Grand Soleil 54 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Her 53-foot-7-inch hull displaces 35,273 pounds and carries a 14,330-pound lead ballast bulb, giving a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 0.40. With a 48-foot-9-inch waterline, a 15-foot-3-inch beam, a D/L of 136, and an SA/D of 23.5, she sits squarely in the modern light-displacement performance-cruiser camp rather than the heavy-ocean-passage mold.

Design and Construction

Cantiere del Pardo built the 54 with a solid fiberglass hull and deck. The teak-topped decks are kept free of clutter by routing all control lines through belowdecks races to the cockpit, while every deck hatch sits flush. The side decks are wide enough to make moving forward straightforward, although the cabin-top handhold intended to help with that passage is too short to be much use.

A deep, torpedo-bulb keel and well-sized spade rudder give the boat the footing expected of a performance cruiser. Twin wheels provide excellent sight lines when trimming or maneuvering. Standard draft is 8 feet 9 inches, with 8-foot and 10-foot-2-inch options. Even with the shallower choice, this is no shoal-draft coastal wanderer, but a firmly planted sea boat.

Rig, Sailing Performance, and Handling

The fractional sloop rig carries 1,583 square feet of sail area at 100 percent, with a powerful in-boom-furling, fully battened mainsail and a 103-percent genoa. The double-ended mainsheet can be trimmed at the push of a button from the coaming seat, allowing the crew to remain seated and relaxed.

Writing in Cruising World, the test sailor reported that boat speeds reached the 7- to 8-knot range beating to windward and hovered around 8.5 knots off the wind. The easily driven hull cut a quiet wake, confirming the performance brief rather than merely repeating the marketing. Under power, the 110-horsepower Yanmar proved sufficiently quick and quiet in the Cruising World test.

Accommodations

Below, varnished woodwork and a light-colored headliner give the saloon a bright, modern feel. Long fixed ports in the coach roof bring in plenty of natural light, and a U-shaped settee seats a crowd for dinner.

The large galley is easy to work in and set up for real cooking. It includes a gimbaled three-burner stove and oven, deep stainless-steel sinks, and generous counter and storage space.

The forward master cabin works well, with a large, aft-facing double bunk. Its large, well-appointed head includes a stand-up shower and feels like a scaled-down household bathroom. Aft, two guest cabins each have a good-size double berth, decent stowage, and a small adjacent head that also serves as the day head.

The one interior compromise is the standard nav station. It faces sideways rather than forward, its seat has no back, and the whole unit is a little small. A larger, forward-facing version was available as an option.

Ergonomic Shortcomings

Period testing identified several shortcomings that affect comfort rather than structure. The cabin-top handhold is too short to grab reliably when moving forward, and the cockpit seatbacks are a little too short to provide the back support wanted on a long passage. The companionway steps into the saloon are also steep—not dangerously so, but noticeably so.

Verdict

The Grand Soleil 54 is a genuine performance cruiser from the Brenta–Cantiere del Pardo collaboration. She’s quick both on and off the wind, quietly driven, and finished with restrained Italian style above and below deck. She suits an owner who values speed and finish over maximal tankage or a forward-facing nav seat, while her three-cabin layout provides a credible platform for extended cruising.

Pros