Has Solaris done it again and is this new 50 as good as it looks?

The original Solaris 50 blazed a trail for sleek Med-suited performance cruisers. Toby Hodges finds the new version is a roomier fast cruiser with similar aesthetic appeal and easy handling. Full review in Yachting World January
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[@kmk9119]

just brilliant thank you for these magic moments...

[@vokstar]

Left me hanging on the drinking game, 15:40 in before fiddles was mentioned! :D Cheers for the review, it is a fine looking thing indeed.

[@yachtingworld]

😄

[@danielforde-pogson]

Lovely review Toby...of course (as usual!) and a great boat. Beautifully presented yacht and a good price!

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you!

[@n.o.b.1907]

Thank you for yet another pleasant presentation. Love these videos by Toby. Yachting World is really Yachting Now!

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you!

[@paulgilliland2992]

Beautiful.

[@cdinlenc1]

Don't listen to the haters. You make excellent videos that are very informative and beautiful to watch. BTW, gorgeous boat, any idea what color that was?

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you Caner! And yes, the hull is painted with blue steel metallic Awlgrip I believe.

[@conradsenior5843]

Reviews with big holes in them. LOL

[@puertola7186]

It is always pleasure to watch and listen to Toby introducing us new boats. A big thank you for this fine boat too! But, I'd rather have an Azuree 46!

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you!

[@Asder12345]

Beautiful machine!

[@petkuscinta9797]

It is interesting to see what is possible if you want monohaul that sails very well. Would be interesting to see how it all compares to MOODY 54 DS.

[@riddlerandsa8161]

on the one hand beautiful. On the other hand it seems like all luxury cruisers today look like shrunken versions of Wallys from 20 years ago. Does Luca get royalties on the design cues every time?! ;)

[@roidigitalggroup1721]

something on this earth that is to die for

[@FXPL9277]

A beautiful beast, as most Solaris - apart from the absence of proper helm stations. Engine room is also a bit tight for that size of boat.

[@alanroberts7570]

Why do you not show the keel shape and size and attachment to the hull? It is an important feature when describing any yacht.

[@conradsenior5843]

Maybe we will see that when the keel falls off. A good reviewer would look at things like that, and discuss them. Instead we get a look how pretty it is--useless review.

[@mosca3289]

Lovely to see the boat sailing. Great stuff.

[@bos6782]

Beautiful boat, thank you Toby for the tour.

[@andrewkenny4633]

As a sailer of an old boat like myself I enjoy your presentations you always give a very good review on the sailing performance of the boats you review and give a good tour of the below deck accommodation but at a million euros I will have to stick with my old Moody

[@yachtingworld]

Thanks Andrew - and nothing wrong with an old Moody!

[@keithfaulkner1288]

Nice job Toby. That would be perfect for island hopping around New England. Where can I get a job like yours?

[@RickMentore]

What an incredible Yacht, that minimalist ecstatic is appealing.

[@jdawkins111]

oh honey. ecstatic and aesthetic are completely different words.

[@HoneyVoyager]

Fantastic showing of a beautiful boat. Thanks for presenting her in such a straightforward and comprehensive way

[@yachtingworld]

Thank you!

[@bertmacdonald337]

Excellent vid, Toby! She`s definitely a contender !

[@beauranheim8694]

Just watched this and Contest 49 back to back. Heard water/wave slap on the Solaris, but it was dead quiet in the Contest even under much rougher conditions. Reality or audio differences?

[@KalZedar]

Also 400k difference for the price.

[@beauranheim8694]

@@KalZedar true but I also get the impression that the Contest has more “standard” equipment that would be options on the Solaris. Might almost be worth it in any case given how quit the Contest seems.

[@eliasghosn6754]

The Contest interior review in that video is at the dock, not during sail as this one is. Also the Contest is $400k more than a absolutely fully loaded Solaris. 30-40% more on total price is a big, big difference.

[@anguswhitfield6113]

Saw the Solaris 40 at the Southampton Show - beautiful boat, the 50 looks just as good. Shame there’s no traveller tho

[@FighterFred]

Very good boat for good weather sailing in the Med. Feel sorry for the helmsman in heavy seas and bluewater sailing, imagine waves coming at him/her with no protection. Or if one of the lines breaks under deck in a storm. Or if one of the rudders hit something and steering becomes impossible.

[@vorda400]

Beautiful boat I was surprised by the price, I expected much more for such beauty and quality

[@Metal_Auditor]

This is a great looking boat, but one silly thing that stood out to me is that the TV is on the side of the salon that has the majority of the seating. Wouldn't you want it on the opposite side so that more people can see it?

[@easyman8609]

The beneteau first 36 is obviously better, see YotY 2023. Toby was also on the jury, I don't understand the result.

