Beneteau First 24 and First 24 SE, Review and Buying Guide

Mini Transat ideas in a boat for four

Most people typing beneteau 24 first into a search bar want the modern boat, the planing pocket cruiser that Beneteau now sells as the First 24. It did not start in Vendee. Seascape, a Slovenian builder founded by two Mini Transat sailors, Andraz Mihelin and Kristian Hajnsek, asked Samuel Manuard to scale its 18 and 27 concepts into an in-between boat. The result, the Seascape 24, won Best Small Cruiser in SAIL's 2017 Best Boats competition, and when Beneteau bought Seascape in 2018 the 24 became a First.

The brief was the same one Mihelin described to SAIL: 80 percent of the fun of sailing a Mini with 20 percent of the work. That means a plumb bow, hard chines and a broad stern for early planing, a deep swing keel with a lead bulb for stability, and an interior that sleeps four in a simple, almost Scandinavian way. It is a sportsboat that happens to have a cabin, not a cruiser pretending to be fast.

First 24 SE or First 24, the choice that matters

Sailboatdata records that the original carbon-rigged boat was sold simply as the First 24 from 2018 to 2020, and that a second version arrived for 2021. Today Beneteau lists both. The First 24 SE (Seascape Edition) keeps the racier recipe: carbon mast, boom and bowsprit, laminate sails and a lighter 1,000 kg (2,205 lb) displacement. The First 24 uses a Selden aluminum mast and boom with a classic backstay, Dacron North Sails and an aluminum sprit, and weighs 1,100 kg (2,425 lb).

Beneteau's July 2026 specification sheets put the difference in numbers. The SE carries a 24.0 m2 main and a 15.3 m2 jib (39.3 m2 upwind) with a 58 m2 gennaker on a 2.08 m carbon sprit. The First 24 carries a 17.4 m2 main and a 12.9 m2 jib (30.3 m2 upwind) with a 49.5 m2 gennaker on a 1.70 m aluminum sprit. Pick the SE if you want maximum pace and will race; pick the First 24 if you want a boat beginners can handle and a lower bill for sails and spars.

• First 24 SE: carbon spars, 1,000 kg, 39.3 m2 upwind, air draft 11.26 m
• First 24: aluminum spars and backstay, 1,100 kg, 30.3 m2 upwind, air draft 11.06 m
• Both: 7.29 m hull, 2.50 m beam, same swing keel options and CE category C8

A keel that swings, rudders in cassettes and ten inches of draft

Both versions share a swinging keel built as a GRP vinylester shell with a lead bulb insert, raised by a manually operated stainless keel winch. The standard keel weighs 300 kg (661 lb) and draws 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) down and just 0.25 m (10 in) fully raised. An optional shallow keel of 430 kg (948 lb) draws 0.55 m to 1.15 m, but it sticks out of the hull when lifted, needs a different trailer and means the boat can no longer be beached. Beneteau says the two keels can be swapped later.

The twin rudders are foam-sandwich GRP blades in aluminum cassettes hung off the transom, and they lift clear like daggerboards. Combined with a thicker laminate in the bottom of the hull, that lets you drive the boat onto a beach. A swinging keel also protects the structure in a grounding, since it kicks up rather than transmitting the load straight into the hull.

What the test numbers show

Charles Doane sailed the Seascape 24 for SAIL in 12 to 15 knots of true wind and had it planing on a close reach at over 9 knots under working jib and main. Upwind at a tight 30 degree apparent wind angle it made about 6 knots, and on a broad reach without bothering to hoist the asymmetric it still held 8 knots or better. He called the helm lively but not twitchy and the boat fast but not ornery, which matches the experience of most owners.

SAIL's figures for that boat were a 1,962 lb displacement, 704 lb of ballast and a ballast ratio of 36 percent, with a sail area to displacement ratio of 46 and a displacement to length ratio of 63. Those are sportsboat numbers. The aluminum First 24 is heavier and carries less sail, so expect it to come onto the plane a little later, but it trades that for easier handling and lower loads.

Below decks, deliberately simple

The interior is one open space. Forward is a V-berth for two over a buoyancy volume, and either side of the keel box are long benches with sliding wooden extensions that turn them into full berths for two more. There is a dedicated spot for a chemical toilet at the back of the saloon, storage under the benches, a fold-down table that also mounts in the cockpit, and faux leather cushions on EVA foam flooring. Electrical, solar and instrument packs are options, so check what a used boat has.

Treat it as a camping boat for a weekend. SAIL described the original as relatively Spartan but well thought out, and that is still fair. If you need a galley and an enclosed head, look at the larger First 27 or an older 25-footer instead.

Towing and rigging at the ramp

At 8 ft 2 in of beam the First 24 is road legal in the US without permits. On its trailer it stands 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) high with the mast or 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) without, and the whole rig is 9.80 m long, so plan garage and storage space accordingly. A provisional mast crane lets owners step the mast without a hoist, and SAIL estimated that one person could rig and launch in roughly half an hour.

There is no inboard engine. The boat takes a removable bracket for a long-shaft outboard of up to 6 hp; SAIL's test boat used a 4 hp. A light four-stroke or an electric outboard keeps weight off the stern.

The other First 24, from 1982

The name is not new. From 1982 to 1985 Beneteau built a Jean-Marie Finot First 24 that sailboatdata credits with 677 hulls. It was a completely different boat: Beneteau's brochure gives an 8.00 m overall length, a 6.30 m waterline, a 2.50 m beam, about 1,500 kg displacement with 500 kg of ballast, a lifting keel drawing 0.80 m to 1.60 m and a 9.9 hp outboard. Beneteau pitched it as a trailerable family cruiser with five berths in three separate cabins.

If a listing shows a raked bow, wood trim inside and a 1980s build year, it is the Finot boat and should be priced as a classic pocket cruiser, typically a small fraction of the modern boat's value. Do not compare its specs with the Manuard design.

New price, used values and yearly costs

SAIL priced the Seascape 24 at $72,495 sailaway in 2018. Equipped new boats in 2026 typically land in the $80,000 to $110,000 range depending on version, sails and packs, with the SE at the upper end. Used Seascape 24s and First 24s ask roughly $45,000 to $90,000, and boats that come with a good trailer and a full North Sails inventory sell fastest.

Annual costs are low for a performance boat of this size if it lives on a trailer, around $2,500 to $7,000 for insurance, storage, sails and maintenance. Racing sails and carbon spar repairs are the costs that can spike.