Beneteau 211 Buyer's Guide, the First 211 Lifting Keeler

The boat for a family moving up from dinghies

Picture a couple with two young kids, a Laser in the garage and a summer budget that does not stretch to a 30-footer. That was exactly the buyer Groupe Finot and Beneteau had in mind when they updated the First 210 in 1998 and called it the First 211. Yachting Monthly summed it up as a boat aimed at the young family moving up from a dinghy: bright inside, simple to sail, quick enough to keep a dinghy sailor interested, and small enough to tow home at the end of the season.

Anyone searching for a Beneteau 211 today is usually weighing it against its siblings. The 211 kept the 210's hull and rig substantially unchanged and improved the accommodation so four people could sleep aboard. In 2004 it was restyled again as the First 21.7. Because the three versions share so much, a 211 is often the value choice: the same sailing qualities at the lowest price in the family.

What the 211 changed, and what it kept

The 210 had launched in 1992 and won Sailing World's 1993 Daysailer and Weekender Boat of the Year. Wikipedia records it at 2,225 lb with 772 lb of ballast and a lifting keel drawing 5 ft 10 in down and 2 ft 4 in up, plus twin rudders angled outward at 15 degrees. The 211 kept that concept, with Beneteau's brochure listing a 6.40 m overall length, 6.25 m hull, 6.00 m waterline and 2.48 m beam.

Beneteau's brochure quotes the 211 at about 1,100 kg (2,425 lb) light, with a profiled cast iron lifting keel of 350 kg (772 lb), two lifting rudders and buoyancy foam positioned to make the boat unsinkable. Sailboatdata lists a higher 2,745 lb, the figure Beneteau later published for the 21.7, so treat online numbers with care. The brochure CE rating was B for four people and C for six, and the working sail area 25.2 m2 (271 sq ft), with a 37.6 m2 spinnaker.

• First 210 (1992 to 1997): original Finot design, first Boat of the Year success
• First 211 (1998 to 2004): same hull and rig, improved four-berth interior
• First 21.7 (2004 on): restyled deck hardware, joinery and coachroof beam

Colorful, simple and built around the keel box

The interior is laid out around the lifting keel case, which runs up the middle of the cabin. Yachting Monthly described it as colourful, bright and simple: you crawl past the casing to a forward sleeping platform that is curtained off from the saloon, and either side of the case are a single-burner cooker and a washing-up bowl. There is sitting headroom, a useful amount of stowage under the berths and a pair of saloon berths for the kids.

Beneteau's brochure explains the trick that frees up space: the structural beam that supports the mast is integrated into the coachroof, so there is no compression post in the saloon, and an articulated companionway hatch opens to give standing room at the galley. A First Yacht Club pack added a kitchenette with crockery, a fresh water system, extra stowage, cherry-tone wood finishes, upholstery and a full anchoring kit. Ask whether a boat had it, because adding those parts piecemeal costs more than the pack did.

Lively, quick, and a little twitchy upwind

Every review of the First 21 family says the same thing about performance: lively and fast. The keel is narrow and deep, which Yachting Monthly found gave good but twitchy windward performance, so the 211 rewards a light hand on the tiller and an early reef. The twin rudders make sense here, keeping one blade biting as the boat heels in a gust, and they let the 211 sit upright on a drying mooring or a beach on its keel and rudders.

Sailboatdata calculates a sail area to displacement ratio of about 22 using Beneteau's reported sail area, and a hull speed near 5.9 knots. Bob Perry wrote of the 210 that it shows design innovation aimed at sparkling performance, unusual among trailer sailers. Do not expect a 211 to plane like a modern Manuard sportsboat, but on a reach in 15 knots it will run away from most 22-foot cruisers of its era.

A class boat in Britain and Ireland

Sailboatdata notes that class racing for the 211 exists in France, Britain, Ireland and elsewhere, and that is a big part of why European prices hold up. Club fleets give you tuning partners, a used sail market and a reason to keep the boat in good order. In the US you will be racing under PHRF; the 210 carried an average handicap of 195 according to Wikipedia, which gives a sense of where the family sits against J/24s and Catalina 22s.

If racing is the plan, prioritize a boat with a hard keel surface, tight keel pads and a recent mainsail. The swing mechanism and loose pads cost more speed than most people realize, because a fin that wobbles in its case stalls early upwind.

Trailering, launching and outboard choice

Beneteau's own pitch was that the 211 can be towed behind your car to any seaside holiday destination, and at 8 ft 2 in wide it fits US road rules without permits. With the keel up the boat draws about 2 ft 4 in, so it launches from ordinary ramps, and the rudders lift so they are not the first thing to touch the concrete. Use a braked trailer; the rig, outboard and cruising kit push the towed weight well past the boat's dry figure.

Power is an outboard on a transom bracket. A 4 to 6 hp long-shaft is the usual choice; anything heavier sits awkwardly on the stern of a boat this light. Check that the bracket and transom backing plate are sound, because years of outboard vibration can loosen the fastenings.

What a 211 is worth, and running it cheaply

Expect roughly $9,000 to $20,000 for a First 211 in the US in 2026, with the trailer and sails swinging the number more than the model year. A late boat with a galvanized trailer and an asymmetric kit sits at the top; an early hull with tired sails and a sticky keel belongs at the bottom. Kept on its trailer in a yard, the 211 costs roughly $1,500 to $4,000 a year in insurance, storage, haulouts and outboard maintenance.

The value case is simple: you get the same hull, rig and keel concept as a 21.7 for less money, and you give up a slightly nicer interior. For a family that will mostly daysail and camp aboard, that is a fair trade.