Reviews of the Beneteau 57 Center Cockpit

A production cruiser gets custom treatment to be the world’s largest boatbuilder’s new flagship
Where would we be without dreams? For years, Francois Chalain, Beneteau’s chief designer and in-house conceptualist, dreamed about creating a production boat like the new 57. His vision centered on a powerful sailing machine with the kind of luxurious amenities and long list of standard features that would permanently alter the public’s perception of the world’s largest sailboat builder, placing it squarely among the ranks of the elite custom boatbuilders. And as lofty as those aspirations are, there is also a practical side to Beneteau’s stunning new flagship. Dealer Chuck Laughlin of St. Barts Yachts in Charleston, South Carolina, puts it in perspective: “The 57 is a natural progression, it’s the next step up for Beneteau 50 owners.”
Read Review: http://www.sailingmagazine.net/boat-test/419-beneteau-57 
 
 
 
Beneteau 57: A first look at Beneteau’s new Farr designed big-boat passagemaker.
by Quentin Warren
In 1884 a shipwright by the name of Benjamin Beneteau founded a small company in the rural southern French village of St.-Gilles-Croix- de-Vie for the purpose of building sailing trawlers. That business grew to become the largest producer of recreational sailboats in the world and one of the most recognized manufacturers in the industry, currently operating five factories in the Vendee region of France and one factory stateside in Marion, S.C.
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Beneteau 57
Issue: July 2004
Manufacturer: Beneteau
That popular aphorism about technology — that it solves problems we did not know existed — is, I reckon, pretty accurate. For example, how can you possibly live for another day without owning a car that turns on its own windscreen wipers? The utter hell of reaching for the wiper switch when the first drizzle hits the windscreen can no longer be tolerated. But on boats it is a different story. Boat designers and builders tend to use technology, which is appropriate, because it does work that is useful.
The standard Beneteau 57 has one electric winch; the one shown here has two-speed electric winches for the headsail sheets (also used to hoist the main); both headsails are on furlers (the genoa furler is powered) and the staysail is self-tacking. The main is a tri-radial cut to suit the ‘Leisurefurl’ powered boom furler. This test boat had an autopilot (a fully-interfaced B&G system). The bow thruster is standard, as is the 9.5kVa genset. All this equipment — much of it standard — means that this 57-footer can be handled by one person, and handled easily by two.
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Around Cape Hatteras in
the new Beneteau 57
Testing Beneteau’s cruising flagship offshore proves the boat to be as comfortable as she is sleek and fast
When we passed by the breakwater at the end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in hull number two of the new Beneteau 57, the wind and seas picked up nicely, transforming what had been a fairly calm overnight passage down the bay from Annapolis into what was promising to be a jolly, 250-mile blue-water romp around Cape Hatteras to Myrtle Beach, S.C. The wind picked up nicely almost as soon as we cleared the breakwater, putting us on a close reach on port tack until we cleared Cape Henry. By the time we rounded Cape Henry and altered course to south southeast, the wind had gone from 10 to 15 knots to a steady 20 and our point of sail was transformed from a close reach to a beam reach. Life was good.
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How fast can a Center Cockpit Cruiser Go?
By John Burnham
Sailing World Sept 2003
Want to point the long lines of a Bruce Farr design toward Bermuda or Hawaii and make a fast, easy run?  While enjoying hot showers and DVDs when off watch? Beneteau now offers you the chance to do it with their 57-footer, the new flagship of their line.
We sailed hull No. 2 in Charleston, S.C., last spring and were impressed to find the boat moves easily in a seaway, has legs in a breeze, and has enough horsepower to carry its nearly 50,000 pounds in the lighter stuff. We can hear you saying, “But the boat in that picture has a center cock- pit!” We admit it, we’re surprised to be writing this, but you probably know that the Beneteau First/Bruce Farr combination has turned out fast racers like the 40.7 and 36.7 recently, so we went sailing with an open mind.
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Available Upon Request

• Original Brochure
• Original Equipment List
• Owner’s Manual
• Polars