Beneteau Flyer 550 Explained, an 18 Foot Runabout in Four Flavors

What people mean by a Beneteau 550 Flyer

Type beneteau 550 flyer, or simply beneteau 550, into a search engine and you will mostly find small outboard runabouts for sale in French and Italian harbors. They are versions of the Flyer 550, a family of 17 to 18 ft boats on a common 5.21 m (17 ft 1 in) hull that Beneteau built through the fourth Flyer generation, which its archive dates from 2004 to 2016. The oldest examples we found listed are 2004 boats, and the latest equipment list, for the Sun Deck, is dated August 2013.

The 550 sat near the bottom of the range, just above the even smaller Flyer 500. Beneteau's brochures pitched the Flyer family as easy to drive, easy to maintain and easy to transport, built for swimming, fishing, skiing and short coastal trips, and the 550 is that philosophy in its purest form.

The 2004 to 2009 boats, Open and Cabin

Beneteau's 2007 range brochure lists two 550s. The Flyer 550 Open was the practical one, with a large console and generous equipment, 5.51 m long overall on the 5.21 m hull, 2.37 m wide and 1,030 kg light. The Flyer 550 Cabin was drawn by Boxer Design and described as having an especially sporty temperament for day trips: 5.47 m overall, 1,040 kg, with a 1.45 m air draft that gives it a low, sleek look.

The Cabin's August 2007 specification gives the detail. Its hull is a balsa-cored sandwich with additional foam buoyancy, the pilot and copilot seats are padded, height adjustable and swivel through 360 degrees, and a two-part door leads to a cuddy with a U-shaped settee that converts to a double and a position for a chemical toilet. The 2007 brochure quotes a maximum of 150 hp for both early boats, while the Cabin's own 2007 specification sheet lists 120 hp, so check the capacity plate on the boat in front of you.

Andreani's Sun Deck and Cabrio, and a new Open

Around the turn of the decade Pierangelo Andreani restyled the small Flyers. The Flyer 550 Sun Deck, in Beneteau's words the versatile boat par excellence for fishing parties, lazing around, diving and picnics, has a large sunbathing platform forward, an ergonomic helm seat and a wide side deck. It measures 5.45 m overall without the engine, weighs 1,045 kg light and 810 kg without its outboard, and is rated for 115 hp and six people.

The Flyer 550 Cabrio, whose equipment list dates from February 2011, is the glamorous one: a cockpit for six behind a large wraparound windscreen and a small cabin with 1.28 m of headroom, an optional double cushion set and a chemical toilet position. Beneteau's December 2010 brochure also introduced a new generation Flyer 550 Open, the latest of its Open models, with a forward area that converts quickly to a sunpad and a stowage cabin reached through a door in the front of the console.

• 550 Open (early): 5.51 m overall, 1,030 kg, up to 150 hp per the 2007 brochure
• 550 Cabin: 5.47 m, 1,040 kg, Boxer Design
• 550 Sun Deck: 5.45 m, 1,045 kg, 115 hp, CE C6 / D6
• 550 Cabrio: 5.35 m, 1,075 kg, 115 hp, cabin headroom 1.28 m
• 550 Open (later): 5.32 m, 1,030 kg, 115 hp

Picking an outboard for 1 tonne of boat

Beneteau sold the 550 as a hull with pre-rigging. The August 2013 Sun Deck list offers Suzuki and Honda rigging for single engines from 40 to 115 hp and Yamaha from 80 to 115 hp. In practice the boats we found carry everything from a 90 hp Honda to 115 hp Yamaha four-strokes and older Mercury Optimax and Evinrude two-strokes.

On a hull that weighs about a tonne ready to go, a 90 to 115 hp four-stroke is the sweet spot for families, quiet, economical and strong enough for a skier. On the Sun Deck, the four-person stern bench has a backrest that folds down so the engine can tilt up, the console sits off-center to starboard with a sliding door into a storage compartment, and the helm gets two swiveling bolster seats. We found no independent speed or fuel test, so we do not quote figures.

Inspecting a 550 that is 12 to 20 years old

These are simple boats, so a survey is mostly about the outboard and the bits that wear. Look closely at the transom and engine mounting for cracks, the steering cable for stiffness, the fuel tank and lines, and the 12 volt panel and switches, which suffer in salty boats left on moorings. The Cabin and Cabrio have sliding or two-part doors whose seals and locks are often tired, and the acrylic screens on the later boats craze with age.

An older two-stroke outboard is not necessarily a deal breaker, but parts and service support are fading, and the price should reflect a likely repower. Many 550s are sold with a road trailer, which deserves as much attention as the boat.

A European small boat in an American market

The Flyer 550 was built for European buyers and almost every boat for sale is in France, Spain or Italy. American buyers usually meet it while chartering or keeping a boat abroad. On home waters, the same money buys a used domestic runabout or small center console with nationwide parts support, so the 550 makes most sense for owners who appreciate its European styling and want a boat to keep in the Mediterranean.

If you do own one in the US, costs are low: roughly $2,500 to $6,500 a year excluding depreciation for trailer or rack storage, registration, insurance and outboard service.

What replaced the 550

In Beneteau's archive, the next small Flyers were the Flyer 5.5 SPACEdeck and SUNdeck, on a new 5.18 m hull with an Air Step bottom, a 136 liter tank and a 140 hp rating, according to their 2018 equipment lists. Below the 550 sat the Flyer 500, which itself appeared in two different hull sizes. None of these should be confused with the 550 when comparing specs or prices.