Jeanneau NC 895

Alone in her class.

Boat Test #1488

I’m not going to lie.  When I saw the Jenneau NC 895, I did not know what to expect.  This boat is a cabin cruiser style boat powered with twin outboard engines. It’s is designed for a couple or a family to spend a weekend on the water.  
The NC 895 is like no other boat in its size range.  The cabin and main living areas are on the main level and are only separated by a sliding glass door on the back.  This layout is something that you would expect to find in the 40 something range and not on an under thirty foot boat.  
Sliding open the rear glass door you will find the dinette immediately to the port side. The dinette serves a couple of purposes.  First, the forward seat back can flip back and forth to allow passengers to sit facing forward or facing the table to the rear.  The table can be lowered and the dinette can be converted into a double bed as well.  The galley is located on the starboard side right as you walk in through the rear entry door.  The galley is compact, but very functional with storage cleverly designed for maximum space use. The galley includes a stainless steel sink, 2 burner gas stove and a refrigerator. 
Just in front of the galley on the starboard side is the helm station.  Ergonomically laid out, the helm has room for electronics and the outboard’s monitoring system.  Also found on the helm is the Fusion radio controls, and lighted rocker switches just below the wheel.  There is also a second side entrance that has a cool feature that allows you to lock into place just open 4-6” to allow fresh air to enter.  Instead of a single captain’s chair, I wouldn’t mind seeing a larger double wide seat, if there is room.
Another finishing touch that Jenneau has added to the cockpit area are two oversized slide hatches in the hard top to allow maximum exposure to the sun or starry sky at night.  This isn’t something I would expect to find on a boat like this, but Jenneau has thought just about everything for the perfect weekend on the water.      
Below are two fully enclosed staterooms and an enclosed head complete with shower. The forward v-berth has a large berth for a boat of this size and is accessible from either side.   She also has large hull windows on either side of the berth that you normally would not find on a boat of this size.  This gives the room an open and larger feel.  Located on the starboard side you will find the head.  She has a manual flush system, but I would like to see a vacu-flush option. The aft cabin is home to a full berth and has large windows providing lots of natural light into the room.   
The outside after seating area is home to a spacious u-shaped seating arrangement on the port side of the vessel.  One really nice and well-designed feature is that the back bench is mounted on sliders so that you can maximize cockpit space.  When you need to raise the motors, just slide the bench forward with the flip of a level.  Accessing the swim ladder on the starboard side is a snap with the easy to use lift gate.  
On the water, the NC 895 was easy to handle around the docks with the twin Yamaha’s.  She popped up on plane quickly and carved through the 1-2 foot chop effortlessly.  Whether the doors were open or closed, the ride was quiet and made conversation easy.  
Even though the NC 895 is a new model to North America, the layout is no stranger to the Jenneau family and replaces their bestselling 855 that has been in production for several years now.  The NC 895 is quite different from what you might expect, but it is definitely worth a look if you are in the market for a cruiser of this size.    
By Chris Kourtakis