Trade-A-Boat — February 2018

T

he aqua blue

Monte Carlo 5

hull glinted in

the Spanish sun,

standing out

among the acres of white

GRP and creating a bold and

colourful statement before

we even left the dock.

For those of us used to

Beneteau’s mainstream

powerboats, this Italian-

designed range from its

relatively new yard aquisition,

Monte Carlo Yachts (MYC),

is a large dose ofla dolce vita

with sweet lines indeed but

with plenty of detail finishing

and substance to back it up.

The MC5 along with the

smaller MC4 and new MC6

are built near Beneteau’s

headquarters in Western

France, while the larger,

premium models MCY 65,

70 and 80 are built in the

company’s modern facility in

Monfalcone, Italy. What they

share is more than just styling

DNA, included are quality

fittings too.

Styling what easily could

have been a rather boxy

50-foot flybridge cruiser

with little sheer into a fairly

handsome motoryacht, must

be credited to Italian naval

architecture and design

firm Nuvolari Lenard. It put

enough chines and bow flare,

along with those signature

portlights, to cleverly disguise

what is a high-volume hull.

Boarding the Monte Carlo

5 you’re ushered below the

sheltering aft deck through

tall doors into the saloon. The

single-level entry is seamless

and another two strides and

a step takes you to the main

console. Here, all important

controls fall easily to hand.

The double helm seat is

a comfortable perch and

looking aft, the open-plan

saloon layout is an airy space

thanks to the tall windows

cascading light over the

lounge/dinette and galley

behind, with longitudinal

bench seating on starboard.

With main doors swinging,

the entire area opens-up the

cockpit when parties are on

the menu.

The accommodation

layout features double cabins

fore and aft, with a third

housing bunks in between.

The main stateroom utilises

the full beam aft to create

a highly liveable space,

while MCY’s huge circular

portlights create stylish

panoramic views either side

of the island bed.

The aft deck is a useful

alfresco place under the

protective flybridge overhang

and you shouldn’t spill the

gin and tonic as you ascend

the stairs to the flybridge

where lounging space is

the priority thanks to twin

sunpads, while a fold-down

bimini shields most of the

area. At the business end the

helm affords clear views from

its single seat and controls

duplicate what’s below.

There is a good sense of

space around the twin Volvo

Penta motors – upgraded

435hp IPS600s were fitted.

In a straight line, we hit top

speed of 27.9kts, which may

not be sparkling but the ride

felt comfortable as the Volvos

spun at 3400rpm. Throttling

back to a sedate 3000rpm

resulted in a satisfactory

cruising speed of 22.7kts.

The bottom line is that the

Monte Carlo 5 could indeed

be your ticket to the sweet

life, as the Italians like to say,

because it has both style and

substance.

quickspecs

Monte Carlo 5

PRICEASTESTED$1.35m

MATERIALSolid GRP below

waterline and balsa cored

topsides

TYPESemi-displacement

monohull

LENGTH15.2m overall

BEAM4.29m

ENGINE2 x 435hp Volvo D6

IPS600 turbo-diesel

FUEL1300lt

WATER660lt

FOR MORE INFO

Visit sundancemarine.com.au

YOUR TICKET TO THE SWEET LIFE

Beneteau Monte Carlo 5

STORYKEVIN GREEN

PHOTOSUPPLIED

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