Kelt 5.50 Buyer's Guide
Shopping for a used Kelt 5.50 on the brokerage market means looking at a Canadian-built micro-cruiser that Gilles Ollier designed and Kelt Marine produced from 1976 to 1982, about 1,000 of them in total. She is an 18-foot lifting-keel fractional sloop, trailerable and shallow-draft, which puts her in the pocket-cruiser niche rather than the bluewater used-boat pool. Around 1,000 were built, so the type is not a rare one-off, and the micro-class community gives a used buyer a place to trade notes and spares.
Layouts on the Used Market
The hull envelope runs 5.5 meters overall, 2.4 meters beam, and a keel that lifts from 1.1 meters to 0.3 meters. A fixed-fin version drawing 2.46 feet also exists and may appear among used boats, offering simpler ground tackle for buyers who do not need the retract option. No interior plan or berth configuration is established for the 5.50, so each boat must be judged on its own belowdecks layout at viewing.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
No commonly fitted, often seen, or owner-upgrade equipment tiers are listed for this model, so nothing can be claimed about typical gear beyond the as-designed rig and lifting keel. Buyers should evaluate whatever is fitted on an individual hull without assuming any standard inventory, and treat any electronics or sail-handling gear as owner-fitted rather than factory standard.
What to Inspect
The one material concern on these boats is the balsa-cored deck. Press around winches, stanchion bases, and hatch frames for softness, and look for staining or crazing that signals water has reached the core. A sounding mallet helps reveal delamination you cannot see. The lifting keel trunk and pivot should be checked for free movement and any sign of water entry where it penetrates the hull, since a seized pivot makes the retract feature useless.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United Kingdom and Netherlands. Before you commit, walk through this short list:
- Sound the deck for balsa-core softness
- Check keel trunk for free swing and leaks
- Confirm trailer and ramp suitability of draft
- Verify micro-class support access
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Kelt 5.50. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 1 | $2,380 | — |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $1,632 | -31.4% |
Where they're listed
Kelt 5.50 listings appear across 1 country. United Kingdom has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $2,006 | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 210 | 20.34' | $ 12,520 | 22 | 6 |
| Kelt 5.50You are here | — | $ 2,005 | 2 | 1 |