What 15 years of selling them new teaches you about buying one today.

Beneteau has been building sailboats for more than a century. For the last twenty years, Jon and Anne have been part of that story. After arriving in Deltaville in 2005, they managed a Beneteau dealership where they spent fifteen years selling new and used Beneteaus and building an extensive knowledge of the brand. When they opened YaZu Yachting in 2020, they brought their Beneteau expertise with them.

 

A BRAND BUILT WITH INNOVATION AND SAILING PERFORMANCE IN MIND.

The headquarters of Groupe Beneteau (consisting of Beneteau, Jeanneau, Lagoon and CNB) is in St-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie in the Vendée region on the Atlantic Coast of France, which is where their Beneteau, Jeanneau and Lagoon brands are built. For 34 years (1986 – 2020), Beneteaus were built for the American market in Marion, SC.

The modern Beneteau range consists of three lines: the Oceanis, the First Series and the Oceanis Yacht.

The Oceanis series is geared for cruising. It is the world’s best-selling cruising sailboat line, thanks in large part to the charter market. Beneteau has supplied charter fleets and private owners since the earliest Oceanis design in 1986. The design brief focuses on a boat that is easy to sail, easy to maintain, spacious enough for a group of 4 or 6 (for a week of charter) or for a couple to handle. Constantly innovating, the Beneteau Oceanis range is often the industry leader in new design (plumb bow, beam carried aft creating wide cockpits, fold down transoms, dual helms and rudders in all sizes, hard chine), with other manufacturers following suit. The current lineup runs from the Oceanis 30.1 up to the Oceanis 52.

The First Series boats are racer-cruisers. With comfortable, but simpler interior appointments, they are designed for speed, by famous race-boat designers, like Farr and Racoupeau. The Farr-designed 40.7 won the Sydney Hobart Race in 1997. The First 36.7 (also Farr-designed) became the largest one-design fleet in the US in the early 2000s and is a popular cruising boat. The First 36 won the European Yacht of the Year in 2023. The new First 30, launched in 2025, is a planing cruiser in a category Beneteau essentially invented on their own. We currently have Valkyrie, the Farr-designed Beneteau First 45f5 listed.

The Oceanis Yacht is newer to the family. Sleek and luxurious, this design is breathtaking, both in the slip and under sail. It currently comes in a 54 and a 60. Slim lines, wraparound windows, in-mast furling and electric winches are standard and the walk-around decks with easy access to wheels and sail-handling winches are practical. These are boats designed to be sailed short-handed on ocean passages or with a large crew on an offshore race. YaZu has the magnificent 2022 Oceanis Yacht 54 ‘Circe‘ listed.

The Oceanis Yacht Range makes you feel as if you stepped into the Ritz – centerline forward berth, separate shower and head in the owner suite, several options for salon seating, two spacious aft cabins and a galley with options for full fridge, wine fridge and any other modern convenience. Step aboard and the boat makes its own case. Once you have, the question is not whether you want one. It is how soon you can arrange it.

THE HULL

The construction is solid laminate hull with vacuum-infused foam sandwich deck. The keel is cast iron, bolted through.

The current generation of the Oceanis line carries wide beam all the way to the transom: it creates stability and interior volume without lengthening the boat. The Beneteau Oceanis 46.1 ‘Fat Bottom Girl‘ attests to that in her looks and her name.

Previous generations of Beneteau, such as the Beneteau 331 ‘Hakuna Matata‘ and the Beneteau 393 ‘Heron‘ were more classic in design, with rounded hulls and tapered stern, smaller, cozier cockpits with fixed swim platform.

The most recent models have evolved to double chines running the full length of the hull. So when the boat heels, the leeward chine submerges and creates a V-section that allows the boat to track. The flared bow and the overall width reduce drag and create stability. All current Oceanis models use twin rudders, canted outward, which keeps the leeward rudder effective when heeled. The Oceanis 41 ‘Breeze‘ is a fine example of this generation of vessels, which evolved to the 40.1 and the rest of the current range. Most of the boats we sell at YaZu have the shoal keel for that model, as it’s preferred for the Chesapeake, though serious offshore cruisers prefer the deeper draft.

BELOW DECKS

Beneteaus are light and well-ventilated with eyebrow windows, numerous overhead hatches, opening portlights, white bulkheads and light-colored Alpi engineered wood finish – laminate over high-quality marine plywood.

Most Beneteaus offer 6’3″ standing headroom, with the larger boats reaching 6’7″.

The older Oceanis models used the cherry or teak-look laminate.

See the Beneteau 473 ‘Brer Fox.’ With 2-3 cabins and 1-2 heads, functional galley and comfortable salon, the Oceanis range is an affordable, reliable choice for cruising.

HOW THEY SAIL

The current Oceanis rig is a 9/10 fractional setup with deeply swept double spreaders at approximately 40 degrees. There is no backstay, which keeps the aft end of the cockpit clear and simplifies the rig. All lines lead aft. The standard mainsail is in-mast furling, but a battened, square-top slab-reefed mainsail is available as a performance option.

Older models have split backstays which maintain good rig tension and allow the vessels to point high when going to windward. The self-tacking jib is currently standard, but most of the older models have overlapping genoas which are ideal for Bay sailing as they are capable of powering the boat when you are too lazy to pull out the main.

The twin rudder system and hard chines keep the boat tracking well when heeled, but most of the boats built from the early 2000s onwards, sail better with less heel. Something for which many wives are grateful!

 

THE SWIFT TRAWLER

We have sold numerous Swift Trawlers over the years. They are semi-displacement motor yachts designed for range, liveability, and speed.

You can cruise at 7 knots or take them up to between 14 and 25 knots, depending on the model.

Current models run from the ST 30 to the ST 65.

Swift Trawlers have maximized interior volume and light. High freeboard, and high bulwarks for safe movement on deck, flybridge, large windows on all sides and sliding doors between salon and comfortable cockpit, and an interior, with centerline master berth, that uses every inch, there is a Swift Trawler to fit every budget.

These are boats built for extended time aboard and are perfect for the Great Loop.

The Swift Trawler is the perfect segue for the owners of the Oceanis, as they understand the Beneteau aesthetic and concept, so the transition to power is very comfortable.

BENETEAU & JEANNEAU AT YAZU:

Beneteau and Jeanneau are sister companies, built in the same factories with the same materials, though slightly different design briefs.

We carry an extensive inventory of Beneteaus and Jeanneaus and if one manufacturer does not fit your needs, we can show you the differences and find you the right boat at the right price point and guide you as you evaluate your next boat.