Motor Boat & Yachting — November 2017

It was as though south-east Jeanneau
dealer Blackrock Yachting had
ordained the weather – it was perfect
for proving Jeanneau’s latest model’s
suitability for the British climate.
There I was, bowling down
Southampton Water at an easy
25-knot cruise in the sunshine
courtesy of a pair of Volvo Penta D3
220hp sterndrive diesels, helm-side
sliding door connecting me with the
elements while the deck saloon layout
shields me from the wind blast, when
suddenly the weather does that
peculiarly British thing of turning into

a different day. The already-strident

wind picks up, the sky turns from pale

blue to slate grey and the heavens

open. A tug of the sliding door and

a lunge for the wiper switches (which

need moving much closer) and we’re

snug against the elements, speed

unabated. Deep side windows offer

great surround vision and during

a hard turn to port, the usual roof

blindspot is eradicated by glass

panels in the electric sliding roof.

It works well on the water then, but

the cleverest parts of the new NC 33

are all about making living aboard

more comfortable, and that starts the

moment you enter the cockpit and

discover that the aft section of seating

is mounted on runners, allowing it to

extend back over the bathing platform

to recapture what’s usually dead

space if you’re not storing a dinghy on

it. Side decks are asymmetric, priority

given to the starboard side which has

deep bulwarks with a small access

door to make side boarding easier.

Step through the sliding glass

doors and you’ll find all the living

areas on the main deck, the galley

immediately to starboard behind the

AT A GLANCE

Length 34ft 5in (10.5m)

Beam 10ft 10in (3.32m)

Engines Volvo Penta D3-220

220hp Top speed on trial 31 knots

Price from £246,447 inc VAT

Price as tested £306,238 inc VAT

Jeanneau NC 33

helm and a comfy L-shaped settee to

port that converts to a raised forward-

facing bench seat to allow two crew

to join the helmsman. As a result, the

lower deck is all about sleeping, with

two decent double cabins and a heads

big enough to partition off the shower.

It’s a fantastic floating apartment,

then, but that flexible deck saloon

layout and strong twin-engine setup

prove it’s an equally adroit fast

passagemaker, whatever the weather.

Contact Blackrock Yachting.

Tel: 01273 697777 / 01234 550042.

Web: http://www.jeanneau.com

It’s a fantastic fl oating apartment,

and the strong twin-engine setup makes

it an equally adroit fast passagemaker

A large fridge and more

storage live in the lobby

area of the lower deck

The heads has a

separate shower

compartment

The foreword bed extends

courtesy of an infi ll so you can

trade bed length for fl oor space

The guest cabin is

unusually spacious too

Soft-touch matt black covering below

the windscreen means the large

screen remains free of refl ections

54

The aft cockpit seat

not only slides, it turns

into a sunbed too