Beneteau 373 (Oceanis Clipper 373) Review and Used Buying Guide

Beneteau 373, Oceanis 373 or Clipper 373, it is one boat

Search for a Beneteau 373 and you will find the same 37 footer under three names. In Europe it was the Oceanis Clipper 373, the Clipper tag marking a package where items such as the electric windlass came as standard. American dealers simply called it the Beneteau 373, part of a period when Beneteau USA dropped the Oceanis label and sold its cruisers by number alone, as Practical Sailor noted at the time. Brokers now list it every possible way, so check all three spellings when you shop.

The design dates from 2004 and came from Berret-Racoupeau, the La Rochelle studio of Jean Berret and Olivier Racoupeau, with Nauta Design styling the interior. Beneteau files it with its Oceanis Clipper generation, the cruising line that ran from 1995 to 2008, and the Finot-Conq Oceanis 37 (also sold in the US as the Beneteau 37) took over the size bracket afterwards. We could not find a reliable production total or a confirmed final model year, so treat any listing that claims a rare build number with some caution.

A Berret-Racoupeau hull drawn for cruising, not for a rating

Beneteau's own brochure called the 373 a cruiser first, with a deep keel and balanced sail plan for tracking and tacking ability. The numbers are honest for a 37 ft family boat: 36 ft 11 in overall, a 32 ft 10 in waterline, 12 ft 4 in of beam and 14,617 lb light displacement. Draft is 6 ft 1 in with the standard cast iron fin or 4 ft 9 in with the optional shoal keel, which carries more iron (4,844 lb against 3,867 lb) to compensate for the shorter lever.

Sailboatdata works that out to a sail area to displacement ratio of about 19 and a displacement to length ratio near 185, which puts it squarely in the light to moderate cruiser band. The ballast ratio is only about 26 percent with the deep keel, so stability comes mostly from beam and form. That is typical of the class and fine for coastal sailing, but it is one reason the boat likes an early reef.

Construction follows the Beneteau formula of the era. The hull is single-skin fiberglass with a structural inner moulding bonded and laminated in to take keel, rudder and chainplate loads. The shroud chainplates tie into that moulding with stainless rods, the deck is a balsa sandwich, and an open aluminium toerail is bonded and screwed along the hull to deck joint. The keel is bolted through a stainless backing plate and bonded.

The genoa does the work, and rig tension matters

Berret and Racoupeau gave the 373 a sail plan that ran against the trend of its day. The mainsail is about 31 square meters and the furling genoa about 36, so the headsail is the bigger sail, and it sheets outboard of the shrouds. The mast is a deck-stepped 9/10 fractional spar with two sets of swept spreaders and twin backstays. Total reported sail area is 716 sq ft, and a 98 square meter spinnaker was offered.

Practical Boat Owner's 2004 test is the most useful thing a buyer can read. The test boat arrived with slack rigging, the forestay sagged, the genoa was too full and the boat heeled and rounded up upwind. After the crew tightened the backstays, moved the genoa cars aft and worked on main trim, speed rose from 5 to 5.5 knots and the boat became controllable under full sail with 17 knots over the deck. The tester's conclusion was that this hull needs a properly tuned rig and good leech control, and that it went downwind happily and hove to well.

For an owner the lesson is simple. Budget for a rigger to set up tension when you buy, consider a newer, flatter genoa, and reef the genoa early. A 373 sailed that way is a pleasant 6 knot coastal boat. One sailed with a baggy original headsail and a loose forestay will feel sluggish to windward.

Forty horsepower and a small fuel tank

Beneteau rated the 373 for a maximum of 40 hp, and that is what most boats carry. Sailboatdata lists a Yanmar 3JH4E, while PBO's European test boat had a 40 hp Volvo, so check which you are buying, because parts support and service history differ. The engine drives a fixed three-blade propeller on a conventional shaft, and the factory moulded a fiberglass fairing around the shaft. The companionway steps hinge up for good access to the front of the engine.

PBO found the boat more impressive under power than under sail. It made over 6 knots at only 2,000 rpm and 8 knots at full throttle, and stopped quickly in reverse. Like many boats of the period, it kicks to port when backing before settling down.

Tankage is the weak spot for longer trips: 125 liters (33 gallons) of diesel and 374 liters (99 gallons) of water in two tanks, one forward and one aft, according to Beneteau's November 2005 specification. That is enough for weekends and coastal hops but not for a long motor down the ICW without planning fuel stops.

Two cabins or three, and one very large head

Below, the 373 offers a V-berth double forward, a saloon with facing settees around a drop-leaf table, an L-shaped galley to port at the foot of the companionway and a forward-facing chart table to starboard. Saloon headroom is about 6 ft 7 in. The owner's version has one big double aft cabin and gives the space on the other side to the head, which Beneteau marketed as exceptionally spacious, with a separate shower area and a 2.2 m moulded unit.

The three-cabin version adds a second identical aft double. It was a popular charter choice, but PBO pointed out that it shrinks the head, galley and chart table, and shortens the port saloon berth. For a couple or a small family, the two-cabin layout is the more livable boat and has more cockpit locker space.

Galley equipment as built was a two-burner gimballed stove with oven, a double sink and a 110 liter top-loading icebox with refrigeration, with a front-opening fridge offered as an option on two-cabin boats. Joinery was a light fruitwood finish, and Beneteau made a point of putting at least two sources of natural light in every space.

• Two-cabin owner layout: forward double, one aft double, large head with separate shower
• Three-cabin layout: two identical aft doubles, smaller head and galley
• Berths: 4 to 6 in the two-cabin boat, 6 to 8 in the three-cabin boat

The swing-away wheel and the two-level deck

Beneteau introduced a two-level deck on the 373, with a raised coachroof forward and a cleaner run aft, intended to make moving around and handling lines easier. The cockpit has a single wheel on a pedestal that pivots out of the way (a Beneteau patent) and a helm seat that also pivots to open the path to the swim platform. That pairing is the boat's best party trick, because it gives a single-wheel 37 footer the transom access of a twin-wheel design.

The running rigging comes back to the cockpit, with self-tailing Harken primaries within reach of the helm and a smaller winch on the coachroof to port. The mainsheet runs to a traveler with the tail led to the coachroof winch, so the helmsman cannot easily trim the main alone. PBO liked how the genoa reefing line was led aft through blocks on the inside of the toerail rather than on stanchion bases.

What a Beneteau 373 for sale costs in 2026

Expect most US asking prices between about $68,000 and $112,000. The spread has less to do with year than with what has been replaced. A boat with new standing rigging, a recent genoa and a well documented engine is worth the premium, because those three items alone can cost $20,000 or more to bring up to date on a tired example.

Annual running costs for a US owner typically fall between $9,000 and $18,000, depending on slip fees, haul-out and bottom paint, insurance and a reserve for sails and canvas. The 373 is cheaper to keep than most 38 to 40 footers because it is shorter, lighter and simpler, with one head and a shaft drive rather than a saildrive.

Compared with the newer Oceanis 37 and the larger Oceanis 393, the 373 is the budget entry to a modern-looking Beneteau with a proper aft cabin. Buyers who want to race should look at a First, and those planning offshore passages should look at a heavier boat, but for a coastal couple it remains good value.