Vandutch 55

Onboard the Vandutch 55

The Vandutch 55 reads as a runabout that grew up: a 16-metre hull with the low, flat sheer line VanDutch is known for, an open cockpit that runs almost the full length of the boat, and a helm position set forward so the social deck aft stays uninterrupted. There's no superstructure stacking up the profile, so from the water she looks fast even sitting still at the quay in Saint-Tropez.

She works best as a day boat rather than a base for a long stay on the water. A run out from the Nouveau Port toward the Gulf in the late afternoon, timed to be back on the aft deck as the light drops over the hills behind the port, suits her low freeboard and open layout better than a full-day loop with multiple stops. Guests stay in one connected space rather than being split across decks, which matters when the group is twelve and the boat is sixteen metres.

Two cabins below mean this is a day-charter platform first: comfortable for twelve guests through an afternoon or an evening on the water, but not the right boat to book for a two-night charter with a full group aboard — that kind of trip calls for something with proper sleeping capacity to match. Where the Vandutch 55 earns its place is in shorter, sharper formats: a corporate lunch on the Gulf with the village in view, a friends' afternoon that ends with a sunset run back to port, or a compact overnight for a couple who don't need more than the two cabins on offer.