Oceanis 37 (Beneteau 37) Review and Used Buying Guide

The 2006 launch and a dealer's punch list

The Oceanis 37 arrived at the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis in October 2006, one of three new cruisers Beneteau USA showed for the 2007 season alongside a 40 and a 43. In America it was marketed simply as the Beneteau 37; in Europe it was the Oceanis 37. Cruising World's Jeremy McGeary tested a French-built boat that fall and noted that the version for American buyers was about to go into production at Beneteau's plant in Marion, South Carolina.

His review is a nice snapshot of how a big builder worked at the time. Garth Hitchens of Annapolis Yacht Sales was on board with a list of changes US dealers wanted. One example: the larger marine toilet American buyers expect blocked the inward-opening head door, so the dealer rehung it, and that change went into the US production boats.

To set the 37 apart from its larger siblings, Beneteau went to Groupe Finot, Jean-Marie Finot and Pascal Conq, for the hull while Nauta Design did the interior across the whole range. Charter fleets took it too, as the Moorings 37.2.

Groupe Finot's hull, long on the waterline and short on fuss

From the dock the Finot signature is the sheer, which sweeps up to a stem that is almost plumb. That stem gives a 34 ft 2 in waterline on a 37 ft 8 in boat, long for its day, and the hull carries a 12 ft 10 in beam. PBO points out that the shape owes something to Finot-Conq's IMOCA 60 work for the Vendee Globe, along with high freeboard that buys volume below.

The other big step was the keel. Early Oceanis models were criticized for light keels and low righting moments; the 37 got a large bulb on both the deep and the shoal fin. Sailboatdata lists 4,253 lb of ballast with the shoal keel and 3,902 lb with the deep one, on a displacement of 14,008 lb. Beneteau's heritage page quotes a dry weight of 14,359 lb.

Ratios back up the quick reputation: a displacement to length ratio of about 158 and a sail area to displacement ratio near 17. Wikipedia lists a PHRF handicap of roughly 105 to 135 seconds a mile depending on keel and sails.

A rig that puts the power in the headsail

The fractional mast sits well aft, and McGeary noted that the foretriangle is larger than the mainsail. A jib of about 105 percent keeps sheeting simple, and PBO adds that the chainplates are taken out to the hull sides, which reduces rig loads and lets a partly furled headsail keep a decent shape. Many boats carry an in-mast furling main.

On the water that layout delivered. Upwind in a gusty breeze the boat was a handful in the bigger puffs until the first reef went into the main, which tamed the helm immediately. On the wind, McGeary wrote, the 37 embarrassed boats with longer waterlines despite its furling main, and off the wind the big headsail gave solid performance across a wide range of angles.

If you plan to sail it hard, look for a boat with a conventional battened main, or budget for one. The furling main is convenient but it is the biggest drag on windward performance in this design.

Below decks, the two cabin boat is the one to own

The two cabin version has a vee-berth cabin forward with real standing room, a small dresser and good stowage, an L-shaped saloon with straight-lined settees that McGeary praised for comfort, and an athwartships double aft with sitting headroom at the head and an opening port in the transom. The head and shower are combined in one roomy compartment to starboard, the chart table sits forward of it and passes the chart-book test, and the galley is to port by the companionway.

The galley is compact because the passage to the aft cabin runs past it. It has a front-opening refrigerator that leaves the counter free and double sinks on the centerline, but full-size dinner plates do not fit the slim cabinets and there were no drawers for utensils. A fore-and-aft overhead grabrail is missing in the saloon, something to add before going offshore.

The three cabin version gives up part of the head and the saloon sea berth to fit a second aft cabin. It suits families and charter, but couples should hold out for two cabins.

Yanmar 29, prop pitch and engine access

Standard power was a 29 hp Yanmar on a conventional shaft, with a 40 hp option. The prop sits far enough aft to put some wash over the rudder, which helps in tight marinas. The test boat had what Hitchens called an under-pitched folding propeller and was slow to stop from full ahead; McGeary suggested a fixed or feathering prop instead, and many owners have since changed it.

Access is good. The companionway ladder hinges up on gas struts to expose the front of the engine, and panels in the head and aft cabin reach the sides. Tankage is 34 gallons of fuel. Water is listed at about 95 gallons by sailboatdata and Wikipedia, while Cruising World's spec box quoted 54 gallons, so confirm what the boat you are viewing carries.

Deep fin or shoal: picking the keel

The deep keel draws 6 ft 3 in and gives the best windward performance. The shoal keel is quoted at 1.40 m, about 4 ft 7 in, by sailboatdata and PBO, while Cruising World's 2008 spec box gave 5 ft 5 in, so measure or check the hull ID against the build sheet. Either way the shoal version carries more ballast to make up for its shorter fin.

For the Chesapeake, the Gulf Coast and the Bahamas the shoal keel is the practical pick. For New England, the Great Lakes and the West Coast we would choose the deep fin.

Oceanis 37, Beneteau 37 and Oceanis 37.1 are different boats

The naming causes confusion. Oceanis 37 and Beneteau 37 are the same Finot-Conq boat from 2006 onward. The Oceanis 37.1 is a completely different, much newer design by Marc Lombard, first built in 2023 for the 2024 model year, with twin rudders, a chined hull, a permanent bowsprit and an optional electric pod drive. It costs far more.

Telling them apart in a listing is easy: the original 37 has a single wheel and a single rudder, no hull chine and a small swim step, while the 37.1 has twin wheels and a fold-down transom. Also do not confuse the 37 with the older Beneteau 373, which is a Berret-Racoupeau design. PBO reports that the Oceanis 37 stayed in the range into the mid 2010s; the Oceanis 38, which followed, is a separate Finot-Conq design with twin rudders.

• Oceanis 37 / Beneteau 37: Finot-Conq, 2006 onward, single wheel and rudder
• Oceanis 37.1: Marc Lombard, 2023 onward, twin wheels and rudders, chined hull
• Beneteau 373: Berret-Racoupeau, launched 2004, the earlier 37 ft Oceanis

What a used Oceanis 37 costs in 2026

In Europe Beneteau advertised the Oceanis 37 from 95,900 euros before VAT in mid 2009, with the choice of two or three cabins and Advantage or Elegance trim. Today a good US Beneteau 37 for sale should ask roughly $80,000 to $125,000, with condition and equipment mattering more than model year. European listings we reviewed spanned about 69,000 to 110,000 euros.

Ownership runs about $9,000 to $17,000 a year in the US for slip, insurance, haul-out, engine service and a sail reserve. The first big bills on a boat of this age are usually standing rigging, sails and electronics.