Mister Pascal Conq took me aboard “his” new Beneteau Oceanis 41.1

When I arrive at the Real Club Nautico in Palma, I approach Beneteau’s new Oceanis 41.1 intrigued by a lot of movement on deck: a very busy Pascal Conq is trying to fix the mainsail halyard stuck in the masthead. “Strange that he’s in charge of this”-I think-“instead of entertaining himself in archistar talk, he’s climbing a masthead to solve a tangle of peaks.” Indeed, Pascal Conq, the designer who reimagined this new Oceanis 41.1, is someone in the boat who cannot sit still for a second and dodges to the last the questions I try to ask him about this new model from the French shipyard, an evolution of the already successful Oceanis 41.

WHAT CHANGES ON BOARD COMPARED TO THE OCEANIS 41

What has changed from the four-year-old model, the Ocenias 41, he told me directly as he had his new baby “climbing” the waves and handling the 30 knots that characterized our sea trial. “Basically, the hull remained the same as the Oceanis 41 with the edge positioned practically a meter from the water, which once again allowed us to gain space below deck and to have a kind of second hull when the boat heeled over.”

tells me, “The work we did for this new model focused mainly on lightening the boat, which ultimately resulted in a savings of 800 pounds. We were able to take weight off through the use of new, lighter woods, through the new poppache spiaggetta that lightened the overall structure, and by revisiting the construction by taking weight off wherever possible. We then improved the inclination of the ladders for the descent below deck, making it smoother, and maintained a sail plan distributed well along the whole boat thanks to the decidedly backward mast and long boom. Back below deck, we did a great job together with Studio Nauta to enlarge the master cabin as much as possible, which has now become a real palace! The interiors are then available in four different layouts: cabins can be two or three while bathrooms one or two. As for the interior woods, you can choose from bright light oak or warm mahogany.”

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The vessel also features a new look deckhouse, redesigned by Studio Nauta with softer lines at the bow and a more harmonious synthesis with the deck.

As for the stern, on the other hand, as we have seen, the boat On the one hand, it is enriched with a platform of ample size that can be electric and new toe-boards (although when the boat is heeled, it is difficult to find a stable and comfortable position at the helm), fixed benches were then removed to be replaced by elevating seats to have better access to the small beach and improve comfort during bathing in the roadstead.

Also the roll bar changes a little look, managing to appear less intrusive with the lines of the boat (it also serves as a superstructure for the large spryhood), which thus maintain their sporty character enhanced by the Performance package (featured in the test) that includes German-style mainsail and sails from Elvstrom carbon look. Certainly the shipyard’s trend is to make the Oceanis range also available in a sportier version, thus filling that gap created by the First range. Again Conq tells me “we are working on a version without a rollbar, which to date is standard, and with the mainsail key in the cockpit between the rudder wheels, for owners who want a sportier boat for racing.” Thissporty soul definitely comes out when sailing upwind, the boat is more aggressive, and with 15 knots of real wind and an apparent angle of 40 degrees it sailed at 8.2 knots. Then the wind picked up to 30 knots, and we sailed across with full sails, touching 10 knots without much effort, before deciding to lend a hand because the gusts were becoming more challenging. All measured data was provided to us by the on-board electronic instrumentation with B&G’s Zeus2 7″ device, which gave us a preview of two new features that we will reveal shortly. Certainly at the helm the boat is responsive, and in high winds it requires some attention and concentration to be brought correctly into the right trim.

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