERFORMANCE: BLUE WATER ABILITY: LOOKS:

THE SPEC

LOA:10.77m (35ft 4in) Beam: 3.57m (11ft 9 in) Draught: Deep: 2.0m (6ft 6in), Shoal 1.5m (4ft 11in), Lift 1.252.55m (4ft 1in-8ft 4in) Sail Area: 49m2 (527sq ft) Disp: 5,470kg (12,059lb) Price: £150,000 ex VAT Contact: ancasta.com

ALTERNATIVE BOATS

HANSE 348

e 348 has been around for a few years now but this Judel/Vrolijk design was a trend setter in terms of providing easy handling and high volume at a very competitive price. hanseyachts.co.uk

JEANNEAU SUN ODYSSEY 349

Launched in 2020 by Beneteau’s sister company the Jeanneau is also designed by Marc Lombard and is also available with the option of a swing keel. jeanneau.com

BAVARIA CRUISER 34

New for the 2020 season, the Bavaria Cruiser 34 is also big on volume and the interior feels absolutely palatial. bavariayachts.com