Beneteau Cruising Sailboats

Beneteau Oceanis 48 Specs, Price and Ownership Guide

A 15 ft 7 in beam, a hard chine and an electric transom that won an innovation award: the boat a Beneteau consultant called a mono-maran.

2011 to present Discontinued Updated

Beneteau Oceanis 311 at anchor in the UK
For reference, Beneteau Oceanis 311 at anchor in the UK, not the Beneteau Oceanis 48. Photo: Timbow001, CC0, source
Length
47.9 ft14.6 m
Beam
15.6 ft4.74 m
Draft
7.1 ft2.17 m
Cabins
2 or 3 in the US equipment list; a 4 cabin plan was also offered
Used price
$230K to $400K
On this page
  1. Overview
  2. An innovation award for a transom
  3. Not a stretched Oceanis 45
  4. Owner's suite forward, with a shower in the middle of the room
  5. Light air on Biscayne Bay
  6. The arch, the clutches and short-handed sailing
  7. From 75 hp saildrive to common rail and Dock & Go
  8. What a Beneteau 48 is worth now
  9. Specifications
  10. Price and value
  11. Strengths and weaknesses
  12. Used buyer checklist
  13. Rivals
  14. Our verdict
  15. FAQ

The Beneteau Oceanis 48 is a 47 ft 11 in Berret-Racoupeau cruiser with a Nauta interior, shown in 2011 and built into 2017. It has a chined hull, a mainsheet arch, an electric fold-down transom and two to four cabins.

Best for
  • Couples who entertain at anchor
  • Families who want a three cabin boat with a big cockpit
  • Mediterranean style marina and anchorage cruising
  • Owners who want joystick docking

An innovation award for a transom

The Beneteau Oceanis 48 arrived in the US with a trophy already on board. At the Miami show in early 2012, Cruising World's Herb McCormick reported, it won a National Marine Manufacturers Association Innovation Award for its electric fold-down transom, which adds about 3 ft of usable deck to the cockpit at anchor. Beneteau's own photography shows the boat in Portofino in September 2011, so European buyers saw it first.

The 48 was the largest of three new Oceanis models launched together, alongside the 41 and the 45, and it shares their look: a hull chine, a big twin-wheel cockpit and a fixed arch that carries the mainsheet and frames the dodger and bimini. Sean Brown, a yacht designer consulting for Beneteau, called it a mono-maran, and the description fits. With 15 ft 7 in of beam on a 48 foot hull, the boat has the volume of a small catamaran inside.

Beneteau Oceanis 48 by the numbers

LOA 47' 11" / 14.61 mBeam 15' 7" / 4.75 mBow
Plan view drawn to scale from the published length and beam.
Sail area to displacement
21.0Plenty of sail for the weight, the boat should feel lively in light air.
Displacement to length
132Light displacement for its length, quick but sensitive to added cruising weight.
Theoretical hull speed
9.0 knThe practical top speed of a displacement monohull under normal sailing, based on waterline length.
Ballast ratio
28%Relatively low ballast, form stability does more of the work.
Capsize screening
2.06Above 2.0, so this hull leans toward coastal stability over ultimate offshore resistance.
Motion comfort ratio
24.0A quicker motion in waves, typical of light, beamy hulls.
Length to beam ratio
3.08 : 1Moderate proportions.

Length compared with the 149 cruising sailboats we cover

22 ft63 ft

Not a stretched Oceanis 45

Buyers often assume the 48 is a longer version of the best-selling Oceanis 45. It is not. The 45 and 41 were drawn by Finot-Conq, while the 48 came from Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design, with the interior by Nauta Design. The family resemblance is in the styling brief, not the lines.

Beneteau's 2017 North American specification gives a hull length of 46 ft 10 in and a waterline of 45 ft 6 in, which means the bow is almost plumb and the hull uses nearly all of its length when sailing. Light displacement is 27,765 lb. The deep keel draws 7 ft 1 in with 7,826 lb of cast iron; a shallow keel draws 6 ft and carries 8,951 lb. Earlier sources such as sailboatdata list a shorter 43 ft waterline and a heavier displacement, so use the builder figures but check the documents of the boat you are viewing.

Owner's suite forward, with a shower in the middle of the room

Unlike many Beneteaus, the Oceanis 48 puts the owner in the bow. McCormick found a large island berth and an enclosed head, plus a glass shower stall set to starboard, more or less in the middle of the cabin, which he could not remember seeing on any other production boat. Buyers who want more privacy should look for the sand finish screen Beneteau offered as an option.

