Design and Construction
The Blue II is built predominantly of glassfibre, with wood trim and solid-fibreglass hulls and deck rather than cored laminates. Philippe Briand gave each hull a plumb stem and a reverse transom incorporating steps down to a swimming platform—an arrangement that remains practical today.
Twin fixed fin keels and two internally mounted, spade-type rudders controlled by a wheel complete the underwater profile. The wheel provides a single helm station for close-quarters handling.
The Blue II has a hull speed of 7.24 knots and a displacement-to-length ratio near 130. She is a light, beamy cruiser rather than a racer. Her capsize screening value of 4.06 and comfort ratio of 6.95 place her firmly in the coastal-cruising camp.
Rig and Handling
The Blue II carries a fractional sloop rig on a keel-stepped mast. Aluminium spars, one set of unswept spreaders, and stainless steel wire standing rigging make up a relatively simple arrangement for a short-handed crew. Twin rudders and wheel steering allow the helmsman to control both hulls from a single station.
The 699-square-foot sail plan, set against a displacement of 7,275 pounds, produces a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 29.78. That is enough to drive the catamaran readily in a breeze without demanding heavy crew work.
Accommodations
The Blue II sleeps four, with a cabin and double berth in each hull. This separation gives a two-couple crew genuine privacy. A U-shaped settee fills the main salon, while the practical spaces are divided between the hulls.
Aft in the starboard hull, the L-shaped galley includes a stove and sink. The head is in the port hull. This arrangement keeps the cooking and washing areas separate from the sleeping cabins and gives each hull a defined function rather than forcing both uses into a compromised shared space.
The Verdict
The Beneteau Blue II is a straightforward 1980s cruising catamaran. Briand gave her clean, plumb-stemmed hulls, reverse-transom swim steps, and a simple fractional rig that a small crew can handle. The twin-hull layout also provides genuinely separate accommodations for four.
She is light and beamy rather than offshore-rugged. Her galley-down arrangement, with the head in the opposite hull, is a period solution better suited to coastal cruising than to maximizing liveaboard space.
Pros
- Twin fixed fin keels and wheel-steered spade rudders aid maneuvering and grounding tolerance
- Separate double berths in each hull provide real privacy for four
- The simple fractional sloop rig, with one set of unswept spreaders, is manageable short-handed
- Reverse-transom steps down to swimming platforms make water access easier
Cons
- The L-shaped galley, confined to the aft starboard hull, limits crew movement under way
- With the head isolated in the port hull, crew must cross the salon at night
- Solid-glass construction leaves little known about structural refinement
