Jeanneau 54 Review, Briand and Winch's Family Superyacht in Miniature

A smaller 64 at a third of the price

Jeanneau opened its new upper range, Jeanneau Yachts, with the 64 flagship and followed it in 2015 with the Jeanneau 54, which made its North American debut at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis. Both were drawn by Philippe Briand with interiors and ergonomics by superyacht designer Andrew Winch. Jeanneau's sailboat director Erik Stromberg told Yachting World the goal was to deliver something on the level of the 64 at one third of the price, and Cruising World reported the target buyer as younger couples and families who want home comforts afloat rather than a crowd aboard.

It worked commercially. By mid-2016 about 50 Jeanneau 54s had been sold, a third of them into charter, more than the 20 percent Jeanneau expected, and the boat collected Croatian and Slovenian Boat of the Year titles and a 2016 Asia Boating Award. The youngest 54s on the brokerage market today are 2022 boats; the Jeanneau Yachts 55, shown at Dusseldorf in January 2023, now fills that size slot in the range.

Do not confuse it with the Sun Odyssey 54 DS, a Fauroux-designed deck saloon built from 2004 that still appears in listings under similar searches. That older boat has a masthead rig and different hull, and it typically sells for much less.

The terrace, the hidden davits and a 3.4 meter cockpit

Most of the 54's character is on deck. The transom folds down at the push of a button into what Jeanneau calls the terrace, with hinged cushions that turn it into twin loungers a step above the water. Retractable davits fold into the hull and lift a tender up to 120 kg; Yachting World notes they must be specified at build because the hull needs reinforcement. Moving the split backstay chainplates inboard keeps the stays off the helmsman's shoulders.

Cockpit benches are among the longest on any production yacht at 3.4 meters, and they extend forward past the companionway under the sprayhood into two sheltered lounging seats. The sprayhood has 6 ft 1 in clearance, and Toby Hodges found that in 30 knots over the deck it felt like putting on noise-cancelling headphones. The liferaft lives in the aft end of the cockpit table, a foredeck sunbed has its own bimini, and there is no tender garage.

Under sail: from Biscayne Bay to a gale off Cannes

Two very different tests agree. SAIL's Adam Cort spent three days off South Florida with a shoal-keel boat with in-mast furling and a 109 percent jib, reaching 7 to 8 knots on a broad reach in 14 knots apparent without a spinnaker and more than 8 knots, occasionally touching 10, on a close reach in winds from the teens to the low twenties. He found the twin Jefa-steered helms responsive and balanced and never needed the autopilot.

Yachting World tested in a gale off Cannes with up to 35 knots and steep 1.5 meter seas. Power-reaching with a deep reef in the furling main, the boat regularly made double-figure speeds, began to plane at about 12 knots on a broad reach with full main, and surfed to 14 knots. There was load on the wheel but the large spade rudder held. Hodges called her performance not electric, nor meant to be, but versatile, able to sail in about five knots with a code zero and to keep punching with a kindly motion in heavy weather.

Winches, mainsheet and Assisted Sail Trim

The winch layout divides opinion. The primaries sit far outboard, reachable from the helm, but the mainsheet winches are not, and Yachting World found the winch pairs too close together and too far outboard to use comfortably by hand. The mainsheet is a bridle led to each side of the coachroof rather than a traveler, with a strong vang keeping the boom down. Going forward from the cockpit means stepping over the coaming or around the primary lead.

Jeanneau designed the layout around Assisted Sail Trim, developed with Harken, which uses electric reversible winches that can raise, reef and trim sails and ease sheets automatically. Cruising World's Boat of the Year judges sailed an early installation in Annapolis and found the toggles took some getting used to. On the used market, check whether a boat has electric primaries and AST, as both strongly affect how easily a couple can handle her.

From two cabins with an aft galley to five for charter

Jeanneau offered the 54 as 2 cabins with 2 heads, 3 cabins with 2 or 3 heads, 4 cabins with 4 heads and 5 cabins with 3 heads. The owner's cabin is always forward, with a centerline island berth, en suite head, a small desk and lounge seat, and a hull window placed far enough forward that Winch could sit against the forward bulkhead and see the sea. That cabin can also be split into two for charter.

In the saloon, the standard in-line galley runs along the port side with a centerline bench behind the cook as a brace. Couples could move the galley aft to replace the starboard aft cabin, a layout Yachting World said it had never seen on a production yacht, giving a large, bright galley with 6 ft 3 in headroom and freeing saloon stowage. Every version keeps a dedicated nav station to starboard. Joinery came in teak or white oak, with leather and linen detailing. Testers' complaints were tight cabin entrances, a head-height corner at the aft galley step and engine access panels that could be larger.

Yanmar power, tankage and motoring speeds

Early boats were specified with a 75 hp Yanmar on a saildrive, later brochures list 80 hp as standard, and a 110 hp Yanmar was optional. Standard tanks are 240 liters (63 gallons) of fuel and 724 liters (191 gallons) of water, with optional larger tanks of 480 liters (127 gallons) of fuel and 964 liters (255 gallons) of water, which are worth seeking if you plan long passages. SAIL recorded 8 knots at 2,800 rpm into a slight headwind and 9.1 knots at 3,250 rpm with a three-blade fixed prop. The boat as tested had a bow thruster.

Most private boats carry a generator and air conditioning, and many have a washer-dryer, dishwasher and wine fridge. Those systems make the boat livable but add maintenance; budget accordingly.

Ex-charter or private owner: reading the market

Because a third of early production went into charter, the used market contains many four- and five-cabin boats from fleets in Croatia and Greece at very attractive prices. Some are excellent buys, but expect hard use, basic specification and a 75 or 80 hp engine. Private boats with two or three cabins, the 110 hp engine, electric winches, the terrace and davits command roughly double the price.

For US buyers, few 54s are in American waters, so many purchases are European with shipping or a transatlantic delivery. Annual running costs of $30,000 to $65,000 cover a 55 ft slip, insurance, haul-out, engine and generator service, and a reserve for sails, rigging and the many electrical systems.