test report - Sea Ventures

Jeanneau Velasco 37F
66 May 2015
BOAT TEST
Length (LOA): 11.43m / 37ft 5in
Beam: 3.84m / 12ft 7in
Displacement: 8271kg
Fuel capacity: 800 litres
Water capacity: 330 litres
RCD category: B
Engines as tested: Twin Volvo Penta
D4 300 diesels
Other engine options: None
Price from £242,149
Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 67
“The 37F is a tradtional
flybridge with some
trawleresque features”
The side door is an excellent feature, and the
flybridge offers some versatile seating and
lounging options including the infill above
A
s IPS finds its way onto ever
smaller boats, and outdrives are
getting fitted to increasingly larger
vessels, that old stalwart, the sub 40 foot
shaft drive flybridge cruiser is getting
slowly squeezed out. That makes the
Jeanneau Velasco 37F something of a rare
breed, a new launch into the entry level
flybridge sector, propelled by good old
fashioned shafts.
The original Velasco, the 43, was a
trawler type flybridge with reverse sheer
windscreen. The F suffix denotes a more
traditional style of flybridge boat and
the 37F is the second boat in the range
following on from the 43F. Despite its
more conventional design, the 37F has
retained a couple of the more practical
trawler type elements, as you’ll see as we
go on.
access to both of the engine’s raw water
strainers. Three mirror tinted glass panels,
one fixed and two sliding, separate the
cockpit from the accommodation. Inside
you get a galley up and aft configuration,
with the galley to port and a U shaped
dinette to starboard. The dinette will
comfortably seat four around a large table.
There is storage under the starboard seat,
and a smart drinks cabinet arrangement
under the aft cushion. This is held up
when in use by a gas strut. In the floor,
in between dinette and galley, is a single
large lifting section that provides access
to the engines. This hatch is quite heavy
and cumbersome and, on our test boat,
was not fixed in place with hinges or
supported by gas struts. This made it a two
person job to lift and replace. Access to
the port engine is simple, but to get at the
starboard one you need to drop down and The flybridge steps are easily ascended with
plenty to grab hold of as you go
crouch beneath the dinette.
Entry onto the
boat is over a wide
bathing platform that
houses a concealed
bathing ladder. There
is a gate on either
side of the transom
seating, which makes
boarding from either
side just as easy
even if the platform
is obstructed by a
tender. The transom
seat contains two
storage lockers at
either end and a single
bottle gas locker in the
middle. In the cockpit
floor there is a large
lazarette with easy
68 May 2015
Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 69
The helm is
well laid out,
with room
to add a
decent set of
electronics
The galley is simple and practical. The limited
storage is supplemented by a huge floor locker
The galley looks to be eminently
practical with a single deep sink, a double
gas hob with a gas oven below, and a built
in fridge at the forward end. Storage is
adequate, with two drawers in the galley
and a single cupboard that is given over
entirely to a built in rubbish bin. This is
supplemented by some crockery storage in
the unit beneath the navigator’s seat just
in front of the galley. On top of this there
is another hatch in the floor, forward of
the engine hatch, which provides access to
A family sized
dinette can be
converted into an
extra double berth,
with curtains all
round for privacy
70 May 2015
a large locker that, being more central to
the boat, would be great for storing heavy
galley stores and equipment. The hob and
sink are supplied with covers to keep the
galley looking neat and tidy when not in
use and to provide extra work surface.
These heavy covers are loose fitting, so
there may be potential for them to jump
out and cause damage if caught out in
heavy seas. This whole area has lots of
glass for a great view out, but all of it can
be curtained off if you decide to use the
dinette as an extra sleeping area. There is
also a curtain just behind the helm that
sections the saloon off from the rest of the
boat for added privacy.
Moving forward and you have a single
forward facing navigators seat to port and
a large bench helm seat to starboard. This
bench seat is capable of taking up to three
people, which means the 37F delivers
proper forward facing seating for four
down below. That’s not something you
see on many boats, especially those below
Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 40 feet. Next to the helm is one of those
trawleresque features that I mentioned
earlier, a half height sliding door to
provide easy deck access from the helm.
