Contest 50CS or Oyster565

[Amouage]

Well good to know, although it probably does not suit your personal interest.

Oyster can be customized, however are not custom made, so there will be certain limitations i.e. restrictions as what they will offer. In particular when it comes down to the hull structure, as this is not a simple design mod.

[s/v Jedi]

On Dutch designs, the Bestevaer is of the highest reputation: https://bestevaer.com/yachts/sailing/models/53-s-y

[Paul Reading]

I am not sure where you plan to use this boat. There are some other considerations between a 50 and 56 foot boat. Firstly, performance' it goes without saying than the Oyster will have a longer waterline length so will probably a better passage maker, but my impression is that the Contest will point higher and may prove more sporty for coastal waters, I would do a test sail and see how they perform close to the wind. As someone else said the Swan 55 should really be considered as it will out sail either of the other two boats and in in the same league for quality. [PS If you have prime watch "The Weekend Sailor" the star of the show is a Swan].

The second thing is and this is counter intuitive but we have found it is easier to get into med marinas with a bigger boat than a smaller one. As you can imagine if you plot boat numbers against their length, you find that as the boats get longer you get the numbers fall off a cliff. As a result whilst there are fewer berths for bigger vessels the competition is less too. The downside is the cost of mooring which is usually proportional to the square of the length.

I don't think that you can go wrong with any of these boats but when you do make your choice what out for shortened halyards. Oyster sometimes uses shortened halyards which require mousing lines to be attached to drop the sales. This keeps everything neat but... they are not seaman like (I know my boat is rigged this way), you cannot drop a sail without first furling it, attaching the mousing line and then unfurling it and then dropping it. This as you can imagine is a disaster waiting to happen. if for example the furler breaks or jams.. you can't drop the sail. If I was specifying a boat I would not specify shortened halyards they are a very bad idea.

[Amouage]

No doubt that the Swan has a better sailing performance. It has less displacement and is a more performance driven cruiser. Excellent finish throughout the yacht and great rig.

If I were only to sail coastal waters and the Med then I would seriously consider it. Anyway, I have an invitation from Nautors to test sail the 55ft, so probably I will go and check it out.

[Volador]

I humbly suggest, for the money your are talking about and what you want to do, you take a trip down to Lymington, visit Sue Grant and John Eustace @ Berthon and check out the Discovery 55 and 58. With the funds you will have left over you can up-date the yacht with all you want and have a true blue water cruiser with little to no compromises vs what you are looking at. I have sailed all three and looked at all three to purchase and hands down will take a Discovery any day. I have owned the 55 and 58. The only difference between 55 and 58 is that the 58 is roomier and importantly, a bit heavier and therefore more comfortable in big seas.
If you would like to talk about this further please advise.
I am not a salesman or related to any yacht business but yes, a very happy sailboat owner.
What a great plan you have, keep at it!

[guitarrich]

Have a look at the Discovery 58. A fantastic boat for world cruising as a couple, and so easy to handle. There may still be a few good second hand ones available.

[s/v 'Ale kai]

I can't help much on which boat as I'm not familiar with the Contest. I've sailed the big Oyster and agree with many of the comments. Oyster service is superb. We lost our mast to a spinnaker gust going down the California coast and had it fixed within 2 weeks. Getting parts at a reasonable price in remote ports can be a big decision maker for circumnavigation. Both the Contest and the Oyster have Yanmars - nice for finding parts most anywhere.

On the tankage: You can make water. You can't make fuel. But you can strap 5 gal diesel tanks in the cockpit - which you should have for long passages like bypassing the Somali area or the Durban-Cape Town leg. There's not a lot more nail biting than pounding against current and wind without enough fuel to make port. It is a sailboat but it won't sail into headwinds, tacks can take you way outside your planned path and doldrums won't take you anywhere without your engine.

On deck storage: The less you have strapped on the deck, the better when you take big waves over the deck. Deep lazarettes are particularly nice for liferafts and ditch bags. If the boat is going down, you need quick access to your emergency supplies and docs.

If you have control over the interior layout, take the advice above to avoid island beds. They're great at dock and easy to make but useless in any kind of swells. Build in as many cabinets as possible for storage. You'll be amazed at the number of tools, replacement parts, spare lines, extra sails, books, etc. you'll want to carry.

Finally, if you haven't already, check out the ARC. Passage-making in a group is a good way of making sure you reach your destination, safely.

[Jaylonious]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

My beef with the Oyster (the one we considered… things may have changed) is the steps down into the galley. They are very close to the companionway steps and are an accident waiting to happen.

My beef with the Contest (again the one we considered) is that they had a galley countertop piece to cover the cooktop which was big and heavy and not attached to anything. Again, an accident waiting to happen.

