Neel 51

Meticulously maintained and comprehensively equipped 2023 Neel 51 bluewater performance trimaran, with just one owner since new and with a professional captain since new.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

One of the very last Neel 51’s to be built and delivered in 2023, EXTANCY boasts one of the highest specifications we have seen in these hugely-capable bluewater performance trimarans. Commissioned for her current owner, EXTANCY has benefitted from a full-time captain since launch and has been continually maintained and serviced throughout her short life. In this time, she has completed a full Atlantic circuit as well as cruising in the Mediterranean and now in Scandinavia.

Significant consideration and investment has gone into her power generation, storage and connectivity since delivery, including an expanded solar array, an upgraded lithium/AGM battery bank and a discreetly installed Starlink system, all aimed at extending her range and comfort as a genuine ocean cruiser.

EXTANCY also features Neel's signature 'Cockloon', combining the cockpit and saloon into a single, open, light-filled living space rather than separating indoor and outdoor life as on a conventional yacht.
The result is a bright, sociable central space that works equally well at anchor or underway, with direct sightlines from the galley and saloon out to the cockpit and beyond.

Her specification highlights include:
• 2023 build and launch (Hull No.39)
• 4-cabin, 4-heads interior layout plus dedicated ensuite skipper cabin
• Vacuum-infused GRP foam sandwich construction with watertight bulkheads
• Synthetic teak deck throughout
• Volvo Penta D2-75 engine with saildrive transmission and 3-bladed folding propeller
• MaxPower 24vDC bowthruster with dedicated battery bank and charger
• 24vDC domestic electrics
• Lithium-Ion 800Ah service battery bank
• Additional AGM 430h service battery bank
• Mastervolt and Victron Energy battery chargers and 3,500w inverter
• GenSet Gsi 12 11.2kva 220vAC diesel generator
• 220vAC 50hz and 110vAC 60Hz shore power connections
• 3kw solar panel array with Victron Energy MPPT charge controllers
• Twin engine alternators (24vDC and 12vDC)
• Twin pump pressurised fresh water system
• Dessalator 160 litre per hour 220vAC reverse-osmosis watermaker
• Pressurised salt water supply to galley and deck wash
• High-capacity manual bilge pump
• Approx 600 litres fuel capacity and 600 litres fresh water capacity
• B&G instrument package with Zeus 3 12” plotter, 4G broadband radar, AIS transceiver, autopilot and twin-station VHF
• Airmar B275 through-hull fishfinder sonar
• Starlink V2 satellite receiver
• 4G/Wifi router
• Smeg 4-burner stove plus ENO oven with grill
• Microwave oven
• Twin drawer fridge and a separate freezer
• Dishwasher
• Washing machine
• Webasto BlueCool 68,000 BTU reverse-cycle air-conditioning and heating system
• 24vDC ventilation fans
• Fusion Bluetooth stereo system
• 40” LCD TV in saloon
• Z-Spars aluminium rig with stainless steel wire standing rigging
• GRP fixed bowsprit/anchor arm
• Incidence Sails square-top fully-battened mainsail with low-friction battencar system
• Manual furlers for genoa and removable self-tacking staysail
• Asymmetric spinnaker with snuffer
• Oxley Bora Parasail with snuffer
• Harken electric winch package
• Antal electric line driver for topping lift and dinghy davit
• Direct access from ‘cockloon’ cockpit to helm area
• Cockpit galley with BBQ, sink and fridge
• Bimini at helm station including windshield and tent enclosures
• Full cockpit tent enclosures plus mosquito nets
• Highfield CL340 ultralight 3.4m aluminium-botttom RIB with Honda 20hp 4-stroke outboard
• 10-man liferaft (fully serviced April 2026)
• EPIRB
• Extensive spare parts inventory included in the sale

EXTANCY is currently lying in Bohus-Malmön, in the Swedish archipelago, easily reached from both Gothenburg and Oslo, making her particularly well positioned for buyers looking to explore Scandinavian waters this season without a long delivery, while remaining entirely ready for her next Atlantic crossing or a return to the Mediterranean. She is offered for sale exclusive of EU VAT, making her ideal for buyers from all markets and she is currently registered under the Jersey flag.

MANUFACTURER’S BACKGROUND:

Neel Trimarans, based in La Rochelle, France, has specialised exclusively in cruising trimarans since 2010, building on naval architecture by Joubert Nivelt Design. The Neel 51 combines the platform stability and load-carrying capacity typical of a trimaran with genuine bluewater performance and has been recognised within the industry as one of the leading cruising multihulls in her size class since her launch.

Central to the design is the ‘Cockloon’, Neel’s signature combination of cockpit and saloon into a single, open, light-filled living space, a layout that has become closely associated with the brand and remains one of the more distinctive features in the cruising multihull market.

PRESS REVIEW:

The 51 follows the successful Neel 45, one of which won the multihull class in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) a couple of years back. This is the fourth design for Neel by veteran mono- and multihull architects Michel Joubert and Bernard Nivelt. Neel founder Eric Bruneel, who spent many years on ocean-racing tris, is bullish about the advantages of three hulls for cruising: he posits that a catamaran’s peak righting moment is reached at a mere 12 degrees of heel, at which point sail area must be reduced. By contrast, a trimaran’s peak is at 27 degrees of heel. It’s certainly true that a tri is basically a monohull with floats and is typically sailed at a greater angle of heel than a cat.

