Beneteau Oceanis 38 Buyer's Guide, the Boat You Could Rebuild Below

Your Boat, Your Rules, the idea behind the Beneteau Oceanis 38

The Beneteau Oceanis 38 made its US debut at the Annapolis sailboat show in the fall of 2013 under the marketing line Your Boat, Your Rules. Cruising World's reviewer called it a rewrite of what a production builder could offer, because the buyer could choose how much boat to fit out below and then add or remove bunks, tables, the galley and even bulkheads as life changed. A couple could start with an open weekender, add cabins when children arrived and take them out again later.

The juries liked it. The Oceanis 38 won SAIL's Best Boats award for 2014 in the 31 to 40 ft monohull class and the Family Cruiser category of European Yacht of the Year 2014. Cruising World quoted prices from about $125,000 for a bare-bones boat to $225,000 and up for a fully loaded cruiser, which gives you an idea of how wide the spread of equipment is on the used market today.

In 2017 Beneteau updated the boat and renamed it the Oceanis 38.1, keeping the hull but simplifying the menu. If you see an Oceanis 38 for sale, it will date from 2013 to 2017; anything later is a 38.1.

Daysailer, Weekender, Cruiser, and how to tell them apart

Beneteau sold three versions. The Daysailer was the minimalist: one open space below with a forward berth and head, a sink instead of a full galley, no mainsheet arch as standard, and an overall length of 36 ft 7 in rather than 37 ft 9 in. It was also lighter, at about 13,437 lb against 15,102 lb for the Cruiser. The Weekender came with the arch and two or three convertible cabins, and the Cruiser added the full galley module with stove, oven, fridge and storage.

All three share a removable forward bulkhead between the forecabin and saloon. With it out, Yachting Monthly called the space below sensational, and SAIL's tester expected many couples to leave the panels in the garage. Instead of hard lockers, Beneteau partnered with Longchamp on soft hanging luggage that hooks onto handles beside the V-berth, which is clever for a weekend but less useful for long cruises.

On the used market the quickest tells are the arch over the cockpit, the galley module and the number of aft cabins. Ask for the original build sheet, because owners have converted boats in both directions.

• Daysailer: one open cabin, head, sink, optional arch, 36 ft 7 in overall
• Weekender: arch standard, two or three convertible cabins
• Cruiser: two or three cabins with full galley, the most common US spec

Twin rudders, a hard chine and a 35 ft waterline

Finot-Conq drew a hull with a near-plumb bow, a slightly reversed transom, a hard chine running from well forward to the stern and beam carried right aft. The waterline is 35 ft 2 in on a 37 ft 9 in boat, which Yachting Monthly noted was 13 in longer than a Dehler 38. Twin rudders keep grip as the wide stern heels, and SAIL said the chine helps the boat sail up to five degrees flatter.

Construction is a polyester hull with a liner bonded in early in assembly, an injection-molded deck cored with Saerfoam and a hull to deck joint that is glued, screwed and finished with a small toerail. The keel is cast iron and the rudder stocks stainless steel. Three keels were offered: a 6 ft 10 in deep fin, a 5 ft 5 in shoal fin and a lifting keel drawing 4 ft 2 in up and 7 ft 10 in down.

The ratios say quick cruiser: a sail area to displacement ratio near 18.6 and a displacement to length ratio of about 155, per sailboatdata. The ballast ratio is low at 26 percent, but the bulb keel and the boat's beam give it good form stability.

What the testers measured

Yachting Monthly sailed a Cruiser in Palma with full main and 103 percent jib in 11 to 13 knots of true wind. Fetching at 50 to 60 degrees apparent it made 6.8 to 7.4 knots, and close-hauled at 35 to 40 degrees it made 5.9 to 6.4 knots while tacking through about 85 degrees. Under gennaker it beam reached at 7.4 to 8.1 knots in 12 to 13 knots apparent.

SAIL's test after Annapolis was a drifter, but a 7 knot puff still pushed the boat to 3.8 knots at 45 degrees, and the tester found it easy to singlehand. Under power the 30 hp Yanmar saildrive pushed it to 7.1 knots at 2,700 rpm in flat water, and with twin rudders it backed straight and turned precisely.

Both magazines had complaints at the helm. Yachting Monthly found the wheel gave little feedback and that sitting outboard put the backstay across your neck, while the transom lifelines were too far aft to lean against. Tall helmsmen tend to stand.

Arch, cockpit and the drop-down transom

The 9/10 fractional Z-Spars mast is deck-stepped, has two sets of swept spreaders and was moved aft to sit over the keel for a larger foretriangle. Standard sails were a 103 percent genoa on a Facnor furler and an Elvstrom main, with a self-tacking jib, Code 0 and asymmetric spinnaker on the options list. On Weekender and Cruiser boats the mainsheet runs to the composite arch, which also makes a natural frame for a dodger and bimini.

Twin wheels leave a clear walkway from the companionway to the transom, which hinges down to make a swim platform 8 ft 6 in wide. Side decks are wide and the fixed cockpit table gives crew a brace when heeled. Two-cabin boats get a big starboard cockpit locker; three-cabin boats lose it.

Headroom, hull windows and a stand-up shower

Saloon headroom is about 6 ft 5 in, and big hull windows in the saloon and forecabin make the boat feel larger than it is. The galley on Cruiser boats is a straight run to starboard with a front-opening fridge. The chart table is small and faces aft. The forecabin double measures roughly 6 ft 10 in by 4 ft 11 in and has a drawer, water tank, batteries and the bow thruster beneath it.

In the two-cabin layout the space aft to starboard becomes a separate shower room that SAIL described as big enough to double as a wet locker. Three-cabin boats move a smaller shower to port. Standard water is only 34 gallons, with an optional 53 gallon tank, and fuel is 34 gallons, so check what the boat you are viewing actually carries.

Owning an Oceanis 38 today

Plan on $11,000 to $22,000 a year to keep one in the US, covering slip, insurance, haul-out, saildrive service and a sail and canvas reserve. The saildrive needs regular diaphragm and seal checks and fresh anodes. Boats that spent their life as daysailers often have low engine hours but may lack the electrical and plumbing upgrades a cruising couple wants.

We would pay a premium for a Cruiser with the arch, two cabins, the separate shower and either the deep keel for performance or the shoal keel for thin water. Expect to pay $135,000 to $205,000 for a good example in 2026.