Antares 980 Guide to the Beneteau Antares 9.80 Flybridge

Antares 980, a small flybridge with two diesels

The Antares 980, or Antares 9.80 in Beneteau's own spelling, is the boat that packed a full flybridge, twin inboard diesels and two cabins into a hull of about 31 feet. Beneteau's tagline was A new dimension, and its pitch was that large openings and an adjustable cockpit made the 9.80 a fishing boat that could also cruise, with sleeping room for six and plenty of clever details for both anglers and family crews.

It belongs to the fourth Antares generation, which Beneteau dates from 2001 to 2011, and the brochure we read places it between the Antares Serie 9 and the Antares 11 in the larger Antares range. Boats for sale in Europe carry build years from 2003 to 2009, and the factory equipment list we used is dated 2 September 2008. MBY photographed the 9.80 for its test gallery in 2009. In short, it was a mainstay of Beneteau's mid-size Antares offer for most of the decade.

Twin diesels on shafts and 650 liters of fuel

Unlike today's outboard Antares, the 9.80 is a traditional inboard boat. The 2008 list offers two engine packages, a pair of Volvo Penta D4 225s rated at 225 hp each or a pair of Nanni T4 200 diesels, Toyota based blocks marinized by Nanni, at 200 hp each. Both drive conventional shafts with two underhung stainless rudders and hydraulic steering. European listings show earlier boats on twin Volvo Penta KAMD 43P engines of 230 hp and on D4-210s, which fits with the D4 arriving partway through the model's life.

Fuel lives in two rotomolded tanks of 325 liters each, 650 liters or about 172 gallons in total, and Beneteau's large Antares brochure mentions a 790 liter option. Fresh water is 220 liters. The engine room sits under a hatch in the wheelhouse floor and has 40 mm foam soundproofing and an electric extraction fan.

We could not find a published speed and fuel test for the 9.80, so this page gives no top speed or burn figures. If you are buying, run the boat at the rpm you intend to cruise and read fuel flow from the engine displays where fitted, or at least log engine hours against fuel bought over a season.

The sliding transom and the cockpit

The 9.80's party piece is its sliding transom. With three locking points, the transom moves to give either a large aft swim deck or a larger cockpit. Beneteau's brochure calls this the modularity of the cockpit space, and it is genuinely useful: anglers slide it aft to work fish from a bigger deck, while swimmers slide it forward to gain platform. The cockpit also has a gate in the transom, a hot and cold shower, a gas locker, solid wood gunwales and a large locker in the floor on a gas strut.

From the cockpit a ladder with stainless rails climbs to the self-draining flybridge. Up top are two adjustable pilot seats on rails, an L-shaped bench and lounger, a steering console with engine gauges, compass and hydraulic steering, and a stainless hoop for lights, antennas and radar. A bimini cover was an option. A hatch closes off the ladder, which is handy when children are aboard.

Wheelhouse galley, owner's cabin and the bunk room

The wheelhouse has 1.94 m of headroom and a two-leaf aft door. A U-shaped bench with an adjustable table forms the saloon, the L-shaped galley runs to port with a stainless sink, hot and cold pressure water and a two-burner gas hob, and an 80 liter fridge sits in a cabinet opposite. The lower helm has a clear windscreen with two wipers, washer and demister, sliding side windows, a leaning-post style seat and room for electronics.

Below, the owner's cabin forward has a 1.90 by 1.45 m double, a hanging locker, a dressing table, an opening deck hatch and two hull ports. The guest cabin to starboard has two single bunks, the upper one tipping up, plus a hanging closet. The head to port has a marine toilet, an 80 liter holding tank, a basin with hot and cold water, a shower drain pump and two opening ports. The joinery is Alpi in a fruitwood tone with dark laminated floors, in keeping with the 2000s.

With the saloon converted, the boat sleeps six, which is what Beneteau advertised. Four adults sleep comfortably; six is for a family with children.

Hull construction and the Ultimate pack

Beneteau built the hull as a balsa-cored sandwich of polyester resin and glass fiber, with a monolithic laminated structural counter-molding, and the deck the same way. The bottom is a semi-planing form with a deep V forward, a bulb-shaped bow and side stabilizing skids, and a flexible galvanized steel strip runs along the keel extension to protect the propellers. The hull to deck joint is capped with an aluminum and rubber rubbing strake.

Many boats were sold in the Ultimate special series, which added a 1,000 W vertical windlass, a bow thruster with dedicated batteries, a convertible saloon, a radio and CD player, a 40 amp charger, 220 volt sockets and shore power, a forward sun mattress, electric trim tabs, a cockpit bench and Raymarine C80 and ST70 electronics with a flybridge repeater. Options included air conditioning of 19,000 BTU, heating, a grill or microwave and a steel blue hull. An Ultimate boat is worth seeking out, since retrofitting those items costs far more than the premium they add.

What goes wrong with an Antares 9.80

Twin diesels of this period are reliable when cared for, but they are now fifteen to twenty years old. On Volvo Penta D4s, budget for injector service, turbocharger checks and attention to the aftercooler and heat exchanger. On KAMD 43P engines, the supercharger and turbo arrangement and the parts supply both deserve a mechanic's opinion. On Nanni T4 200s, confirm that the dealer network near you can source parts.

The sliding transom needs its tracks and locks checked; a transom that binds or rattles in a seaway is annoying and can let water past. Inspect the flybridge for cracks around the ladder and console mounts, and check under the helm seats for water. As with any balsa-cored hull, moisture around through-hulls, deck fittings and the rubbing strake should be surveyed. Rotomolded tanks do not corrode but their fittings and hoses do age.

Antares 9.80 for sale prices and running costs

Asking prices in Europe recently ran from about 54,500 euros for a 2004 boat to about 80,000 euros for a 2009 boat with Volvo D4 225s, with most 2003 to 2006 examples between 65,000 and 80,000 euros. That translates to roughly $60,000 to $95,000 for a sound boat before transport. A boat with low hours on the later D4 engines and the Ultimate pack should sit at the top of that band.

Running a 32-foot twin diesel flybridge in the US costs more than its size suggests. With a slip, insurance, two engine services, a haul-out and antifouling, budget around $12,000 to $24,000 a year, more if the engines need major work.

9.80, Serie 9 and the newer Antares 9

Two other boats get confused with the 9.80. The Antares Serie 9 is a separate model in the same brochure, 9.18 m overall with an 8.23 m hull, 3.10 m beam and a single engine up to 260 hp, which explains listings that call a 9.18 m boat a 9.80. The Antares 9 is a modern twin outboard pilothouse with no flybridge, first launched in 2017. Neither shares the 9.80's hull, engines or layout.

If you want the 9.80 specifically, look for 3.36 m of beam, twin shaft diesels, a flybridge and the sliding transom.