On the Neel 51, weight is concentrated low down and amidships in the central hull. This limits pitching and equates to a softer, more comfortable motion in a seaway, especially going to windward—a weak point for many cruising cats. The Neel 51’s main hull carries pronounced rocker, so that the boat will come about easily, while the slender amas are toed out to improve directional stability—a daggerboard is not necessary.

Weight management is everything when you’re building performance-oriented boats, multihulls especially. Neel engaged a specialist company to analyse the loadings on all parts of the structure in various sea conditions to find out where weight savings could be made and which areas needed to be strengthened. The hull, deck and cabintop mouldings consist of PVC foam cores sandwiched between quadraxial fiberglass rovings and infused with isophthalic and vinylester resins. Interior bulkheads and most furniture are also foam sandwich constructions. The boat is packed with useful features, like the deep “basement” below the cabin sole in the centre hull that not only houses the engine, fuel and water tanks, batteries and all electrical ancillaries, but has room for a generator, watermaker, AC unit and things like spare anchors and rode, and much else. As any long-term cruiser will attest, this is an enviable selling point.

ON DECK

The Neel 51 gives the impression of massive beam but is in fact only 6in wider than a Lagoon 52. The wide deckhouse dominates the boat, though side decks are clear and sufficiently wide. An easy step up from the starboard hull takes you into the comfortable helm seat, from where the double headsail rig—a self-tacking jib set inside an overlapping genoa—is controlled by a mix of powered and manual Harken 52 winches. Reefing lines and sheets are all led here, with rope bags to contain the considerable spaghetti. Next to it is a large, cozy flybridge seating/lounging area, which in the absence of a forward cockpit will be the favoured place to hang out in a tradewind anchorage. Solar panels are inlaid into the cabintop.

The aft cockpit is a wide, shallow area protected by the hardtop. It is smaller than that of an equivalent-sized cat but can be cleverly integrated into the saloon by means of full-width sliding doors. These enable the saloon table and seating to be extended outdoors, creating a 12-place dining table and a large open-plan area. Neel calls this feature the “cockloon,” and in fair weather it will be a wonderful socializing platform. There are large lockers with over 6ft of headroom in the transoms of the amas for stowing fenders, water toys and other light gear—one owner specified a full-sized washing machine and dryer in the starboard locker. Between these and the basement, there is certainly no shortage of storage on this boat.

Trimarans have no need for the anchoring bridles employed to keep catamarans from sailing around their anchors—the breeze funneling between the amas and main hull tends to keep them facing into the wind. The anchor is set on a short sprit that keeps the hook and chain clear of the axe bow and also provides a tack point for downwind sails, backed up by a deep anchor locker and a 24-volt windlass. (The boat runs on 24V, aside from the navigation electronics.) Mooring cleats are large and well placed, and in keeping with the sporty nature of the boat, the lifelines are Dyneema.

ACCOMMODATIONS

Ah, where to begin? There is space to burn on this boat. Let’s start with the master suite, which is to starboard on the bridgedeck as you enter the boat—no need to go down any stairs to get to bed. A queen-size berth, plenty of locker space for clothes and belongings, a generously proportioned head/shower and a great view out through a picture window—what more could you want?

If you like the master cabin, you’ll love the big C-shaped galley, forward and to port on the bridgedeck. There’s loads of worktop area, as many drawers and shelves as you could wish for and a big two-drawer fridge/freezer. To starboard is a compact nav station from where you can steer the boat via autopilot with excellent visibility to three sides.

Neel’s standard trim is in neutral shades of gray, with trim in Alpi wood and flooring in a hardwearing polyester material. Owners can choose a limited range of other colors. Headroom throughout is around 6ft 6in. Even in the three storage compartments, it is well over 6ft.

UNDER SAIL

You only need to take a look at the knifelike entry on the Neel 51’s triple bows to figure out that speed is an integral part of the boat’s design brief. At rest, the amas kiss the water, but underway the windward hull is always clear, reducing drag. What was immediately apparent after we set sail out of Neel’s home port of La Rochelle, France, was just how easily driven the boat is: starting off in 6 to 7 knots of breeze, speed through the water matched that, and as the wind picked up to 10-11 knots true, so did the boatspeed—respectable performance indeed. Double-digit averages should be easily attainable in any sort of wind, and the boat should have no problem reeling off 200-plus-mile days as a matter of routine.

Also apparent was the boat’s excellent directional stability, which will make life easy for the autopilot. She tacked readily through 90 degrees and would have sailed closer to the wind were it not for us having to continually dodge around the other sailboats that congest the waters around La Rochelle.

UNDER POWER

No issues here—just one engine to take care of, a 75hp Volvo saildrive equipped with both 24-volt and 12-volt alternators to charge the AGM battery banks down in the basement. Engine access is excellent, and its compartment is well soundproofed. The boat will easily hit 9 knots under power with the standard Volvo folding propeller, but a more relaxed 7-knot cruising speed will still get you places reasonably quickly and with better fuel efficiency. I suspect most owners will opt for the bow thruster, as the boat is not as maneuverable under power in close quarters as a twin-engined catamaran.

CONCLUSION

Neel is now a well-established player in the multihull scene, and the more boats it builds, the more exposure the production trimaran concept gets. These are sophisticated, well-built boats and I suspect we will see a lot more of them on the water in years to come, for this combination of performance, spaciousness and seaworthiness presents a compelling argument for cruising on three hulls.

Sail Magazine