Oceanis 323 (Beneteau 323) Review and Buying Guide

Oceanis 323, Clipper 323 or Beneteau 323: one Finot hull

The oceanis 323 is one design wearing several names. In Europe it was the Oceanis 323 and the better-equipped Oceanis Clipper 323; in the US it was the Beneteau 323, built at Beneteau's plant in Marion, South Carolina; and a charter version went to The Moorings as the Moorings 32.2. Groupe Finot drew it, and it was named Boat of the Year at the 2004 Oslo Boat Show.

Wikipedia dates production in France from 2003 to 2007, but Beneteau's own Clipper 323 equipment list is dated March 2008 and European listings include 2008-built boats, so the 323 was still being built into 2008 before the Oceanis 31 took its place. In the US it replaced the lighter, narrower Beneteau 311, which Practical Sailor described as only moderately successful there.

Freeboard, beam carried aft and a stepped coachroof

Rupert Holmes, writing for boats.com, said the 323 set new standards for 32 ft cruisers when it was launched: higher freeboard, a wide beam carried well aft and a stepped coachroof produced far more volume than earlier boats of this size. Practical Sailor noticed the same thing from another angle. Heeled under sail she looks low and racy; upright at the dock, the true height of the topsides and cabintop shows, along with the cruising brief behind them.

Beneteau's figures are 10.00 m overall, 9.72 m on deck, an 8.89 m (29 ft 2 in) waterline and a 3.26 m (10 ft 8 in) beam. Light displacement is 4,230 kg (9,325 lb). The mast sits a little farther forward than on similar boats, over the leading edge of the keel, which frees space below for a proper aft cabin and a full-size head.

Deep, shoal or lifting, and the ballast behind each

Three keels were listed. The standard European deep keel draws 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) with 988 kg of cast iron ballast, the shoal keel draws 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) with 1,095 kg, and a lifting keel runs from 0.80 m to 2.00 m. Practical Sailor's US test boat had the shoal keel, sensible for the Chesapeake, and the reviewers advised buyers in windier or deeper waters to take the deeper fin for stiffness and pointing.

Naval architect Jack Hornor, writing for BoatUS, put the numbers in context: a sail area to displacement ratio of 19.6 and a displacement to length ratio of 168 make the 323 an excellent light-air boat, but ballast is only about 26 percent of displacement, so it is no surprise she is reported to be a bit tender. His advice was to sail her flat, like the big dinghy she resembles.

Practical Sailor's Chesapeake sail, knot by knot

Practical Sailor's test started in about 5 knots of wind, where the 323 made 4 to 4.5 knots over the ground. In 10 knots true it close-reached at 5.8 to 6.2 knots, well-mannered and dry, but slightly overpowered in gusts under full main and the 116 percent genoa. The testers guessed that a reef or a working jib would be the right combination by 15 knots.

She tacked easily through 90 degrees and accelerated to 5.5 knots as fast as the crew could trim. The wheel was large enough to steer from the windward side with a foot on the leeward seat, responsive and with a slight weather helm. The boom is low enough to flake the main by hand without lazy jacks, a small thing that matters at the end of a day.

A wheel that swings and a seat that tilts

Two cockpit details set the 323 apart. A patented helm seat bracket lets the seat tilt completely out of the way for boarding over the transom, which Practical Sailor called the best method of securing a seat it had seen. The wheel pivots on its column: pull a stainless pin and it swings forward to a second locked position, opening the gap to the starboard seat. US-built boats also got a split backstay to clear the boarding path.

The cockpit is 6 ft 4 in long between binnacle and companionway and seats six on teak slats, but storage is thin: one starboard locker, a single winch handle pocket and no cubbies. The mainsheet attaches mid-boom with the traveler on the coachroof, lines run aft through Spinlock clutches, and the European list specifies Harken 32.2 self-tailing primaries while Practical Sailor's US boat had Lewmar 30s. In the US a genoa furler was optional, and most buyers chose a Profurl; an in-mast furling main was also offered and cuts sail area by about 15 percent.

Room for four, lockers for fewer

The saloon is 9 ft 8 in long on the centerline with just over 6 ft 3 in of headroom, settees port and starboard that seat six around a drop-leaf table, an L-shaped galley to port at the foot of the companionway and a chart table opposite. The forward double is 6 ft 10 in long but only 5 ft wide at the head; the aft cabin's double measures 6 ft 10 in by 6 ft 3 in and gets light from a transom port and two opening ports. Beneteau's own sheet gives the aft berth as 2.05 by 1.90 m.

The head is the surprise: 6 ft 2 in of headroom and 4 ft 9 in fore and aft, large enough to shower seated and with a tall locker for wet gear. Practical Sailor's main complaint was storage. Many lockers are shallow or narrow, so a crew of four on a week-long cruise will live partly out of duffel bags. The galley offers a 60 liter top-opening icebox with 12 volt refrigeration, a two-burner stove and oven, and a counter about 3 ft 11 in wide.

Yanmar 21, 65 liters and two 70 Ah batteries

Beneteau's 2008 equipment list specifies a 21 hp Yanmar diesel on a shaft with a fixed three-blade propeller, a 65 liter (17 gallon) rotomolded fuel tank, a 160 liter (42 gallon) water tank, a 22 liter calorifier and an 88 liter holding tank. Electrics are basic: one 70 amp hour service battery, one 70 amp hour engine battery and a 10 amp charger. Sailboatdata lists 18 hp for some European boats and 22 hp for the US version, so check the engine plate rather than the brochure.

Construction follows Beneteau's practice of the period: a solid fiberglass hull with vinylester in the outer skin against osmosis, a bonded grid of stringers and floors, bulkheads bonded with polyurethane adhesive and a hull to deck joint fastened with stainless screws, adhesive and a through-bolted toerail. Chainplates tie to stainless rods bedded in the laminate.

From $76,700 new to today's Beneteau 323 for sale listings

Practical Sailor gave a base price of $76,700 at launch and concluded that the 323 holds its value, citing asks of $49,900 to $73,000 for 2005 and 2006 boats. In 2026 a realistic US range is about $45,000 to $75,000, with deep keel boats and those with furling gear and recent sails at the top. One owner who bought new in early 2008 reported a few build quality issues and some cost-cut accessories that needed replacing, then years of dependable use. Running costs are about $7,000 to $13,500 a year in most US markets.