Beneteau 235 Sailboat Guide, Specs and Used Prices

A French design that half the time came from Carolina

The Beneteau 235 First is unusual among early Firsts because so many of them are American. Yachting Monthly reports that more than half of the roughly 680 boats built between 1986 and 1991 came out of Beneteau's US factory, the Marion, South Carolina plant that also built the First 305. That is why a Beneteau 235 for sale shows up regularly on American lakes and bays, while most of its French stablemates are rare imports.

Groupe Finot loosely based the 235 on one of Jean-Marie Finot's early designs from 1978, and Beneteau's heritage page sells it on speed and space. It sits between trailer sailers and true pocket cruisers: light enough to tow with the right vehicle, but with an enclosed head, a separate aft cabin and a proper galley that most 23-footers of the 1980s could not match.

Why the specs you read online do not agree

Beneteau's own brochure, reprinted with a July 1989 equipment list, gives an overall length of 7.14 m (23 ft 5 in), a hull length of 6.57 m, a waterline of 6.20 m and a beam of 2.50 m. It lists displacement at about 1,200 kg (2,646 lb), with 420 kg of ballast in the fixed keel and about 360 kg in the lifting keel version. Sailboatdata, working from US records, gives 2,826 lb and 825 lb of ballast for the fin keel boat, and 2,689 lb for the swing keel.

The difference most likely reflects how displacement was measured and the heavier US-built fit-out, but the practical point is simple: real boats with an outboard, batteries and cruising gear will weigh more than either figure. Sailboatdata's ratios are still useful as a guide, with a sail area to displacement figure near 20 and a displacement to length ratio around 152, numbers that describe a light, reasonably powered boat.

Fin, wing or lifting keel

The 235 came with three underwater configurations, and choosing between them is the first decision a buyer makes. The standard fin draws 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in). A shoal wing keel, mostly sold in the US according to sailboatdata, cuts draft to about 2 ft 9 in. The lifting keel version, more common in France, draws 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) down and 0.66 m (2 ft 2 in) up, and is raised with a winch handle through a mechanical crank, with an inspection panel to check the mechanism.

The lifting version sails well upwind with its deep draft but Yachting Monthly notes it could be a handful in strong winds. Beneteau's own instructions advised keeping the mechanism under load in the down position so the keel cannot move, turning back a turn or two when the handle goes slack. On a used lifting-keel boat, that advice tells you exactly where to look for wear.

• Fin keel: best all-round choice, simplest to maintain
• Wing keel: shoal draft for thin water, a little less pointing
• Lifting keel: deepest draft for sailing and the easiest trailer launch, but more to maintain

Deck gear from the 1989 equipment list

The fractional rig uses a Z-Spars anodized aluminum mast and boom with internal halyards, roller-swaged standing rigging and a babystay, and the mast step is hinged to make stepping easier for trailer sailors. The brochure lists a mainsail of 14.4 m2 with two reefs, a working jib of 7.6 m2, a genoa of 16.2 m2 and a spinnaker of 36.3 m2. Halyards are led aft through a double stopper, and the standard winches were Lewmar 6A or similar.

Other details tell you Beneteau expected owners to use the boat as a small cruiser: a self-draining anchor locker, a large cockpit locker for a liferaft and sails, a motor bracket built into the transom, a sculling notch with a rowlock, a removable rudder and a manual bilge pump. A tinted opening hatch lights the forward cabin.

Two doubles, a galley and a real head in 23 feet

Below, the 235 makes good use of its generous beam and long waterline. Forward is a double berth with a table that lowers to make the bed, and the saloon has settee seating with stowage underneath. Either side of the companionway are the two features that set the 235 apart from most trailerable 23-footers: an aft cabin to port with a double berth and its own storage, and to starboard a heads compartment with a marine toilet and a sliding door, sharing space with a chart table that slides away.

The galley has a two-burner gimballed gas stove, a stainless sink with a freshwater hand pump and a 50 liter water tank. Headroom under the hatch is about 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in), so taller crew will stoop. Yachting Monthly called the fit-out simple, and that is accurate: this is plain gelcoat and wood trim, not a varnished yacht interior, which makes refits easy.

The Beneteau First 235 on the water

Yachting Monthly found the 235 performed well and was fun to sail, and the transom-hung rudder gives direct feel. It is a fractional rig, so depower with backstay and mainsheet rather than reaching for a big genoa first. Hull speed is about 6 knots. Most owners race it in PHRF club fleets and cruise for a weekend at a time, which is exactly what the boat does best.

For power, a 5 to 8 hp long-shaft outboard on the transom bracket is typical. Check that the bracket recess drains properly and that the transom core around the bolts is dry.

Prices, costs and the Craigslist question

Plenty of 235s change hands privately, including through classifieds and Craigslist, and asking prices in 2026 typically run from about $4,500 for a tired fin keeler without a trailer to around $14,000 for a well-kept late boat with good sails and a trailer. Budget about $2,000 to $5,500 a year depending on whether the boat lives on a mooring, a slip or a trailer.

At this price a survey still pays for itself. A cheap 235 that needs new sails, rigging and outboard can quickly cost more than a well-kept one, and a lifting keel that needs rebuilding is a project, not a weekend job.