[@conradsenior5843]

I don't understand how they put fools on the jury.

[@easyman8609]

@@conradsenior5843 It's very simple. Port Ginesta is the Port of the Beneteau Group in the Mediterrane, La Rochelle is it at the Biscaya. What do all the journalists in the evening? Sailing?

[@movieklump]

You have to very rich to buy this yacht but I'd say I am more comfortable and less exposed under sail in my Seawind.

[@ianscott3180]

How cruising yachts have come on over the last 2 or three decades. We sail a First 501, ex Moorings charter bought in Saint Martin, 27 years ago. We bought her because we wanted a bigger yacht for two families to jointly own. Price was key and we sailed her back to the Uk for a lot of TLC. She still gives us children and grand children a lot of fun now based in Mahon. If I was to compare the performance we would be at least 30% slower on daily runs than a modern yacht. In light airs even worse. If money was no object? I wish? I keep telling my wife that we should downsize the house spend the kids inhertance, but does she listen? I don't suppose I could have Toby's job? 70 is just a number.😀

[@Schaneification]

Ah a Med boat

[@johnfradkin3003]

This is a very pretty yacht above deck, but the interior doesn't match as it looks like a medium quality motorhome to my eye. Production yacht interiors have really slipped in my humble opinion.

[@ivanklaric6190]

Agree, looks kinda meh on the interior

[@eliasghosn6754]

The interior is fantastic, but looks off because the owner chose white leather

[@deerfootnz]

"the beam is carried all the way aft" which means that as soon as the boat heels, the centre if buoyance goes aft as well as to leeward and the bow goes down. Also this shape works ok...in flat water....try going to sea in one. A 3-5m quartering sea is not fun as the stern is trying to overtake the bow. The flat deck and cockpit offers no shelter or safety. This boat is a marina queen. Great for daysailing in flat water, but little else.

[@conradsenior5843]

I agree with your assessment. I'll add no shade. Poor ventilation. Glad to see someone sensible commenting. It would be fun sailing downwind in the trades until you skin started blistering. I suppose you would need to run a generator and air condition non-stop in the tropics.

[@SHGPO]

I sailed one in 50 knots true. Boat behaved extremely well surfing down 4m waves at 20 knots. So that was quite fun actually

[@deerfootnz]

@@SHGPO which is amazing, because I have spent literally hundreds of thousands of miles sailing boats which are increasingly shaped just like this one across oceans. They are not great. At all. If you have never sailed an actual boat shaped boat they might seem fine. Meaning a boat with a length more than 3.5x it's beam, moderate displacement, symmetrical immersed sections. The difference a boat shaped for the sea, not a brochure or racing rule makes is amazing. My autopilot hardly moves even in big wind & waves downwind. I have alot of experience at sea. This boat, and others like it are not ideal. I am not a Luddite. I dislike full keel attached rudder boats even more, but don't fool yourself that these boats are good for ocean crossings....

[@SHGPO]

@@deerfootnz Then please explain to me Nigel why all the big names in the industry are going this direction. Swan, Baltic, X-Yachts and even Hallberg. Like Toby said in the video: this boat with the twin rudder system sails like it is on tracks. Even in big swell and 50 knots breeze. I guess everyone with a few hours at sea can call themselves a hull designer nowadays.

[@deerfootnz]

@@SHGPO I am not dissing Toby's review, but he has to pay the bills. One of my good friends used to write yacht reviews for cruising world magazine. He turned in a review for a yacht by a well known builder and advertiser in the magazine which drew attention to several dangerously negative traits of the boat. The review was never published and he has never been offered to write another one. The manufacturers build boats like this because they sell well. The average sailor/owner never goes to sea in a real sense. These boats are sailed from marina to marina with limited exposure to open ocean conditions. And I guess that's fine. But a bluewater boat it is not. I have delivered I can't even count how many boats roughly the same shape long distances over the last 35 years. You can do it. It's just not ideal.

[@team3383]

F*kc ! WHY so long to get to a shape like this ? I've been sailing on a design like this 33ft sine the mid 70's. Cold moulded wood. Fast and light. Only change has been the sail designs. Also sport the same roof ! All designed by the boat builder that built the French 12mJI in the 70's.

[@Itsmeagain-]

No,…. I think not

[@ArazQizilbash]

I will still prefer OYSTER!

[@kendallrussell5195]

Can you afford an Oyster tho.........

[@ArazQizilbash]

@@kendallrussell5195 I'm about to order.

[@kendallrussell5195]

@@ArazQizilbash Enjoy

[@christopheripad477]

Enjoy your Oyster, I’m waiting for a 595 to be delivered, a few more months to wait though. I have to rough it on an Aquila and an Oceanis for now.