The US equipment list shows two layouts, two cabins with two heads or three cabins with two heads, and Cruising World also described a four cabin plan with twin cabins at both ends. The saloon has a large settee and dining table to starboard and, to port, a settee with a sliding modular table that can become a work desk or a breakfast nook. Headroom is about 6 ft 6 in in the saloon. The L-shaped galley sits below the companionway with a separate sink, a 26 gallon top-opening icebox and a 34 gallon front-opening refrigerator.

Light air on Biscayne Bay

Cruising World's test day was flat and almost windless, so the crew motored in search of breeze. The standard 75 hp Yanmar pushed the boat at 8.3 knots at 2,500 rpm. Once they found 5 to 6 knots of wind and shut down, the 48 made 4 to 4.5 knots hard on the wind, a respectable result for a heavy, beamy cruiser with a 105 percent genoa.

The sail plan is balanced: Beneteau's standard main and genoa are each about 603 sq ft, with an asymmetric spinnaker of 1,722 sq ft offered. The chine helps the boat stand up to its sail once heeled. The 48 has a single rudder, and on a stern this broad it pays to reef before the heel builds and the rudder starts to lose bite. A Performance Pack added better sails and a German mainsheet system led to both helms.

The arch, the clutches and short-handed sailing

The fixed composite arch is the key to the deck layout. It moves the mainsheet out of the cockpit, gives a strong frame for canvas and provides handholds when moving forward. All lines except the topping lift run back to eight clutches and two self-tailing coachroof winches, with two larger winches for the genoa sheets. A port electric primary was a popular option and is worth looking for.

Forward, there is a deck-access sail locker with a ladder and shelving, and a 1,500 watt windlass with remote control. Aft, the transom folds down into a swim platform about 9 ft 4 in wide. The cockpit table carries storage and trim tabs, and the helm consoles hold instruments and the engine controls.

From 75 hp saildrive to common rail and Dock & Go

Early boats were tested with a 75 hp Yanmar. By the 2017 model year Beneteau's US list specified an 80 hp Yanmar common rail engine on a saildrive, with an optional 80 hp Dock & Go package that adds a swiveling saildrive, a joystick, a bow thruster and an autopilot. Dock & Go makes the 48 easy to berth with two people, but it is a proprietary system, so ask for service records and confirm a local dealer can support it.

Standard tankage is modest: 53 gallons of fuel with a second 53 gallon tank optional, and about 98 gallons of water with extra tanks offered. The option list ran to a 7.5 kVA generator, air conditioning, a 60 liter per hour watermaker, a diesel heater and a 2 kVA inverter. The 48 carries CE Category A certification for up to 11 people.

What a Beneteau 48 is worth now

In 2026 a Beneteau Oceanis 48 for sale in the US typically asks between about $230,000 and $400,000. Early 2012 and 2013 boats with basic equipment start near the bottom; late boats with common rail engines, Dock & Go and full cruising options approach the top. Most of the fleet sits in between, and buyers have a decent choice because the model was popular in Europe and in charter.

The boat was succeeded in Beneteau's range by the Oceanis 51.1 in 2017 and the Oceanis 46.1 in 2018. That has helped values: buyers who want the chined, wide-stern look but not the price of a 51.1 often land on a good 48. Expect annual costs of about $20,000 to $38,000 for slip, insurance, haul-out and upkeep on the US East Coast.

Beneteau Oceanis 48 specifications

Length overall47.9 ft14.6 m
Waterline length45.5 ft13.86 m
Beam15.6 ft4.74 m
Draft7.1 ft2.17 m
Air draft71.2 ft21.7 m
Displacement27,765 lbs12,594 kg
Ballast7,826 lbs3,55 kg
Sail area1,206 sq ft112 m²
Fuel capacity53 gal2 L
Fresh water98 gal37 L
Cabins2 or 3 in the US equipment list; a 4 cabin plan was also offered
Berths4 to 8
Heads2
Maximum persons11
Standard enginesYanmar 75 hp saildrive (early boats); Yanmar 80 hp common rail saildrive (2017 list)
Optional enginesYanmar 80 hp with Dock & Go joystick pod, bow thruster and autopilot
Maximum power80 hp
Cruise speed8.3 knots
Hull typeBeamy chined fin keel monohull with single spade rudder
KeelCast iron fin with bulb, 7 ft 1 in deep or 6 ft shallow
RigFractional 9/10 deck-stepped sloop with two aft swept spreaders, mainsheet on a composite arch
Hull constructionMonolithic polyester hull with bonded structural liner; injection molded balsa sandwich deck
CE design categoryA
BuilderBeneteau, France
Naval architectBerret-Racoupeau Yacht Design
Other design creditsNauta Design (interior)
Production2011 to present
StatusDiscontinued

Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.

