Beneteau Antares 760 Review, a Diesel Wheelhouse Cruiser for Buyers

Antares 760, what Beneteau called a true cruiser

Beneteau's heritage page for the Antares 760 is headed simply A true cruiser, and the copy explains why: the boat benefits from the hull quality that built the Antares reputation, with flawless seakeeping whether stopped or at full speed. It belongs to the third Antares generation that Beneteau dates from 1990 to 2001, credited to Andre Beneteau and the Beneteau Powerboat design office.

In practice the 7.60 outlived that generation label. Beneteau's November 2007 small-Antares brochure still lists it, and a March 2008 specification sheet describes an Antares 760 Anniversary with a steel blue and white hull. Used boats we found carry build years from 1998 to 2008. We have not been able to confirm its exact launch year, so we leave the start date open rather than guess.

Searches for antares 7.60 and beneteau 760 all lead to this boat; Beneteau writes it both as 7.60 and 760.

A hull built to take the ground

This is a semi-displacement diesel boat, not a planing outboard, and it was built the way fishermen like. The single-skin GRP hull has structural floors and engine beds molded into the inner structure, a skeg for directional stability, stainless steel protection for beaching and galvanized steel guards for the sternpost and the four-blade propeller. A stainless rudder with gudgeon and anode completes the stern.

That combination means an Antares 7.60 can be dried out on a firm beach or a tidal mooring, which is a big advantage in harbors with a large tidal range. Beaching legs and hull fittings were factory options. The deck is a polyester and balsa sandwich, and a 37 mm rubbing strake protects the hull-to-deck joint.

• LOA 7.60 m (24 ft 11 in), 8.10 m with the aft bathing platform
• Hull length 7.44 m, hull beam 2.75 m, maximum beam 2.78 m
• Light weight about 2,960 kg (6,526 lbs), draft 0.95 m (3 ft 1 in)
• Fuel 220 liters (58 gallons), water 95 to 100 liters
• Maximum power 200 hp, CE B4 / C6

Wheelhouse, galley, shower head and bow cabin

The wheelhouse has 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) of headroom, a glass windscreen with two wipers, sliding tinted side windows and an aluminum-framed aft door. The helm is to starboard with a built-in instrument panel, wooden wheel, lit compass and an adjustable seat. Behind it is a real galley for a boat this size: a two-burner hob, stainless sink, a mixer tap on a pressurized system, a cutlery drawer and a folding worktop.

To port, a dinette converts into a double, and a 1.10 m bench faces outboard so passengers can watch the sea underway. Beneteau's site also mentions a seat molded into the front of the coachroof for fine-weather cruising. A companionway with wooden steps leads to an enclosed head to port with 1.75 m headroom, a marine toilet and a shower draining through an electric sump pump, plus a hanging locker. The forward cabin has 1.75 m headroom and a triangular berth of 1.90 m by 1.90 m with stowage below and alongside.

Diesels, speeds and the trolling valve

Beneteau's 2008 sheet specifies a Toyota-based Nanni T4 of 200 hp driving a stainless shaft and four-blade propeller, with the engine bay lined in CE-approved insulation. It quotes a cruising speed of around 18 knots and a maximum close to 24 knots with 200 hp, with the usual warning that weather and load change the results. A trolling valve was optional, which tells you who the boat was built for.

Earlier and other-market boats carry different diesels. Listings we found show a Volvo Penta TAMD 41P of 200 hp on a 2001 boat, a Nanni 4.380 TDI of 175 hp on a 2002 boat and a Volvo Penta D3-190 on a 2007 boat. All suit the hull; the D3 and later Nanni units are lighter and quieter, while the TAMD 41 is a robust older design with good parts availability.

Cockpit and deck for fishing and mooring

The cockpit measures 2.40 m by 1.70 m (7 ft 10 in by 5 ft 7 in) and has a transom gate, wood capping on the coamings, two rod holders, two fairleads, a stainless boarding ladder, a gas locker to starboard, a manual bilge pump, a lockable cockpit locker and a deck plate for the emergency tiller. The stainless pulpit runs from the bow back to the cockpit, open forward for boarding over the bow, and four handrails help you move around underway.

Forward, the anchor gear includes a tilting stainless bow fitting, a roller, fairleads, four 250 mm aluminum cleats and a self-draining anchor well. An electric windlass and a bow thruster were options and are worth paying for on a 3-tonne boat.

Who should buy an Antares 7.60

The 7.60 suits someone who wants a small, seaworthy diesel cruiser to keep on a mooring, fish from, and take on modest coastal trips, with a proper head and a shower. Its category B rating for four people (C for six) reflects a sturdier offshore brief than the outboard Antares models that followed. It is not trailerable in any casual sense at nearly 3 tonnes and 2.78 m wide.

If you want speed, a planing outboard Antares 7.80 or the current Antares 7 will be quicker and lighter. If you want economy and the ability to dry out, the 7.60 is the better tool.

What a 7.60 costs to keep

A single small diesel is cheap to feed, but this boat lives in the water, so mooring or slip fees, an annual haul-out, antifouling, anodes and engine service make up most of the bill. We estimate 5,000 to 11,000 dollars a year depending on location, plus periodic big items such as an exhaust elbow, raw water pump, injectors or a heat exchanger service.

Asking prices for 20-year-old boats are still in the same band as much newer ones, which suggests demand remains steady. Buy a well-kept example and a well-maintained engine will protect most of its value.