November 2017 71The fuel tanks are mounted centrally in
the bilge, the water tanks (600lt) below
the saloon and forward berth. “Hoek likes
to keep weight out of the aft ends to keep
the boat from squatting,” said Speirs.
Weight management is a serious
business on the PC55. There is no solid
plywood on the boat; all the furniture is
built in foam-cored veneer. Outboard of
the galley you can see the reassuringly
thick carbon ring frames to which
the chainplates are bolted. The sole
boards are teak and holly veneer on a
honeycomb core. Cork washers on the
undersides of these boards minimise any
noise or vibration. The bilge is all faired
and angled so that any water ingress runs
to a central point.
Saloon
In warm climes most of the socialising and dining would probably
happen in the cockpit, but the saloon (pictured left) can seat six
people around a table. The saloon table can swivel and also be
dropped down to coffee table height.Navstation
The large navstation, fitted to port, has a proper desk area
for working that includes a lift-top drawer. The switchboard
installation looks neat and is mounted on a ventilated locker.
There is also plenty of panel space for electronics, plus an
option for a freezer beneath the pilot seat.A lithium-ion battery option (as
aboard the PC66) saves 200kg over
conventional batteries. It’s a €10k
upgrade but one Speirs feels is worth it
for its weight saving, potentially longer
life span and higher efficiency. A slight
surprise for a luxury boat aimed at warm
weather sailing is that the optional genset
needed to run aircon has to be housed in
an aft locker.
Fast mount fittings secure the
headlinings so they can be easily
removed for inspection. There were a
few examples of untidy finishing, such as
mastic on the windows and locker doors
not quite aligning squarely – but not
enough to take away from the quality
of design, build and engineering. ›Galley
The longitudinal galley is not the ideal space in which to prepare
food when heeled on port tack. But this layout is fairly typical
for a Med boat and is a natural fit with the open-plan feel of the
PC55. A three-burner Force 10 stove divides the expanse of
deeply fiddled Corian work surfaces, and there are two deep
fridge drawers finished in brushed stainless steel.