This will be a real bonus for those helming
shorthanded, or even just to help with
crew communications. The bench seat
has a lifting bolster to ease passage in and
out of the boat via this door. The helm is
simple and practical with lots of room for
additional instruments and a decent sized
multi-function display.
The helm seat has a lifting bolster to allow access
to the side door, or a perched driving position
71
Headroom
in the mid
cabin is
excellent for
a boat of this
style and size
Space in the forward cabin is great, partly thanks to the innovative extending bed
A couple of steps down the
companionway, aided by a nice leather
clad grab rail, and you have the main
cabin forward, a guest cabin to starboard
and a toilet and shower to port. In the
forward cabin, with the door shut behind
you, there is an uncharacteristically large
amount of standing space at the foot of the
double berth. This is because Jeanneau has
incorporated a clever extending aft end
to the bed. As it is, the berth is just under
6ft in length but, if you want it to be a bit
longer, the end just pulls out to provide
another seven inches or so that are filled in
with some additional cushions. Even with
the bed extended, the space in this cabin is
very good, plus there is 6ft 3in of standing
headroom. Storage is supplied by a half
height hanging locker to starboard and
a large locker underneath the aft end of
the berth. This locker is easily accessed by
lifting the end of the bed, which is on gas
struts and stays open on its own, leaving
your hands free to pack away or rummage
at your leisure. Two side windows and an
overhead hatch provide plenty of natural
light and two opening ports within the
side windows deliver ventilation when
required. One unusual aspect of the 37F
is that there is no en-suite access from the
main cabin, but this is more than made up
for by the extra room this has provided in
the toilet compartment.
The guest cabin has two single bunks
which are generous in their length, at
6ft 6in, although a little tight on the
width at around 2ft. For a side cabin it
feels spacious and the headroom is very
good, with over 6ft at the forward end,
dropping to 6ft as you step down between
the bunks, and still over 4 foot in the
remainder of the cabin. A hanging locker,
small ottoman between the berths and
some under bunk lockers provide the mid
72 May 2015
cabin’s storage. Between the bunks the
floor panels lift out to gain access to the
bilge area. The cabin has a small window
with an integral opening port, but still
manages to feel light and airy.
The toilet compartment, opposite the
guest cabin, again offers lots of space and
over 6ft headroom. There is a nice deep
sink and two cupboards. It has a separate
shower cubicle with a fold down seat. This
cubicle is a little tight, so you have to lift
the seat to get in and shut the door, but
still manages to offer decent headroom.
Gaining access to the flybridge is via a
There is no ensuite access,
but the lack of
a second door
has allowed
Jeanneau
to make
better use
of the space
available
Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd 73
Twin D4 300’s deliver 26-27 knots top speed,
and comfortable cruising in the low 20’s
PERFORMANCE
As tested 40% fuel 50% water 5 crew Force 3
RPM
Idle 700 rpm
1000
1500
2000
2500
2750
3000
3600
set of steps. This might sound like
a retrograde move but these are
not the near vertical steps flybridge
boats used to have. These are more
like a set of stairs, with the bonus
of not obscuring the helmsman’s
vision aft from the lower driving
position. There is plenty to grab hold
of while ascending, and also while
transcending between steps and flybridge
at the top.
Up on the flybridge the 37F delivers a
flexible seating/lounging arrangement.
The large aft sun pad has a section that
lifts to create the backrest for the aft
section of dinette seating. The back rest
of the forward dinette seat flips to offer
two forward facing positions. An infill
here turns these into two forward facing
loungers, and the single helm seat swivels
Knots LPH
GPH
MPG
4.2
5.8
7.6
9.2
13.1
16.3
18.9
25.8
0.66
1.08
3.08
6.82
12.1
15.2
17.6
24.9
6.36
3.0
4.9
14.0
31.0
55.0
69.0
80.0
113.0
5.37
2.47
1.35
1.08
1.07
1.07
1.04
Range Noise
(nm)
1119 64
945
434
237
190
188
188
183
68
70
76
79
81
83
86
to be part of the social scene when in
port or at anchor. All three sections of
the dinette seating offers under cushion
storage.
The side decks on the 37F are
reminiscent of those found on the small
Merry Fisher range. The starboard one is
wide and sunken with knee high gunwales
topped with guardrails up to hip height.