[@eliasghosn6754]

Bro, what? The 495 is 3x the price - they are incomparable.

[@Fisklina]

To each their own of course, for me personally I can't get past how incredibly ugly this type of design is. Just awful. And even if I would like it, it would be more than ok by now to update the "Wally from 20-ish years ago" design concept.

[@donaldvanvliet9039]

After 20 years you should get over it already 😂

[@eyewipers]

Boring

[@mgdurandolo]

The interior o this boat is embarrassing. Looks like a Winnebago

[@thomaselliott573]

What a plain, lifeless, truly awful interior. It could not be more unappealing and repulsive. Take your guests cruising and they will not even have room to sit for a crap on this staggeringly expensive rip-off. I would be embarrassed. It is not the first time rich kids' egos have made them look foolish.

[@conradsenior5843]

It would be nice to have an honest review. But then they would never let a honest person evaluate these boats to point out the flaws. Here is how I would do a review. Start with the specs!!! Draft, Weight, Hull construction? Did I miss all that? Is it cored below the waterline? What core material is used? Pull off a winch and see if they sealed the edges of the core before installing deck hardware. Is it through bolted or attached to tapped aluminum plate surrounded by solid laminate? Steering mechanicals? How is it serviced? Well we don't know because this reviewer is not a sailor he is a salesman. I've lost steering 400 miles offshore and this nitwit does not look into that properly. We see a shaft coming down and there is a chain inthere somewhere. How are the two rudders connected? Autopilot? Electric or hydraulic? Did I miss that? Speed under power is a good indicator of general sailing performance, etc etc. Why didn't you tell us that? Shade is super important--none seen. Skin cancer is a real killer. Range under power? I have a formula to estimate that. 75 HP--thanks for that. I suppose I could guess the weight based on engine HP. Value? Ok, the costs to build are high. Think what else you could get for this amount. I'll pass. Yachting World grade? D- It could have been worse.

[@yachtingworld]

I'm sorry @conradsenior5843 but at what point did we say or describe this as a review? I try to take video from any boat I get the chance to board at boat shows or during sea trials as many people seem to value a walkthrough of what these new designs are like (averaging around 50 a year). In this case I had a two hour sail trial and tried to show as much of the boat as I could in that time. We then commissioned an 'honest' colleague to do a full review on the boat as he could spend a lot longer aboard - his report is in the magazine. I think it would be very hard and arguably unfair to step aboard a boat for the first time and give a review without proper time spent going through it and considered opinion. Does that make me a dishonest, non-sailor nitwit really? If you are able to do all you suggest in a short space of time, good luck to you. But I don't think too many owners or manufacturers would be too happy about you pulling winches off a new €1m yacht during a first quick sea trial. But once you do start doing your reviews, I shall not resort to slander or baseless name-calling. The specs are listed at the end of the video btw.

[@yachtingworld]

😄

[@kkklllaaa1234]

Toby don’t listen to the negative comments, a vast majority of viewers are very happy and grateful. Like you say, let the whiners do their own reviews

[@andreweverett9676]

If you want a review, then look somewhere else other than Toby’s excellent walk through recordings. I find his walk throughs excellent, always providing enough information as to whether I do my own online research on the relevant website/s for my own ‘review’, arms length from someone seeking access to a yacht. Your comments are unhelpful, not constructive, unwarranted, and quite frankly, inappropriate. From an Aussie who is in the process of buying from a European yard.

[@andreweverett9676]

@@yachtingworld Toby, Please keep up the great walk throughs. I have today chosen to purchase from a yard in La Rochelle in lieu of an Australian owned manufacturer, based in Asia. Love your work, please ignore the idiots who cannot appreciate your fantastic work. All the best from Brisbane, Australia.

[@Fuhugawagah]

spoiler alert: it doesnt look very good.

[@conradsenior5843]

I could not watch the whole thing.

[@moejaime2654]

Yeah Toby When are you going to stop sailing and show us the engines and mechanical rooms on these boats instead of waisting time on the helm ??!!

[@yachtingworld]

Sorry, that was a bit selfish of me... next time, honest!

[@moejaime2654]

@@yachtingworld Would be nice for you to show the battery capacities maybe talk about the fuel and water capacities ? Also how about the quality of the build ,the electronics and equipment ?? !! Maybe just maybe try to vary the videos more not just about performance and style ?? !!! Many boat owner including me would appreciate other things than just talking about style , speed and luxury and no substance !!!!

[@silviosarunic3234]

I dont like these almost automatic sailboats…. Under extreme conditions things start to fail, you need to have everything manually… sails, trimming etc These sailboats like they are designed to sail only under the Sun and ideal conditions….