Beneteau 361 Buyer's Guide, the Oceanis 361 and Clipper 361 Explained

Why the Beneteau 361 wears so many names

Search for a Beneteau 361 and you will see the same boat listed as an Oceanis 361, an Oceanis Clipper 361 or simply a Beneteau 361. They are one design. Beneteau USA launched it in 1999 as the Oceanis 361, its 1999 web pages describing it as the latest step after the Oceanis 352. By 2003 the American arm had dropped the Oceanis label and filed it under a Beneteau Series, so US boats built later usually carry the plain Beneteau 361 name. In Europe the factory sold it as the Oceanis Clipper 361, Clipper being Beneteau's tag for its better-equipped cruising versions.

There are charter variants too. Sailboatdata records the two cabin version as the Moorings 362 and the three cabin version as the Moorings 363 and Stardust 363. A boat advertised under one of those names spent at least part of its life in a fleet, which is useful to know before you read the engine hours.

Production ran from 1999 to 2004, and Wikipedia notes that boats for the American market were built by Beneteau in the United States. The Oceanis 373, a longer Berret-Racoupeau design, replaced it.

A short-ended hull with its weight in the keel bulb

Berret-Racoupeau drew a hull of 35 ft 5 in on a 36 ft 5 in overall length, with a 31 ft 1 in waterline and a 12 ft 6 in beam. The bow is raked, the transom is reversed and walk-through, and a spade rudder hangs behind a cast iron fin that ends in a bulb with small winglets. Draft is a cruise-friendly 5 ft 0 in. Beneteau's French data sheet also listed a lifting keel version drawing 1.10 m up and 2.40 m down, roughly 3 ft 7 in to 7 ft 10 in, but nearly every 361 in the US has the fixed winged keel.

Construction followed Beneteau practice of the period: a solid glass hull stiffened by a fiberglass inner grid with molded floors and unidirectional roving, a balsa-cored deck covered by a full liner, and bulkheads bonded all the way around to both hull and deck liners. The propeller shaft runs through a small molded skeg, which protects it from lines and gives the boat a little directional stability under power.

Displacement figures disagree, which is normal for this era. Sailboatdata lists 12,787 lb, Beneteau USA's own spec page said 13,849 lb, and the French sheet quoted about 5,500 kg. Ballast is 4,156 lb in every source, a respectable 32 percent ballast ratio on the sailboatdata weight.

Masthead rig, furling main and a cockpit built for six

The 361 carries a masthead sloop rig with two sets of aft-swept spreaders, intermediate shrouds, a babystay and a split backstay. Sail area is 717 sq ft with the standard 140 percent genoa, and the mast stands about 49 ft 7 in above the water, a number that matters on the Intracoastal Waterway where most fixed bridges give 65 ft. Beneteau USA delivered the boat with an in-mast furling main as standard, so a 361 with a conventional battened main is either a European spec boat or has been converted.

Deck hardware was modest but adequate: two Lewmar 44 self-tailing primaries on the coamings, one Lewmar 30 on the coachroof for halyards and furling lines, and six deck stoppers. The mainsheet traveler runs on the coachroof, out of the cockpit. A single 42 in leather-covered wheel sits on a pedestal with a drop-leaf table, and the helmsman's seat folds down to open the way to a teak-inlaid swim platform. The 1999 equipment list even included a fiberglass foot brace in the middle of the cockpit, a small detail that makes the boat more comfortable heeled than many later wide-cockpit designs.

• Standard sails: in-mast furling main and 140 percent furling genoa
• Winches: two Lewmar 44 primaries, one Lewmar 30 on the coachroof
• Single 42 in wheel, coachroof traveler, lowering helm seat to the swim step

Two cabins or three, and the head with its own shower stall

Below, the layout is conventional and well proportioned for 36 ft. The forward cabin has a double berth about 6 ft 7 in long, a hanging locker and an opening hatch. The saloon has a U-shaped settee around a table that converts to a berth, plus a straight settee to port; an alternative arrangement replaced the port settee with two seats split by an armrest. The galley is to port with a double sink, a two burner stove and oven, and a 12 volt icebox. A forward-facing chart table sits to port with its own seat.

