Beneteau First 53, Luxury Performance With a Dinghy Garage

The Beneteau First 53 and the reinvention of the First name

Searches for the Beneteau First 53, First 53 or simply Beneteau 53 almost always land on this boat: the 56 ft flagship that Beneteau showed in 2019 under the name First Yacht 53 and now sells simply as the First 53. Yachting World pointed out that it was the builder's first new 50 ft racer-cruiser in 13 years, and Beneteau treated it as a statement. It ran a design competition before picking Roberto Biscontini, a veteran of Italian and New Zealand America's Cup programs, for the hull and rig, and Lorenzo Argento, who spent much of his career at Luca Brenta's office and worked on Wally projects, for the deck and interior.

The positioning was explicit. Beneteau wanted the space of a 55-footer at the price of a 50, aimed at owners moving from Solaris, Grand Soleil and Italia Yachts. Twenty boats were sold within the first few months, according to Yachting World, and the model remains in Beneteau's current First range alongside the newer First 60.

Do not confuse it with the First 53f5. That is a 1990 Bruce Farr and Pininfarina design, a 52 ft masthead sloop of about 30,900 lb that shares nothing with the current boat beyond the badge.

Twenty-five hull shapes, twin rudders and three keels

Biscontini's hull has a plumb bow, a slight reverse sheer, near vertical topsides and a 5 m beam carried well aft, with twin rudders to keep control at heel. Cape Horn Engineering's Dr Rodrigo Azcueta ran computational fluid dynamics on 25 candidate hull shapes before the final lines were chosen, according to Yachting World, with the goal of picking up waterline length quickly at just 5 to 10 degrees of heel while increasing righting moment.

Three keels are offered. The standard cast iron T-keel draws 8 ft 2 in, the performance keel with a cast iron fin and lead bulb draws about 9 ft 11 in, and a shoal option of roughly 6 ft 4 in was aimed at the US East Coast. SAIL and Cruising World put the displacement to length ratio at 118 and the sail area to displacement ratio at 27, numbers closer to a racing boat than to a cruiser. Construction is infused and balsa cored, with fiberglass stringers on an aluminum substructure to carry keel and rig loads.

A flush, Wally-flavored deck with almost no visible rope

Argento's deck is the boat's signature. Lines run under panels to clutches and Harken Performa electric winches at each of the twin carbon wheels, the jib furler is mounted below deck to keep the tack low, hatches are flush and tracks recessed. There is no traveler; the mainsheet runs to a single centerline block forward of the wheels, with an optional central mainsheet winch for owners who race. Cruising World liked the coamings that drop under the winches to make trimmer and helm seats while leaving a gap to step aft and onto the side deck.

The cockpit splits cleanly into a working area aft and a social area forward, with two smaller teak tables either side of a central aisle to the companionway rather than one big table. Behind the helms an electric drop-down transom opens a garage that holds an 8 ft inflated RIB. A fixed composite bowsprit carries the anchor roller and tack points for a code zero or gennaker. Yachting World's one reservation was crowding between winch and wheel when racing, and the long, steep walk to leeward across that 16 ft 5 in beam in a seaway.

Test speeds under sail and power

Every test boat seems to get a light day. SAIL logged 6.5 knots at 55 degrees apparent in 8.7 knots of true wind, 5.5 knots up to 35 degrees apparent, and 3 knots on a beam reach in under 6 knots of breeze with working sails. Yachting World slipped along at 6 to 7 knots reaching under code zero in 7 knots of true wind and praised a helm that felt balanced and alive despite twin wheels and twin rudders. Cruising World got the best of it on Chesapeake Bay: nearly 6 knots close-hauled in under 5 knots of wind, 8 to 9 knots once the breeze built to about 15, and 10 knots plus when cracked off with the code zero unrolled, the windward rudder clear of the water.

Under power, SAIL's test boat had the optional 110 hp Yanmar on a shaft with a Flexofold propeller. It reached 9.6 knots at 3,400 rpm and cruised at 8.7 knots at 2,200 rpm burning about 1.5 gallons per hour. The standard boat uses an 80 hp Yanmar with a saildrive. A retractable bow thruster was fitted to the test boats and a stern thruster is optional.

Below decks, a lounge instead of a dining room

Argento deliberately moved away from the apartment look. The saloon is split into a relaxation area to starboard, with a sofa and coffee table, and a smaller dining table to port that seats four and extends to six. The U-shaped galley sits toward the center for bracing, with chunky laminated fiddles and handrails throughout. White lacquered bulkheads angled at 70 degrees to the centerline, a teak sole and molded wood give the interior its character.

There is no conventional nav station and no traditional switch panel. Lights, generator and battery monitoring run through Beneteau's Ship Control system from a phone or tablet, with a backup switch panel hidden in a starboard locker. The owner's cabin is forward with a 1.60 m island berth, two hanging lockers, hull windows and a split head and shower. Two symmetrical doubles are aft under the cockpit. Beneteau offers three cabins with two heads or three cabins with three heads, and the boat was built on a semi-custom basis, so options like a crew cabin forward appear on some hulls.

What the First 53 costs to run

This is a big, technical boat. Electric winches, a below-deck furler, a hydraulic transom, Ship Control electronics and often a generator all need regular service, and the sail inventory is large: SAIL measured 1,785 sq ft for main and 105 percent genoa alone. A North laminate wardrobe with a code zero is a substantial line item every few seasons for anyone who races.

Plan on roughly $45,000 to $95,000 a year in the US for slip, insurance, haul-out, systems service and routine sail and rigging care, excluding depreciation and major sail replacement. Fuel is a minor cost at about 1.5 gallons per hour at cruise.

Buying a Beneteau 53 for sale on the used market

Used First 53s are still relatively young, and most on the market date from 2019 to 2023. Prices depend heavily on spec: a carbon rig, performance keel, shaft drive upgrade, generator and full North inventory can separate two otherwise similar boats by well over $100,000. Dark metallic hulls look spectacular but show heat and gelcoat wear faster in Florida and the Caribbean.

Because Beneteau built the boat semi-custom, insist on the original order specification, and check that software for Ship Control and the electronics has been kept current. The Beneteau 53 price new has risen sharply since launch, which has supported resale values for early hulls.