Oceanis 393 and Beneteau 393 Buyer's Guide

Paris debut, South Carolina production

The Oceanis 393 was unveiled at the Paris Boat Show in the winter of 2000 and, according to Beneteau USA's June 2001 announcement, had already passed 250 orders in Europe by that summer. It reached American shows that fall as the Beneteau 393 for the 2002 model year, and Wayne Burdick called it the first totally new model built at the recently expanded factory in Marion, South Carolina. Practical Sailor later reported 72 US orders in the first year.

Beneteau presented it as a smaller sister of the 473, which had won Cruising World's Best Production Cruiser over $200,000 award in 2001, and drew both with Berret-Racoupeau. In Europe the boat was sold as the Oceanis Clipper 393, in the US as the Beneteau 393 or Oceanis 393, and to the Moorings fleet as the Moorings 403.

Production totals differ by source. Practical Sailor says 600 were built between 2002 and 2007; PBO puts the total, counting both sides of the Atlantic, above 700. Either way the 393 was one of the most successful 39 footers of its decade, and the Beneteau 40 replaced it in 2007.

A scaled-down 473 with a longer waterline

Beneteau USA listed the 393 at 39 ft 4 in overall with a 35 ft 1 in waterline, a 13 ft beam and 17,152 lb of displacement. Burdick told Practical Sailor that the new boat had more than two feet of extra waterline over the Oceanis 381 it replaced, plus a sail area to displacement ratio raised from about 14.5 to about 16, and that the generous beam was a deliberate step toward form stability and speed.

Practical Sailor described the hull as relatively flat-bottomed, with powerful aft sections and an eased turn of the bilge, and noted that the 393 relies more on its 13 ft 1 in beam than on ballast, at a ballast ratio of about 31 percent. The trade-off of that flat bottom is a shallow bilge, though a deep sump keeps water away from the cabin sole.

Deep fin, shoal fin and why the shoal one weighs more

The 393 belongs to what PBO calls the third Oceanis generation, the models ending in 3 that began with the 473. Their big change was the option of deep, low center of gravity keels and higher aspect rudders, which improved handling, windward speed and ultimate stability over the lightly ballasted early Oceanis boats.

Two cast iron keels were offered: a deep fin drawing 6 ft 3 in and a shoal fin drawing 5 ft 1 in. To keep righting moment on the shallower keel, Beneteau added low-slung ballast; PBO lists about 4,650 lb for the deep keel and about 5,380 lb for the shoal. Shoal boats were popular in the US, and Beneteau USA's own spec listed the 5 ft 1 in draft as standard.

Thin-water cruisers will live happily with the shoal fin. For going farther afield, Practical Sailor recommended the deep keel, a classic main and close attention to the rig.

A suite forward, and two ways to finish the back half

Every 393 has the same forward end: an owner's cabin with an offset double berth, a small settee and a passage leading to a private head and shower right in the bow. It is an unusual arrangement for a 39 footer and one of the boat's best features. The saloon, with a U-shaped dinette for about eight, a central bench and three large deck windows overhead, is common to both versions, as is a second head aft.

In the two cabin version tested by Cruising World, a large athwartships double sits under the cockpit to starboard, a U-shaped galley lies to port by the companionway, and a navigation desk and a big bar and cabinet unit take the place of a starboard settee. That cabinet adds storage but costs a sea berth. In the three cabin version two fore-and-aft doubles sit under the cockpit, the chart table moves to port and a linear galley runs along the starboard side.

Practical Sailor called the choice too close to call. The three cabin boat has a bigger, dedicated navigation station and an extra hanging locker, but loses the good cockpit locker, and its linear galley is less secure at sea. For a couple, the two cabin boat with its U-shaped galley and huge aft double is our pick.

• Both layouts: forward suite with ensuite head, U-shaped dinette, second head aft
• Two cabins: athwartships aft double, U-shaped galley, bar cabinet, big cockpit locker
• Three cabins: two aft doubles, linear galley, larger chart table, extra hanging locker

A T-shaped cockpit and a traveler ahead of the dodger

Cruising World sailed a two cabin boat on Narragansett Bay in about 17 knots of gusty southwesterly and steep, tide-opposed waves. Hard on the wind it punched through at around 6.5 knots and the cockpit stayed surprisingly dry without a dodger; reaching, the fine entry and broad flat aft sections made it, in the reviewer's words, a blast. All lines lead aft, single-line reefing worked quickly and the T-shaped cockpit lets crew move easily around the single wheel.

Practical Sailor sailed one off Newport in 12 knots. Pinched to 30 degrees apparent it slid to leeward, but at about 40 degrees it was balanced and weatherly, tacking consistently inside 85 degrees, and the deep rudder resisted ventilating when pressed. Both magazines wanted a centerline foot brace, because the cockpit well is too wide to brace across.

The mainsheet traveler sits on the coachroof forward of the sprayhood, with the sheet handled at the companionway. That keeps the cockpit clear, but it means the helmsman cannot trim the main, which matters when sailing shorthanded.

Westerbeke 40, tankage and how it was built

US boats have a 40 hp Westerbeke diesel, and Cruising World found the boat handled exceptionally well under power in gusty harbor conditions. Access from beneath the companionway and both quarter cabins is very good. Beneteau USA listed 36 gallons of fuel and 119 gallons of water, while Practical Sailor quoted 35 and 130.

Construction is solid glass with a structural grid, a balsa-cored deck that is solid where hardware is mounted, and an inward-turned hull flange that takes the deck on a bed of sealant, bolted at cleats and stanchions and screwed on six inch centers elsewhere. The mast is deck-stepped with a babystay; Practical Sailor thought a 39 footer deserved a keel-stepped mast and advised owners to dote on the rig. The iron keel's coating must be kept intact so the metal never meets the water.

Beneteau 393 for sale in 2026

We estimate US asking prices of roughly $72,000 to $118,000 in 2026, with 2002 to 2003 boats at the lower end and well kept 2006 to 2007 boats at the top. European Clipper 393 listings we saw ranged from about 65,000 to 86,000 euros for 2001 to 2004 boats, and PBO puts typical UK sales at 70,000 to 90,000 pounds.

Running a 393 in the US costs about $9,500 to $18,000 a year. Beyond the usual slip, insurance and haul-out, budget for standing rigging and furling gear on any boat without recent receipts. If you see a Cyclades 39.3 at a lower price, remember it shares the hull but has a cored hull, twin wheels and a charter-only layout.