I would opt for the Contest as well, and demand they fix the obvious mistakes. The ordering negotiations is the time for this.

I would also urge you to consider an arch on the stern instead of davits, capable of carrying a large solar array, as well as a specialized bimini/hard top that can also carry large panels.
For the dinghy itself, a one-line controlled pivoting hoisting arm on the arch capable of lifting an 11 foot aluminum RIB with 20hp outboard. It took me 5 dinghies and 4 builds/alterations over a timespan of 22 years to get this right so take advantage of my experience and save yourself some time

Jedi -- you have a photo of this setup you'd be willing to share ?

[Splashman237]

Originally Posted by Amouage

We are in the final phase of selecting our bluewater ocean cruising yacht and the shortlist is down to 2 brands and models.

In the first year we would like to do the Sail around Great Britain and Scotland, then sail it down to the Med to cruise around for a full year (Spain, Balearen, Italy, Croatia and Greece). Then to prepare for a circumnavigation around the world for 2-3 years or more.

Previously we have owned an X-46 for approx. 5 years and we have looked at various brands and models for this new adventure and narrowed it down to Contest from the Netherlands and Oyster from the UK.

Albeit different in size at Contest we prefer the 50CS over the 55CS and at Oyster we prefer the 565 over the 495, based on the following:

• Contest 50 is more spacious over the Oyster 495 as it is simply a larger yacht (LOA and Beam) that results in more interior space (larger main cabin, nice kitchen, large shower).
• Contest is build fully under Lloyd Register and has a single rudder, which gives more protection.
• Interior finish of the Contest 50 is absolutely magnificent.
• Overall built quality on an exceptional high level (even better vs Oyster)

The Contest 50 HOWEVER, does not have a lazarette.....it has instead 2 quarter lockers. This is my only and big concern: where to store fenders, dive gear and all other stuff you carry on long ocean crossings.

The Oyster 565 has it all....., however carries a hefty price tag of > EUR 1 million over the Contest 50. What else to consider for the Oyster 565:

• Very good deck layout (cockpit and helm stations) and deck hardware (fair leads, cleats, scupper).
• Very nice bathing platform.
• Seascape windows in interior are magnificent.
• Line of the yacht looks more nice vs Contest 50 CS (more elegant).
• Forward facing captains navigation corner (on the Contest its facing to port-side).
• Technical room with very good access to the engine room.
• Global service support network of Oyster is more developed.

I think in terms of sail handling, both yachts will be comparable and the comfort on big open water, I will test before making the final call.

The name of the Yacht is going to be AMOUAGE, which means passionate waves in Arabic.

Any external views and recommendations most welcome!

We have an Oyster 47 and have done the journeys you suggest including 2 UK circumnavigations and cruising in Europe, currently in Caribbean after an ARC+ crossing . One thing I would praise Oyster for is after sales service and support . Ours was built in 2002 and Oyster can still tell us and supply any special parts we need worldwide . They came and did a pre ARC full boat inspection in Canaries, ( crew of 7 all experts in their field) fixing a few minor issues we had (all free service ) made us feel very confident for our Atlantic crossing.

[Icarus]

Boats don't have kitchens... Maybe consider a yacht with a galley?

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Jaylonious

Jedi -- you have a photo of this setup you'd be willing to share ?

Unfortunately not. Somehow it’s rare to find good pictures of dinghy hoists.

[Sail Sail]

Nice dilemma to have.

[STAYER]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

On Dutch designs, the Bestevaer is of the highest reputation: https://bestevaer.com/yachts/sailing/models/53-s-y

Sure! However, you cannot compare these to a Contest, Rassy or Oyster of similar size. The latter have far more “comfort”, complexity etc. I owned a HR 53 and build a Bestevaer 56, sailed 15K miles with her before we sold. I now own a Bestevaer 53 (BØR, former “Alice and Qerst”). These designs are perfect for long distance ocean sailing with a crew of 2, max 4 for crossings. The Dijkstra design gives you loads of storage for sails, lines, inflatable dinghies, engines etc, but limited interior space. Lots of fuel and water capacity, 1150 l diesel and 1000 liters water.
Relatively small interior in a large hull, Dijkstra calls this the “enlarged ship principle”.

[s/v Jedi]

About keels… which ones have wing keels, lifting keels or centerboards?

I would stay away from wing keels even if that eliminates the Contest. Also, the linger I sail, the more I appreciate the centerboard designs.

[Amouage]

The Contest has a centre rudder (so well protected by the keel) and the Oyster has a twin rudder system (meaning less protection against debris whilst on the Ocean.

Both rudder systems are behind a watertight bulkhead.