How much does a Beneteau Oceanis 48 cost?

New, typical sail-awayNo longer built
Used, typical asking$230K to $400K
Yearly running costs$20K to $38K

Oceanis 48 values depend heavily on options. Boats with Dock & Go, a generator, air conditioning, the deep keel and electric winches can be worth $40,000 to $60,000 more than a basic boat of the same year. Ex-charter four cabin boats trade at a clear discount. Late boats from 2016 and 2017 with the common rail engine and newer electronics are the most sought after.

Estimated used asking prices by model year, US market, 2026
$200K$300K$400K20122012, $230,000 to $300,00020132013, $240,000 to $315,00020142014, $255,000 to $330,00020152015, $270,000 to $350,00020162016, $285,000 to $370,00020172017, $300,000 to $400,000

Estimate your yearly cost

A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.

Versions and options

Two cabin, two head
Owner's suite forward and one large aft cabin; the best resale choice for private owners.
Three cabin, two head
Owner forward and two doubles aft, the most common family layout.
Four cabin
Twin cabins forward and aft, mainly for charter fleets.
Dock & Go
Yanmar joystick system with a swiveling saildrive, bow thruster and autopilot.
Deep or shallow keel
7 ft 1 in deep keel or 6 ft shallow keel with more ballast.

Beneteau Oceanis 48 timeline

  1. 2011Oceanis 48 photographed in Portofino as Beneteau launches the 41, 45 and 48 together
  2. 2012NMMA Innovation Award for the electric fold-down transom at the Miami show
  3. 2017US equipment list specifies an 80 hp common rail Yanmar; the Oceanis 51.1 launches above it
  4. 2018Oceanis 46.1 joins the range as the new mid-size Oceanis

Strengths and weaknesses

What owners like

  • Huge cockpit and award-winning fold-down transom
  • Owner's suite forward with an unusual glass shower
  • Long waterline and good light air pace
  • Mainsheet on the arch keeps the cockpit clear
  • Dock & Go option for easy berthing
  • Category A certification

What to weigh up

  • Only 53 gallons of fuel as standard
  • Single rudder on a very wide stern needs early reefing
  • Shower in the middle of the owner's cabin is not for everyone
  • Saildrive and pod systems need specialist service

Used Beneteau Oceanis 48 buyer checklist

Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.

Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.

Rivals to consider

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 479

The sister brand's chined 47 footer with walk-around side decks and a lower cockpit.

Bavaria Cruiser 46

A slightly smaller German cruiser, usually cheaper, with a twin wheel cockpit and lots of volume.

Compare side by side

Dufour 460 Grand Large

French alternative with a big cockpit and a beamy hull of similar philosophy.

Compare side by side

Beneteau Oceanis 45

The smaller Finot-Conq sibling, more common and cheaper, with a similar cockpit concept.

Compare side by side

Our verdict on the Beneteau Oceanis 48

The Oceanis 48 is a cockpit with a very good boat attached. Berret-Racoupeau gave it a long waterline, a hard chine and enough beam to make the inside feel like a catamaran, and Beneteau added the fold-down transom that won it an award. It sails better than its looks suggest in light air, and Dock & Go makes it easy to handle in a marina. Watch the small standard fuel tank, the single rudder on a broad stern and the complexity of the options. A well-equipped late boat is the one to buy, and it remains strong value next to a used Oceanis 51.1.

Beneteau Oceanis 48 questions answered

Who designed the Beneteau Oceanis 48?

Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design drew the hull and Nauta Design the interior. It is not a Finot-Conq design like the Oceanis 41 and 45.

When was the Oceanis 48 built?

It was shown in Europe in 2011, reached the US in 2012 and was still listed in Beneteau's North American equipment list in June 2017.

What engine does the Beneteau 48 have?

Early boats had a 75 hp Yanmar on a saildrive; later boats had an 80 hp common rail Yanmar, with an optional Dock & Go joystick pod.

How fast is the Oceanis 48 under power?

Cruising World recorded 8.3 knots at 2,500 rpm with the standard 75 hp Yanmar.

What does a Beneteau Oceanis 48 for sale cost?

In 2026 US asking prices run from about $230,000 for early basic boats to about $400,000 for late, well-optioned examples.

Is the Beneteau 48 a sailboat or a trawler?

The Oceanis 48 is a sailboat. Beneteau also built a Swift Trawler 48, a power boat, so check which one a listing describes.

More cruising sailboats to explore

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