Oceanis 411 and Beneteau 411, One Boat With Three Names

Oceanis 411, Clipper 411 or Beneteau 411

The Oceanis 411 appeared in 1997 and sold in large numbers. Yachting Monthly notes it was especially popular in America, where it was sold as the Beneteau 411, and that about 420 were sold, an unusually large number for a yacht of this size. In Europe it carried the Oceanis Clipper 411 name, which is why you will see listings for the Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 411, the Oceanis 411 Clipper and the Beneteau 411 Oceanis Clipper. They are all the same Groupe Finot hull. Sailboatdata adds the Moorings 413 and Stardust 411 as charter variants.

Cruising World named the Beneteau 411 its 1998 Boat of the Year in the full-size cruiser best value category, and Beneteau USA kept that award at the top of the boat's page for years. The 411 also predates two other boats that share the number. The Oceanis 41 of 2011 and the Oceanis 41.1 of 2016 are chined Finot-Conq designs from a different era, with twin wheels and fold-down transoms, and they typically cost about twice as much.

Finot's hull and the shoal keel America chose

Beneteau USA's specification lists an LOA of 41 ft 8 in, a waterline of 36 ft 1 in, a beam of 13 ft and a displacement of 17,196 lb. Sailboatdata quotes the same displacement with 5,500 lb of ballast. Yachting Monthly gives a hull length of 40 ft 4 in, which is the figure European brokers tend to use, so do not be surprised if listings disagree by a foot or more.

US boats came standard with a shoal draft cast iron bulb keel drawing just 4 ft 9 in, which made the 411 a natural fit for the Chesapeake, Florida and the Bahamas. Yachting Monthly quotes 5 ft 6 in for the deeper European version. The trade-off of the shoal keel is windward ability, and Yachting Monthly later described the 411 as rather sedate under sail compared with the 423 that replaced it. Treat it as a comfortable, easy cruiser rather than a boat for beating to windward.

Construction followed Beneteau practice of the time: a laminated hull with an internal fiberglass grid, a balsa-cored deck for stiffness and insulation, and bulkheads bonded all the way round to hull and deck. One unusual detail in the US equipment list is a carbon fiber composite rudder, rudder tube and quadrant.

Raised bulwarks, a 42 inch wheel and a furling mast

The rig is a deck-stepped masthead sloop with a roller furling mast, double aft-swept spreaders and discontinuous 1x19 rigging, with a Profurl furler for the 140 percent genoa. Beneteau USA quotes 882 sq ft of sail area and a mast height of 58 ft 5 in above the water. Sheets run to two Lewmar 48 self-tailing winches on the coaming, and halyards and reefing lines come aft through stoppers to two Lewmar 40s on the coachroof.

Practical touches include a molded raised bulwark with a teak cap rail along the side decks, a built-in coaming for a dodger, a single 42 inch leather-wrapped wheel and a helmsman's seat that lifts to give access to the transom and swim platform. Two cockpit lockers, a propane locker and a locker under the helm seat cover stowage.

Two heads in every layout

Every version has two heads, which is generous for a 41 footer of the late 1990s. In the US, the 411 was sold in two-cabin and three-cabin form, and Yachting Monthly notes a four-cabin version too. The forward cabin is the same in both US layouts, with a 6 ft 7 in by 4 ft 9 in double, a settee, drawers and a hanging locker, and its own head.

The two-cabin version is the one to want. Its single aft cabin gets a double berth 6 ft 1 in wide at the shoulders, and the galley gains a front and top opening icebox with 12 volt refrigeration and a freezer. Yachting Monthly called the two-cabin model, with its large owner's suite forward, a successful blue-water cruiser. The three-cabin layout splits the stern into two doubles and moves the galley to the side of the saloon with a dedicated chart table. Headroom in the saloon reaches 6 ft 4 in, and interiors were finished in cherry-stained mahogany or teak.

• Fresh water about 145 to 158 gal in two integral fiberglass tanks
• Fuel 39 gal in an aluminum tank
• Holding tanks of 13.5 and 15 gal
• Force Ten two-burner stove with oven

The midnight blue 411 Limited

Beneteau USA's 2002 website promoted the 411 Limited, a package with a midnight blue gelcoat hull, a Heart Freedom 2500 inverter, a Horizon 1000 watt windlass, 54 size primary winches, a 56 hp Yanmar diesel in place of the standard 40 hp Westerbeke, bright finished hatches and ports, chrome cowl vents and upgraded cushions. Beneteau priced the package at $7,400 against a stated retail value of $17,190.

On the used market the Limited is worth a little more, mainly for the bigger engine and the windlass. Dark gelcoat fades and chalks, and Beneteau warned at the time that it was not warranted against discoloration, so inspect the topsides carefully.

Engines, tanks and the age question

The standard US engine was a 40 hp Westerbeke with a fixed three-blade propeller, accessed by lifting the two-part fiberglass companionway on a gas spring. Fuel capacity is small at 39 gallons. Many boats have now been repowered, and a modern diesel adds meaningful value. Ask whether the original aluminum fuel tank has been inspected or replaced, since tanks of this age can corrode.

Beyond the engine, the usual 25 year items apply: standing rigging, the furling mast mechanism, chainplates, deck hardware bedding, portlights and hatches, and wiring that several owners have extended. Keel bolts and the grid around them deserve particular attention on boats that have spent years in shallow water with a 4 ft 9 in keel.

What a 2000 Beneteau 411 sells for

Beneteau 411 for sale listings in the US mostly ask between $75,000 and $130,000 in 2026. A 2000 Beneteau 411 in average condition sits in the middle of that band. Budget $9,000 to $18,000 a year for running costs, plus a reserve for sails, rigging and electronics.

Beneteau USA still listed the 411 alongside the new 423 in mid-2003, and sailboatdata gives 2005 as the last build year, so very late boats exist but are uncommon in the US.