Beneteau First 20, the Lifting-Keel Trailer Sailer Explained

The Beneteau First 20 closes a twenty-year family line

Few small production boats survive two decades, but the Beneteau First 20 is the last chapter of one that did. It began as the First 210 in 1992, became the First 211 and then the 21.7 after cosmetic overhauls, and in 2011 was reworked again by its original designers, Finot-Conq, into the First 20. SAIL noted at the time that the earlier boats still commanded high prices on the brokerage market when you could find one, and Cruising World called the new version the smallest boat in Beneteau's lineup, designed to be easy to sail so that owners would sail it more.

People searching for a beneteau 20 or a beneteau 20 sailboat are almost always looking for this model. It is a 21 ft lifting-keel weekender with twin rudders, a big square-top mainsail and a bowsprit, light enough to tow behind a typical pickup or large SUV, and built in France until 2018.

What Finot-Conq changed in 2011

The hull concept stayed familiar, but the rig and deck were modernized. The First 20 gained a square-top mainsail, a 100 percent furling headsail and a rig with no backstay and no lower shrouds, which clears the deck and lets the big-roach main sweep across without snagging. A fiberglass bowsprit came as standard on US boats for flying a code 0 or asymmetric spinnaker, and Beneteau added a chain locker on the foredeck. Cruising World also noted the higher freeboard compared with a pure sportboat, which keeps the crew drier.

Inside, the mast compression post disappeared. Beneteau built the structure that carries mast loads into the deck, so the cabin has no pillar in the middle, and the companionway hatch has a clear window to light the interior. The result looks like a small modern offshore racer rather than a 1990s trailer sailer.

• Square-top main of 16 m2 (172 sq ft) and furling genoa of 9.5 m2 (102 sq ft)
• Code 0 of 14 m2 (150 sq ft) and asymmetric spinnaker of 24.5 m2 (264 sq ft)
• No backstay, single swept spreaders, deck-stepped mast
• GRP bowsprit and self-draining chain locker

Beneteau's own numbers

Beneteau's 2018 equipment list gives the First 20 an overall length of 6.40 m (21 ft) on a 6.25 m (20 ft 6 in) hull, a 6.00 m (19 ft 8 in) waterline and a 2.48 m (8 ft 2 in) beam. Light displacement is 1,245 kg (2,745 lb), of which 300 kg (661 lb) is the cast iron lifting keel. With the keel up the boat draws 0.70 m (2 ft 4 in); with it down, 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in). Air draft is 9.50 m (31 ft 2 in), and the maximum outboard rating is 10 hp.

The CE plate allows six people in categories C and D, so this is a boat for bays, lakes and coastal hops in settled weather rather than open-water passages. Sailboatdata calculates a hull speed of about 5.9 knots, but that number undersells a light boat with this much sail area off the wind, which will happily surf past it under spinnaker.

A keel you wind up and rudders that lift

The cast iron keel pivots and is raised and lowered by a manual screw and handle, with adjustable pads to keep it tight in the case. Two polyester rudders hang off the transom in sleeves and retract for launching and beaching. With the keel and rudders up, the boat can sit on a beach or a drying mooring, and Beneteau offered beaching legs and brackets as options.

This arrangement is the heart of the boat's appeal and the main thing to inspect. A worn lifting screw, slack keel pads or a bent pivot cost upwind performance and can be expensive to fix, and the rudder sleeves wear with use. Raise and lower the keel fully during a survey and listen for grinding.

Sitting headroom and four berths

Below, there is 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) of headroom, enough to sit up comfortably but not to stand. The forward cabin has a 1.90 by 1.40 m (6 ft 3 in by 4 ft 7 in) double berth that can be curtained off from the saloon, and two saloon benches double as single berths of 2.20 by 0.60 m (7 ft 3 in by 2 ft), extending aft under the cockpit. Storage is under the berths and in removable net bags along the hull.

Comforts are minimal and largely optional. A 35 liter (9 gallon) fresh water system with a hand pump and sink, a chemical toilet and a folding table that can be used in the saloon or the cockpit were all extra-cost items, and the standard boat has a single 50 amp-hour battery for lights and instruments. Think of it as sea camping with a hard roof: ideal for a couple, or a family with young children, for a night or two at anchor.

The Performance pack from 2015

For the 2015 model year Beneteau offered a Performance edition of the First 20 and First 25. The First 20 pack included a Dacron square-top main and furling jib, a code 0 on a top-down furler, asymmetric spinnaker rigging with a swing pole, lazy bag and lazy jacks, the bowsprit, a steering compass, slatted solid wood cockpit benches and a Performance hull decoration. The Performance brochure lists the asymmetric at 31.11 m2 (335 sq ft), larger than the 24.5 m2 sail on the standard list.

On the used market a boat with the full pack and the original code 0 is worth seeking out, because buying the sails and hardware separately costs far more than the price difference between boats.

Towing, rigging and the ramp

At 8 ft 2 in wide, the First 20 needs no wide-load permit in the US, and at 2,745 lb dry it can be towed by many full-size SUVs and pickups once you add a trailer, outboard, sails and gear. Use a braked trailer with good keel and hull support. Beneteau offered a fold-down mast kit as an option, which makes stepping the 31 ft rig much easier for a crew of two; ask whether the boat you are buying has it.

With the keel and rudders raised, the boat floats in about 2 ft 4 in of water, so most public ramps work. Practice the sequence of launching before lowering the keel, and always lock the keel down before sailing.

What to pay and what it costs to keep

Expect roughly $19,000 to $37,000 in 2026 for a First 20, with later boats, the Performance pack, a good trailer and a recent outboard at the top. Because the boat was sold in the US through Beneteau dealers, examples do appear on American lake and coastal markets, though many are in Europe.

Kept on its trailer at home or in a yard, a First 20 typically costs $1,500 to $4,500 a year for insurance, storage, registration, outboard service, trailer maintenance and sails. That makes it one of the least expensive ways to own a modern, genuinely quick small keelboat.