At just under 20 feet on the hull, she’s a habitable pocket cruiser intended for sheltered-water and coastal sailing rather than offshore passages. Even so, her specifications and construction present a coherent picture of a serious little yacht.
Design and Construction
The Baleinier 600 is a monocoque fiberglass sailboat, built in polyester with a solid hull and solid fiberglass deck. She measures 6.00 meters on the hull and 4.95 meters at the waterline, with a beam of 2.45 meters and a light displacement of 1,050 kg.
Her fin keel carries 250 kg of iron ballast and draws 0.70 meters. The ballast-to-weight ratio is 0.24, while the ballast-to-sail ratio is 11. These proportions describe a light, low-drag coastal hull with moderate ballast and a forgivingly shallow draft.
The Baleinier 600 is rated category 4 for design waters, reinforcing her intended role as a sheltered-water and coastal cruiser rather than an open-ocean boat.
Rig and Handling
The masthead-sloop rig carries 23.5 square meters of sail, nearly evenly divided between an 11.5 square meter mainsail and a 12 square meter genoa. That balance keeps sail trim straightforward for a short-handed crew. Her sail-to-weight ratio is 22.
The 0.70 meter draft and 2.45 meter beam give her a stable profile that can be grounded easily in tidal creeks, along with manageable handling in a breeze. With a small wetted surface, a 4.95 meter waterline, and displacement just over a ton, the ZV ratio of 11 and LP ratio of 0.24 suggest quick acceleration in light air and manageable behavior for novice owners. The category 4 rating, however, confirms that she wasn’t built for the open ocean.
Accommodations
The Baleinier 600 was laid out as a habitable cruising sailboat, with four berths and 1.52 meters of headroom beneath the cabin beams. That’s enough headroom to sit upright at the settee, but it’s low by modern standards—as might be expected in a 6-meter hull.
The four-berth arrangement allows two adults to cruise with space for two more to camp aboard. This habitable-cruising layout confirms that the Baleinier 600 was marketed as a proper pocket cruiser rather than a daysailer with a tent.
Power and Equipment
Kirié offered the boat with a well-mounted 10 to 20 hp outboard or an 11 or 16 hp inboard diesel. The outboard-well option keeps the hull simple and the stern uncluttered. The inboard choices show that Kirié also anticipated owners who wanted permanent propulsion without giving up the boat’s shallow draft. Either installation suits her size and coastal purpose.
Verdict
The Baleinier 600 is a tidy, limited-production French pocket cruiser that fits four berths and a genuine masthead rig into a hull under 20 feet long. Her shallow fin keel, light displacement, and category 4 rating make her a sensible trainer and estuary cruiser. Low headroom and the boat’s small overall size, however, argue against anything beyond coastal use.
Pros
- Solid monocoque polyester construction, with a limited production run built to a single design
- Shallow 0.70 m draft and 2.45 m beam ease launching, grounding, and close-quarters handling
- Four berths and 1.52 m headroom make her a genuinely habitable cruiser at 6 meters
Cons
- Category 4 rating limits her to sheltered and coastal waters
- 1.52 m headroom is cramped for standing adults
- The 23.5 m2 sail plan and 250 kg of ballast are better suited to light-air day sailing than heavy-weather work
