Beneteau Antares 11 Review: Coupe, Fly, Price and Performance

Beneteau Antares 11: three boats, one name

Type Beneteau Antares 11 into a listings site and you can get three different boats. The one most buyers want, and the subject of this guide, is the twin-outboard Antares 11 that Yachting reported in November 2019 as the new flagship of the Antares powerboat line. It is 36 ft 7 in long, sold as a coupe and, since the 2020 autumn shows, as the Antares 11 Fly with a flybridge.

The second is an older inboard Antares 11, a twin Volvo D4 flybridge that MBY tested in August 2009 as the replacement for the Antares 10.80. Beneteau later sold that hull as the Antares 36, and we cover it separately. The third is the Antares 11.20 of the late 1980s, which YachtBuyer dates to 1988 to 1990. If a listing shows shafts, diesels or a 1980s profile, it is not the boat discussed here.

Why Beneteau put outboards on a 36 footer

The Antares line has always been about pilothouse boats that work for fishing and family cruising, and by the time Boating tested this one in 2021 every current Antares, from 24 ft 6 in up, was outboard powered. Taking that formula to 36 ft gave owners a flush deck from cockpit to helm, a huge lazarette where the engines used to sit, simple maintenance and the ability to tilt the engines up and nose onto a beach. Boating also noted the boat could carry a remarkably compact Fischer Panda 6.4 kW diesel generator under the cockpit sole.

The hull, developed by Beneteau's powerboat team with styling by Sarrazin Design, has a modestly raked stem, deep forefoot and a two-stage flared bow for reserve buoyancy. Full-length double chines and two pairs of lifting strakes damp spray, and Boating measured 14.5 degrees of deadrise at the transom. Power and Motoryacht's John Wooldridge called it the best-looking Antares yet.

The fold-down terrace and lopsided side decks

The Antares 11 was the first boat in the range with a folding cockpit balcony. A section of the starboard bulwark drops down to create a sea-view terrace that enlarges the cockpit at anchor and makes it easy to get in and out of the water. The hinge is manual as standard, with electric operation listed by Boating as a $2,370 option. Twin swim platforms extend past the outboards, although Boating found the port platform and side deck hard to reach from the aft cockpit.

The deckhouse is offset to port to widen the saloon. That leaves a narrow port side deck of 6 to 8 inches and a proper 14 to 16 inch walkway to starboard, according to Boating, with rails along the way to the foredeck sunpad. A side door and gate at the helm let a single-handed skipper step straight out to handle lines. Forward there is a double anchor locker with windlass, and an optional telescoping bow ladder for beach landings.

Coupe or Fly: picking your Antares 11

The coupe has a long cabin-top extension over the aft deck and a choice of sliding fabric roof or hard top with optional solar panels. Its bridge clearance of about 10 ft 9 in makes it the easier boat to keep under fixed bridges and to trailer or ship. The Fly adds a starboard upper helm, two benches to port and an aft sunpad, with an optional refrigerator, and Beneteau lists it at 13,550 lb dry and 15 ft 3 in to the top of the bridge.

Choose the coupe for shoulder-season comfort and lower air draft, the Fly if you cruise somewhere warm and want a second social space with a view. The lower deck and main deck layouts are the same. Both carry the same tanks and engine options.

• Antares 11 coupe: 36 ft 7 in, 13,451 lb dry, about 10 ft 9 in bridge clearance
• Antares 11 Fly: 36 ft 4 in, 13,550 lb dry, 15 ft 3 in bridge clearance
• Both: 212 gallons of fuel, 53 gallons of water, twin outboards to 600 hp

Sleeping seven in 36 feet

Inside the wheelhouse there is a starboard helm with room for a 12 or 16 inch Garmin display, a galley just aft of it with a two-burner stove, sink and refrigerator, and an L-shaped dinette to port whose table drops to make another berth. Four overhead skylights, two of them opening, and large side windows keep the space bright. The cabinetwork is by the Italian firm Alpi and Boating rated the fit and finish top-notch.

Below, the forward cabin has an island double with storage underneath and a hanging locker. A single head with an electric toilet and enclosed shower is shared. The surprise is the full-beam mid cabin under the saloon, with a 6 ft 7 in double and a single bunk and hull windows at both ends. Headroom there is only good at the entrance, so it is a cabin for sleeping rather than lounging. PMY measured 6 ft 4 in of headroom in the main living areas.

Speed, fuel burn and range on twin Verado 300s

Two US magazine tests with twin Mercury Verado 300 V8s give consistent numbers. Power and Motoryacht reported a top speed of about 40 knots and a high cruise sweet spot of 28 knots at 4,500 rpm burning fuel at 1.2 nautical miles per gallon, for an estimated range of about 248 miles. Boating, testing with a light load, found the hull happiest between 4,200 and 4,500 rpm at 26 to 33 mph and liked 4,400 rpm best: 30 mph (about 26 knots) for 26 gallons per hour and a conservative range of 220 miles.

In practice that means a comfortable 26 to 28 knot cruise using roughly 24 to 26 gallons an hour, and around 200 nautical miles between fills with a sensible reserve. Boating's test boat swung 17 by 17 inch three-blade Mercury Enertia props on a 1.85:1 gear ratio. It split wakes with no spray on the windshield and had an easy motion drifting beam-on, which Boating credited to the reverse chines. MBY's tour boat with twin Suzuki 300s was quoted at over 30 knots.

Antares 11 price, new and used

New pricing has climbed sharply. Boating listed a 2021 boat at $265,060 with twin Verado 300s and joystick, while Beneteau's US site now shows a hull price of $345,000 before engines. With twin 300s, electronics, canvas and common options, a new boat lands in roughly the $420,000 to $520,000 range depending on dealer and specification.

That makes an Antares 11 for sale on the brokerage market attractive. Early 2020 and 2021 boats typically ask from the mid $200,000s, with late, low-hour boats close to $400,000. Look for joystick, generator, the electric terrace and a solar panel on the hard top, and check whether the boat has the 300 hp or 200 hp engines, since the smaller package reduces both performance and resale.