There is a step up just forward of the helm
to bring you onto the foredeck level. The
port side deck is at foredeck level all the
way back to the cockpit and is a little
74 May 2015
“The 37F delivers a good,
solid, old school, kind of
driving experience”
narrower, but still sports a raised toe rail
and guardrails to above knee height. Both
side decks are illuminated, plus there
are well positioned grab rails on both aft
corners of the wheelhouse, as well as down
both sides. While the starboard deck
will be the deck of choice when moving
forward, the port one is still as good, or
even better, than those found on similar
sized boats, so you won’t feel obliged to
moor starboard side to. Up front, the
foredeck is easily worked and a large, deep
anchor locker is compartmentalised to
offer a separate section for storing fenders
Motorboat Owner © Digital Marine Media Ltd or ropes, without getting them tangled up in
the anchor chain. The foredeck cabin roof
is equipped with two large sun pads. The aft
end of each of these lifts and fixes in place,
so that sun worshippers can lounge in a
semi upright position.
Underway
The lower helm position offers good
visibility for a flybridge boat with few blind
spots, thanks largely to the use of low level
fixtures in the cabin and the open stairs to
the flybridge. The curtain behind the helm,
used to section off the saloon when being
used as a berth, does provide an obstruction
to visibility behind, when looking over your
right shoulder, but it can be easily moved
if required. The bench seat feels a little too
distant from the helm so I found myself
perching on the edge rather than being able
75
to sit back. This was also necessary to
reach the throttles, which were otherwise
too far away. I actually found the driving
position better if I raised the seat bolster
and drove the boat in a semi standing
stance where everything fell a bit easier
to hand. Being slightly higher this also
improved visibility forward as the bow was
rising onto the plane. The steering wheel
is fixed but felt well placed when driving
in either position. The flybridge driving
position was excellent and delivered just
the right amount of wind in your hair
without feeling like you are being blown
away.
Performance wise the 37F delivers a
solid ride, typical of a shaft drive flybridge
boat of this size. You don’t get the same
levels of excitement that an IPS or stern
drive boat will deliver, but rather a
performance how it used to be, and how
many people still like it to be. It reminded
me very much of one of my all time
favourite flybridge boats at this size, the
Sealine F37. The 37F is no rocket ship. In
these days where boats don’t seem to be
The foredeck sun pads have raised backrests,
perfect for those long summer days at anchor
allowed off the production line unless they
can achieve 30 knots, it was refreshing
to find Jeanneau were very happy that
this boat tops out at 27 knots with the
twin D4 300’s (we achieved just shy of
26). They seem to have realised that few
people cruise at such high speeds and have
delivered a boat that will cruise happily,
and comfortably, in the low 20’s, but will
also deliver a very good ride right down
to about 14 knots, perfect for those who
are in no rush and another nod to the
Velasco’s trawler heritage. It does seem to
need most of its 600hp to maintain a 20+
knots cruise, which may seem surprising
seeing as how the Sealine achieved 30
knots with a pair of 260’s, but when you
look at the weight and beam, you realise
that the F37 and the 37F are actually rather
different animals. The Velasco carries an
extra 371kg and provides an extra two
inches on the beam. The latter may not
sound much, but it feels very noticeable
with the spaciousness of the boat’s interior
and, in my opinion, more than makes up
for the odd knot or two off the top end.
Conclusion
To sum up, the 37F is a solid, practical, old
school kind of boat, with some modern
design twists. If you are after a new,
sub 40 foot, flybridge on shafts, which
seems to have become a bit of a niche
market, it offers good value for money
at under £250k, or a little over if you add
the Premiere pack that includes that very
useful side door.
The starboard side deck offers a very secure way
forward, and the port one is also eminently usable
ENQUIRIES: Sea Ventures (UK) Ltd 01489 565444 www.sea-ventures.co.uk
Brokerage, New and Used Jeanneau Yachts & Motor Boats & After Sales
Swanwick Marina, Swanwick Shore Road, Swanwick, Hampshire SO31 1ZL
76 May 2015
01489 565444 www.sea-ventures.co.uk