Okean 50X
An explorer version of the builder’s 50-footer offers an aft deck primed for fun.
The line of shape shifters from Okean Yachts is entering its fourth year in a competitive U.S. marketplace and seems to be hitting its stride. With each successive launch they’ve managed to stick to their guns with open, airy designs but also push the brief forward. The latest in the Italian-designed and Brazilian-built model line, the 50X, shares a hull with the brand’s debut 50-footer but veers off to create its own identity.
Yacht designer Paolo Ferragni has worked with Okean since the brand’s onset, drawing the semidisplacement hull—dubbed the “Duo Mode Hull”—with the goal of delivering a vessel that runs efficiently at trawler speeds but can also amble along at a comfortable cruise in the mid-20-knot range. Volvo Penta IPS drives seem to be the ideal match for the current model line, and the 50X follows suit, as a pair of 550-hp D8s provide power on hull number one; V-drives are also available with the same 7.7-liter iron from Sweden.
Ferragni’s exterior, conceived in concert with Okean founder Nercio Fernandes, retains the flybridge and deckhouse of her predecessor, but shortens and pushes it forward nearly 4 feet, giving the 50X a more aggressive profile and gaining an aft deck worthy of its X (for explorer, naturally) moniker. Sans hardtop, the boat keeps that powerful profile but leaves the helmsman and guests completely exposed on the flybridge; the optional ($9,450) bimini can be folded away when not in use.
With her gunmetal gray hull and jet black, slightly reverse-raked, carbon fiber-accented and window-strewn deckhouse, she drew in passersby at last fall’s Ft. Lauderdale boat show. But the aft deck is the star of this vessel. To quote Dale and Brennan from Step Brothers: “There’s so much room for activities!” An unobstructed space from her optional swim platform to the salon can be whatever you’d like, from water toy storage (a davit can be fitted to the transom) to a large beach club, or it can be fitted with dive tank storage for scuba enthusiasts.
Like Okean’s previous launches, she was exhibited with the hydraulic gunwales open, expanding her beam exactly 6 feet to 20 feet, 7 inches. As I boarded, I noted movable furniture hither and yon and a neat little wet bar with a pair of stools under the flybridge overhang; a teak sole ran from stern to stem. While a small step led to the enclosed salon and aft galley (its floor is also teak but in a darker shade) it felt like one-level living. The salon’s contrasting soft goods, leather and stainless lent a modern yet comfortable vibe, and massive windows on three sides flooded the space with natural light.
I also liked the simple, functional single-seat helm, on centerline and all the way forward. It reserves space for her amidships, starboard-side companionway to her three staterooms belowdecks and for a roomy, L-shaped settee opposite. While sightlines appeared excellent in three directions, the ladder to the flybridge and wet bar obscured views aft; a wing station will get regular use for close quarters maneuvering when her flybridge is not an option.
Look for Okean to continue to push the design envelope with a handful of upcoming launches this year and beyond, with an 80-footer arriving later this winter. Imagine the room for activities aboard that one.
Okean 50X Specifications:
LOA: 49’8″
Beam: 14’7″
Draft: 3’9″
Displ.: 42,600 lbs.
Fuel: 475 gal.
Water: 184 gal.
Power: 2/550-hp Volvo Penta D8-IPS700
Cruise Speed: 23 knots
Top Speed: 28 knots
Price: $1.21 million
