Oceanis 31 and Beneteau 31, a Used Buyer's Review

Oceanis 31 or Beneteau 31, one design built on two continents

If you are shopping for an Oceanis 31 in the US, most of the boats you find will be labeled Beneteau 31. They are the same Finot-Conq design. In 2008 Beneteau rebuilt its small cruiser range around a shared style, with hulls from Groupe Finot and Pascal Conq and interiors from Nauta Design, and the 31 was the entry point, below the 34 and 37. European boats were sold as the Oceanis 31; boats for the American market were built at Beneteau USA's plant in Marion, South Carolina, and sold as the Beneteau 31. SAIL and Cruising World both tested it that year and liked it.

Specifications differ slightly by market, which confuses buyers. Cruising World's 2008 numbers for the US boat give a displacement of 8,933 lb and drafts of 6 ft 1 in or 4 ft 5 in, while Beneteau's later European equipment list shows 4,850 kg (10,692 lb) light displacement and drafts of 1.80 m or 1.30 m. The heavier factory figure is the safer one to use when comparing rivals. Beneteau was still issuing equipment lists for the Oceanis 31 in 2018, and the Oceanis 30.1 took over the bottom of the range in 2019.

On the water, Buzzards Bay and San Francisco Bay

SAIL sailed a Beneteau 31 off Padanaram in flat water and a 12-knot sea breeze. Under full main and 105 percent genoa it power-reached at over 6 knots and held the 5s close-hauled, tacked through 85 to 90 degrees, and tracked, in the tester's words, like the proverbial freight train with just enough weather helm. Under power the Yanmar pushed it past 5 knots at 2,700 rpm and to about 6 knots flat out.

Cruising World's test on San Francisco Bay, in winds in the low teens after a 30-knot week, recorded a little better than 5 knots close-hauled in 12 knots true and about 6.3 knots on a beam reach. The tester found the spade rudder and Goiot steering lively and responsive. His criticisms were sensible: the coamings stop at the binnacle so there is little to brace against when steering, and the mainsheet winch on the coachroof means leaving the wheel to trim the main.

Deck details that have aged well

Two features from 2008 still impress. The first is the companionway: instead of loose hatchboards, a clear Lexan weatherboard lifts out and slides into place under the hatch when not needed, so there is nothing to stow below. SAIL suggested it might make conventional hatchboards obsolete. The second is the fold-up helm seat with a gas strut, which opens a walkway to the swim platform and dinghy without a removable seat to lose.

A life raft locker sits in the port quarter and a conventional cockpit locker to starboard. The standard wheel is 36 inches, primaries are Lewmar 30s and the genoa runs on a Profurl furler. The anchor locker has a mounting point for an optional windlass. Teak handholds on the coachroof look good but, as CW noted, are open only on one side and hard to grip.

A Nauta interior that favors the saloon

Below, the forward bulkhead was pushed forward to make the saloon as large as possible, with straight settees either side of a drop-leaf table that work as sea berths with lee cloths. The L-shaped galley to port has a two-burner stove and oven, twin sinks near the centerline and a top-loading 12 V icebox. The head and shower are to starboard at the foot of the companionway, with the nav station forward of them facing aft and using the end of the settee as a seat. The wiring panel swings open for access to neat, resettable circuits.

The price for the big saloon is a V-berth that suits children or a very friendly couple, though Beneteau offered the forward cabin either closed or open to the saloon. The aft cabin has a large athwartships double and a hanging locker but limited headroom. Five opening ports and two hatches give reasonable ventilation.

How it is built

The hull is hand-laid solid fiberglass with a vinylester barrier coat against osmosis and a fiberglass structural grid bonded in while the hull is still in the mold. The deck is an injected, balsa-cored sandwich that sits on an inward-turned hull flange, glued and screwed. Bulkheads are bonded to hull and deck with polyurethane adhesive rather than traditional tabbing. Testers reported no creaks under load, but the grid-and-glue method means any hard grounding deserves a careful survey of the grid and keel area.

Telling the Oceanis 31 from the 311 and the 30.1

Three Beneteaus around 31 feet share the Oceanis badge. The Oceanis Clipper 311, sold in the US as the Beneteau 311, ran from 1998 and is narrower at 10 ft 6 in beam, with a rounder coachroof, a smaller cockpit and an older, darker interior. The Oceanis 31 of 2008 has a lower, straight-lined coachroof with large fixed windows, a fold-up transom seat and the pale Alpi interior. The Oceanis 30.1 of 2019 is the newest, with twin rudders, chines and a plumb bow. Searching for Beneteau 31 for sale will throw up all three, so check the year and photos.

Within the Oceanis 31 itself, the variables are keel (deep, shoal or lifting), a fully battened main with lazy jacks or in-mast furling, and a private or open forward cabin. Deep keel and conventional main give the best sailing and resale.

Owning a Beneteau 31 in 2026

This is one of the cheaper boats to keep among modern 30 footers. With a 21 hp Yanmar, 34 gallons of diesel, a single head and modest sail areas, routine costs are small. Budget roughly $8,000 to $16,000 a year for a 32 ft slip, insurance, haul-out, engine service and a sail and rigging fund. Standing rigging on the earliest boats is approaching the age when insurers ask for replacement, which is a $6,000 to $10,000 job on a boat this size and a good negotiating point.