Continuing its strategy of moving upmarket and differentiating itself from its US competitors, initiated with its two offshore exploration helms, the Wellcraft 355 and Wellcraft 435, the American brand is about to unveil the first model in a brand new range of open outboard hulls, with a central console, a straight bow, and a very Nordic design.

The last few years have been very interesting, for any yachting observer paying attention to the American brand Wellcraft, acquired by the French Bénéteau Group as part of the takeover of the RecBoats Group in 2014.

The French group's development plan, known as Let's go Beyong, launched a few years later to reposition each brand within the new Bénéteau galaxy, clearly gave Wellcraft the objective of moving partly out of the American-style sport fishing that characterised it -a sort of mid-range me too of players such as Boston Whaler or Intrepid to name but a few- by repositioning it in the broader territory of offshore adventure, while moving it upmarket.

The big advantage of this new brand territory is that it offers a much wider global commercial potential than sport fishing, which is ultimately a niche market - a kennel - already well occupied by fierce competitors.

This new positioning has been demonstrated by two models: the Wellcraft 355 and Wellcraft 435, two offshore adventure helmsmen that have gone hunting in the lands of Nordic boatyards such as Targa, Axopar, Saxdor and others, offering the American market a range that was sorely lacking there.

The upcoming 2024-2025 sailing season will see the continuation of this strategy, with the presentation of a 38-foot Wellcraft with a centre console that adopts the stylistic codes of helmsmen hulls (straight bow), to distinguish itself from traditional American centre consoles. We'll know more about this at the Cannes 2024 Yachting Festival.

There's no doubt that this new model will be closely scrutinised, and will inspire great ambitions within the Bénéteau Group.