Oceanis Clipper 473, cruiser spirit

The Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 473 combines extraordinary interior comfort, volume and light with bluewater strength. You will find that the 473 boasts more features and creature comforts than ever before built in a boat this size. The hull of Oceanis Clipper 473 has the same qualities as those of Oceanis 411: stability of shape, stability of progress, balance when heeling. Two drafts are proposed: 170 cms and 210 cms. The 210 cms version gives qualities of progress better to all the points of sail. The sail workings return in the cockpit. It makes the operation and the control of the boat very easy. Beneteau maintains a policy of employing top-name designers, in this case the French company Groupe Finot, whose Jean Marie Finot has designed dozens of production yachts, as well as (with Pascal Conq) some of the highest profile Open 60 single-handed round-the-world racing craft. The Oceanis Clipper 473 brings Finot style and production efficiencies to a new-model generation of coastal and offshore cruisers. A plumb, narrow bow, straight rising sheer, massive beam and broad transom with a long smooth run aft. The styling is classic and the functionality is practical for a family of four desiring to cruise in the ocean.

The Oceanis Clippper 473 is certainly a very impressive package. It’s handsomely styled, well equipped and likely to surprise anyone who thinks that Beneteau’s cruising yachts are for enclosed waters only. With the 473, Groupe Finot has come up with a powerful-looking hull with a distinctively full, raised bow. Besides providing greater interior volume, this could be expected to improve the yacht’s seakeeping qualities in rough conditions. Hull construction is in solid fibreglass laminate, with an inner moulded structure bonded and laminated into the hull and supporting the interior joinery. There is a rigid boom vang adjustable from the cockpit, as with all the halyards, reefing lines and other sail controls. As with most of the modern production cruising yachts, the mainsheet traveller is on top of the coachhouse, which means you can’t get at it from the helm, but leaves the cockpit far more open.

First impressions when stepping down the companionway of the Oceanis Clipper 473 are a very handsome, comfortable and spacious interior. Finished in cherrywood timbers and veneers and blue and white soft furnishings throughout, the look is traditional without being dated and the general ambience is warm and inviting. While raised deckhouse cruising models have been proliferating, Beneteau has chosen to stick with a more streamlined coachhouse, but, as with the smaller 393, it has included large windows at the forward end of the saloon to increase light below. Ventilation is catered for with many opening hatches and dorade vents. Two, three and four-cabin versions are available for the Oceanis Clipper 473; the two cabin layout is standard but the most popular option is probably the three-cabin version.

The saloon houses a dinette area to starboard, with a centrally located bench seat as well as the U-shaped settee, plus a two-three seater settee on the port side. The nav station of the Oceanis Clipper 473 has a comfortable, curved seat with storage space underneath, a reasonably sized table and space on the hull wall for instruments, including on this boat a Brookes & Gatehouse chartplotter, CD/radio, Icom IC-M45 VHF radio and the electrics panel, with 12 and 220V systems. Opposite is the L-shaped galley, which includes a stainless steel double sink in the forward-facing section, with hot and cold pressurised freshwater supply via mixer tap, plus foot-pumped fresh and saltwater supply.

In conclusion, the Oceanis Clipper 473 offers a very complete package for long-distance cruising. The designers have succeeded in producing a yacht which does not look slab-sided or ungainly in spite of its huge interior volume.

Sources: “Groupe Finot” & “Boat Point“