The head deserves a mention because it was ahead of its time on a 36 footer: a molded unit with a separate shower compartment and a teak seat. Headroom runs from about 6 ft 3 in in the forward cabin to 6 ft 5 in at the companionway.

Aft, buyers chose between one big double cabin across the stern, with the larger 5.6 cu ft icebox, or two symmetrical cabins with berths about 6 ft 7 in by 4 ft 9 in and a smaller 4 cu ft icebox. Couples should look for the two cabin boat, which also has more cockpit storage. Families and charter fleets bought the three cabin version, and it is the more common layout on the used market.

Twenty gallons of diesel and other numbers to respect

The engine is a 27 hp freshwater-cooled diesel, listed by sailboatdata as a Volvo Penta 2030, driving a fixed three-blade propeller on a conventional shaft. It is enough to push a 36 footer to hull speed, which works out at about 7.5 knots on this waterline, in calm water. We have not found a published test giving fuel burn, so plan on measuring your own.

The fuel tank is the number that surprises people: Beneteau listed only 20 gallons. Water, by contrast, is generous at 88 to 92 gallons depending on the source. For coastal hopping that balance works, but anyone planning a Bahamas crossing or a long motor down the ICW will want jerry cans or an added tank. Batteries were a 75 amp hour starting battery and a 200 amp hour house battery with a 20 amp charger, which is thin by modern standards; most well-kept boats have been upgraded.

Engines of this vintage are now 20 to 25 years old. A 361 with a replacement engine or a documented rebuild is worth real money, and a cheap boat with an original unit that smokes is often more expensive in the end.

What the ratios say about sailing the 361

We could not find a published sea trial with measured speeds, so the honest guide is the numbers. With the 140 percent genoa counted, sailboatdata puts the sail area to displacement ratio at 21, which suggests a lively boat in light air. Using only the 100 percent foretriangle and main, the figure drops to about 17.4, a more realistic picture once the genoa is partly furled. The displacement to length ratio of about 190 sits in the light cruiser band, and the ballast ratio of about 32 percent is better than many later Oceanis models.

In practice this is a masthead boat with a big overlapping headsail and a small, furling main. It likes a reach, it needs the genoa reefed early when the wind builds, and it will not point like a fractional rig with a battened main. A newer genoa cut flatter, or a conventional main with lazy jacks, are the two upgrades that transform it.

The capsize screening value of about 2.1 and Ted Brewer's comfort ratio near 21 place the 361 firmly in the coastal cruiser category. That is what it was designed for, and in the right weather it will happily cross to the islands, but it is not a heavy-weather passagemaker.

Fleet history and what it means for a buyer

The 361 was popular in charter, as the Moorings and Stardust versions show, and a share of the boats for sale today came out of fleets in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Charter use is not a reason to walk away, since fleet boats are usually serviced on schedule, but it changes what you inspect. Look hard at the steering cables and quadrant, the furling gear, the winches and the cabin soles, which take the most abuse, and expect a three cabin layout.

Privately owned two cabin boats usually show lighter use and cost more, and in our view the difference is worth paying.

Beneteau 361 for sale, price by year and what moves it

In 2026 we expect a Beneteau 361 for sale in the US to ask roughly $55,000 to $88,000. A 1999 or 2000 boat with original sails and engine sits near the bottom, and a 2003 or 2004 boat with new rigging, a refreshed interior and current electronics near the top. European listings for the Oceanis Clipper 361 we reviewed ranged from about 54,000 to 70,000 euros for 2000 to 2003 boats, with one UK boat at 44,950 pounds.

Budget around $8,000 to $15,000 a year to keep one in the US, covering a slip or mooring, insurance, haul-out and bottom paint, engine service and a sail and canvas reserve. Standing rigging on a boat of this age is due for replacement if the owner cannot show receipts, and that alone is a several-thousand-dollar job.