Beneteau 550 sundeck for 1st Boat?

[fergusT]

Hi All, Been looking for the right boat for a while. Always liked the beneteau, cap camarat and sessas, at least to look at. I have an option on a beneteau Flyer 550 Sundeck and wonder what people thought of it as a first boat.
I will be using it for day trips, swimming and going between estuary and sea, within 1 mile of shore. Plus I will be using it for fishing. It will be in Spain so mostly good weather and relatively calm seas. Mostly just two of us.
I am not sure about the sundeck and having a small cuddy space. Is it a waste of space versus a walkaround open boat?
Comes with a suzuki 115HP engine. I have not heard much on the Suzuki.
Any advice really appreciated.

 

[landlockedpirate]

I really like these types of boat and having used a boat for the kind of things you want to do, will try and give some advice.

IMHO the Sundecks are perfect for what you are looking at, decent deep self draining cockpit, small cuddy for a loo and somewhere to store towels, cool box etc. The sun pad is a great thing to have in the Med, we had a convertible sun pad on a walk around boat and it stayed converted the whole time.

The only down side is the limited cockpit space, but if its only 2 of you it will be fine.

 

[fergusT]

That's great Mark, very helpful. Thanks for the quick reply. Any comments on handling?

 

[Kawasaki]

That's great Mark, very helpful. Thanks for the quick reply. Any comments on handling?

As part of our 'Hire Fleet/ Syndicate' we have a Benny Flyer 650
It handles the tides and the short choppy seas of the Menai Strait ok
A walkround is good for what you want to do
Cap Cammerat the same stable
Suzuki Yamaha Honda all good motors
Go a bit bigger to a 650 if funds allow
A few metres in a boat makes all the difference
Good choice for that type of boat for a first one
'Walkround' means You will have more space to fish etc
A small 'sports boat' can be a pain, if you have to access the foredeck through the windscreen on to a 'slopey' deck- plus not too safe sometimes!