Grand Soleil 52 LC Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Owner three-cabin and charter four-cabin versions are both well represented, with ex-charter examples common. The standard plan sleeps six in three cabins, with aft twin and double berths roomy enough to sit up under the cockpit sole, and an owner's suite forward that may use either a centerline island berth or a Pullman berth with a larger head. A vast forward sail locker nearly three meters deep can be left as storage or converted to separate crew quarters, a useful option for charter or family crews. All heads have porcelain bowl sinks and black water tanks as standard, and the transom drops hydraulically to form a bathing platform served by the tender garage.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Most boats on the market are commonly fitted with air conditioning, autopilot, chartplotter, electric winches, AIS, bow thruster, inverter, bimini, radar, life raft, freezer, and hot water, and many carry a gennaker for offwind ease. Often-seen additions include a self-tacking jib, swim platform, watermaker, teak decks, and cockpit shower. Less common but appearing as owner upgrades are solar, furling main, washing machine, and dodger. For a buyer, the self-tacking jib and electric winches reduce short-handed effort, while a watermaker and inverter extend off-grid range; teak decks and a cockpit shower speak to Mediterranean use. The Sport package, where present, adds a taller mast, rod rigging, and a German mainsheet system for more performance.

What to Inspect

The deck hides its mechanics and leads all lines under the coamings to jammers at the helms, with two winches per side and rope bins in the cockpit seat ends. On the reviewed boat, opening those bins released a tumbled mound of ropes, and the builder has said it identified the cramped rope-handling area and made more space in this area for future builds. Check which generation of bin layout a given hull has. Also confirm the winches are not reversible, meaning a heavily loaded sail may need extra hands to ease, and verify the jib cars are pin-set rather than cockpit-adjustable. The 110-horsepower shaft-driven engine with Flexifold prop is an upgraded package worth confirming against the standard 75-horsepower Volvo Penta.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These yachts typically appear in Italy, France, Spain, Malta, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), and the United States. For a buyer, the checklist is short: decide between three-cabin owner and four-cabin charter layout; confirm Sport rig or standard in-mast furling; verify rope-bin generation and winch reversibility; check for self-tacking jib and electric winches; and assess teak decks and watermaker against intended cruising.