Beneteau Oceanis 30.1 Review, Price and Which Version to Buy

The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, a small boat with a big boat's habits

Entry-level cruisers are usually built to a price and feel like it. The Beneteau Oceanis 30.1, launched in 2019 as the smallest boat in the current Oceanis line, ignored that rulebook. Yachting Monthly's tester found bronze seacocks, an accumulator tank in the water system, lit cockpit lockers and USB sockets where you actually need them, and concluded that first-time owners would be spoiled for every boat they bought afterward. The judges at Cruising World agreed in their own way, naming it Best Performance Cruiser for 2020 over the J/99, Grand Soleil 34, Italia 9.98 and Sun Fast 3300, and SAIL picked it as its best small cruiser the same year.

Searchers often type Beneteau Oceanis 30 or simply Beneteau 30.1, but the official name is Oceanis 30.1 and there is no Oceanis 30. Finot-Conq drew the hull with Pascal Conq's signature full-length chines and a plumb bow, and Nauta Design did the interior and deck. It is still in production in 2026.

Why the beam stops at 9 ft 10 in

The most important number on the spec sheet is the 2.99 m beam. Beneteau deliberately kept the boat under 9 by 3 meters overall, and under 4 tonnes, so it can be moved by road without wide-load escorts in Europe. Pair that with the lifting-keel version and its rotating mast and you have a cruiser that can be trucked to a new lake, motored through canals and rivers, and stepped again at the coast. Cruising World judge Ed Sherman picked up on exactly this: you can trailer it to a new waterway instead of spending a season sailing it there.

Narrow beam usually costs interior volume. The chines claw much of it back by widening the boat above the waterline while keeping the waterline itself slim, which also helps the 30.1 track straight. Yachting Monthly noted the price is paid in stowage behind the saloon backrests, though there is plenty beneath the berths.

Four keels, tiller or twin wheels

Few 30 footers offer this many configurations. The standard cast-iron fin draws 6 ft 2 in with 973 kg of ballast. A shoal fin draws 4 ft 3 in with 1,150 kg. The swing keel ranges from 3 ft 1 in to 7 ft 8 in and carries 1,300 kg, and Beneteau's equipment list also shows a retractable lifting-keel version for beaching and inland waters. On the US East Coast the shoal fin is the easiest to sell; on the Great Lakes and in California the deep fin sails noticeably better to windward.

Steering is equally flexible. A tiller on the twin rudders is standard and gives dinghy-like feedback. Twin wheels open the cockpit and are what most US buyers choose; CW's Ralph Naranjo said the twin wheels, linked to twin rudders, made her a stellar example of a well-balanced boat, and Sherman admitted they seemed overkill until he drove the boat in heavy air.

Square-top main, self-tacker and the light-air bias

Standard sails are a 23.8 m2 square-top main and a 15.7 m2 self-tacking jib, so one person can tack without touching a sheet. Sailors who want more power can order a 105 percent genoa (22.1 m2), and the fixed bowsprit carries a furling code zero (34.8 m2) or a 70 m2 asymmetric. An in-mast furling main shrinks the main to 18.8 m2 and is best avoided on a boat whose charm is its liveliness.

Beneteau tailored the boat to the conditions most owners actually sail in, and the testers noticed. Yachting Monthly found it sailed beautifully in light winds and settled happily at around 20 degrees of heel. Cruising World tested it in a good breeze and reported no squeaks or groans under heavy loads, with Naranjo calling her small but solid. Finot-Conq publishes polar diagrams for each keel and headsail combination, a rare level of disclosure for a production 30 footer, so you can compare the deep keel with the self-tacker against the genoa before ordering.

Two real cabins and 6 ft 6 in of headroom

Below, Beneteau claims 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) of headroom in every area where you would stand, an extraordinary figure for this length. There are two double cabins, one forward and one aft, each with a lengthwise berth and an open entry that makes them feel larger. The saloon benches double as sea berths. The heads compartment splits the toilet from the shower and basin, which keeps the toilet dry and is something many 35 footers still do not offer.

The L-shaped galley sits at the foot of a gently sloping companionway with a two-burner gas hob, a proper oven and a 75-liter fridge. A fold-up chart table is optional; it appears when you need it and disappears when you do not. Tankage is 130 liters (34 gallons) of diesel and 160 liters (42 gallons) of water, plenty for weekends and adequate for a frugal week.

The Oceanis 30.1e and its Torqeedo pod

Most boats have a Yanmar diesel; sailboatdata notes that while a 14 hp engine was the European base option for inland waters, US boats get the 21 hp unit. The electric Oceanis 30.1e, Beneteau's first production electric sailboat, swaps it for a Torqeedo system with a 6 kW pod drive. Yachting World reported a 48 V battery in the cockpit locker where the diesel tank normally sits, an option for a second battery, a top speed of 6 knots in flat water and about three hours (12 miles) at 4 knots on the standard pack. Beneteau quotes up to six hours at 4 knots with the larger bank.

Regeneration starts as early as 6 to 8 knots of true wind on a reach, and a little electric push in light air builds apparent wind for silent motorsailing. It suits lake and harbor sailors who rarely motor far; coastal cruisers who need to punch a tide for hours should stay with diesel, which will also be easier to resell.

Oceanis 300, Oceanis 31 and the 30.1 on the used market

Two older Beneteaus muddy the search results. The Oceanis 300 was a Finot design built from 1991 to 1995 with a masthead rig and a single rudder, and sailboatdata records about 200 built. The Oceanis 31 of 2008, sold in the US as the Beneteau 31, is a beamier 31 ft 8 in boat with a single rudder and a conventional overlapping genoa. The 30.1 is easy to tell apart: twin rudders, hard chines, and a plumb bow with a short fixed sprit.

Used 30.1s are still scarce in the US, and most brokerage listings are in Europe. When shopping, check whether a boat has the tiller or wheels, which keel, and whether it is a diesel or a 30.1e; each choice moves the price.

Running costs and who should buy one

A 30.1 is cheap to keep by modern standards: a 32 ft slip, insurance, a haul and bottom paint, Yanmar service and a sail-replacement fund come to roughly $9,000 to $18,000 a year in most US markets, less if you dry-store or trailer between seasons. It is a natural first keelboat, a downsizing boat for experienced couples, and an excellent club racer-cruiser on lakes. It is not a passage-making boat for long ocean legs, and its CE Category B rating reflects that.