Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 60 Specs, Price and Ownership Guide

A flagship built by subtraction

The Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 60 made its world premiere at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September 2022, as the larger sister of the Oceanis Yacht 54 in Beneteau's premium bluewater line. It followed the Oceanis Yacht 62, and the headline difference is weight. Yachting World reported a reduction of around five tonnes, and SAIL put it at more than 10,000 pounds, with the 60 tipping the scales at about 47,840 pounds lightship.

That weight came off mainly through lower freeboard and a more efficient structure, without losing interior volume. The result is a 62-foot yacht that looks less like a floating apartment block than its predecessor and, more importantly, sails like a much smaller boat. SAIL nominated it for its Best Boats awards and described a finger-light helm.

Beneteau also designed it around a specific owner. The builder told SAIL it expected only about 20 percent of buyers to employ a professional captain, with the rest sailing as a couple or with family. That brief explains most of the boat's choices, from the in-mast furling main to the electric winches at the binnacles.

Roberto Biscontini's hull and Lorenzo Argento's cockpit

The hull is by Roberto Biscontini, whose studio has a long background in racing yacht design. Yachting World noted that it borrows from Beneteau's recent First 44 and First 53, with flare above the waterline at the transom and soft chines for light air speed and stability in a breeze. Twin rudders keep grip as the boat heels, and Yacht magazine notes the keel is an L-shaped fin rather than the T-keel used on the Oceanis Yacht 54.

Italian designer Lorenzo Argento drew the deck and interior. His signature here is the walk-around cockpit first seen on the 54, with twin helm stations outboard and clear walkways from the transom to the side decks. Superyacht-style binnacles carry the winch controls, so the helmsman can trim without stepping away from the wheel. A semi-rigid bimini with a sliding central section is optional and turns the cockpit into a usable shaded room in the tropics.

Sea trial on Biscayne Bay

SAIL tested the performance-rig version, which adds 5 feet of mast and 20 percent more upwind sail area, off Miami in 10 to 12 knots of true wind. With the genoa set the boat made 7.6 knots at 60 degrees apparent in 11 knots of wind, and with the screecher hoisted it reached at 9.8 knots on a beam reach, holding speed up to 70 degrees apparent. For a nearly 48,000 pound cruiser in moderate wind, those are good numbers.

Under power the 150 hp Yanmar on a shaft topped out at 10 knots at 3,600 rpm and cruised comfortably at 8.8 knots at 2,500 rpm. With 132 gallons of diesel, the boat has a practical motoring range of several hundred miles at cruising speed, though owners crossing calm regions such as the Caribbean in summer often add bladder tanks or reduce rpm to stretch the range.

Beneteau expected about 90 percent of buyers to choose in-mast furling and only 10 percent to fit a conventional mainsail on the boom. If you want the best performance, look for a boat with the classic main, genoa and code zero, but understand that a furling main is far easier for two people on a 60-foot rig.

• 7.6 knots at 60 degrees apparent in 11 knots of wind with genoa
• 9.8 knots beam reaching with the screecher
• 8.8 knots at 2,500 rpm under power
• 10 knots at 3,600 rpm wide open

Tender garage and life at the transom

The transom opens to a garage large enough for a 2.8-meter (about 9 ft 2 in) jet tender, according to Beneteau. On a boat this size that is a major advantage: no davits blocking the view aft, no tender hanging over the swim platform in a following sea, and a clean stern for swimming and boarding.

The downside SAIL identified is the liferaft. Its position requires a considerable effort to launch from the transom, which is not what you want in an emergency. Many owners move the raft to a cradle or a quick-release mount where one person can deploy it.

Three cabins for owners, four for charter

Beneteau broke with the single-level interior fashion on the 60. Small steps lead down from the saloon into a full-width galley forward and into the aft cabins, which allows more headroom and volume without raising the deck. The three cabin, three head version puts the owner's cabin forward, with the bed offset to starboard and hidden from view until you pass the private head, a layout SAIL likened to much larger yachts. The four cabin version adds a second en suite cabin forward and moves the owner's suite to starboard, with two extra berths for crew or children.

The split galley sits forward, sink and stove to starboard and refrigeration to port, and acts as a privacy buffer between the saloon and the owner's cabin, but SAIL found it hard to use on starboard tack and a long way from the cockpit, and it disliked an island locker added in the middle of the saloon that interrupts traffic. Those are the kind of details to test at a boat show or a sea trial by walking through the boat as if you were underway.

Joinery is a step above the regular Oceanis range. Walnut is standard and light oak optional, and Yachting World described a very high standard of interior finish. Beneteau's Ship Control and Seanapps systems put monitoring of tanks, batteries and lights on a screen and a phone.

Systems that let two people run 62 feet

Almost every 60 leaves the factory with a bow thruster, electric winches, a generator and air conditioning. A stern thruster is worth finding on the used market, because 62 feet of high-sided boat in a crosswind is a handful even with twin rudders. Water capacity of 211 gallons means a watermaker is close to essential for extended cruising with guests.

The electrical load of air conditioning, a full electric galley and electric winches is the reason many recent boats carry large lithium banks and a solar array on the hardtop. When comparing listings, the battery chemistry and charging setup can be worth as much as $40,000 in equipment and installation.

What a 60-footer really costs to keep

Budget roughly $75,000 to $150,000 a year to keep an Oceanis Yacht 60 in the US, before depreciation. That covers a 65-foot slip, which in Florida, New England or Southern California can run $25,000 to $60,000 on its own, hull insurance, haul out and antifouling, generator and engine service, rigging checks and the occasional set of sails. A professional captain or seasonal crew would add far more.

Sails are a major expense at this size. A new set of furling main and self-tacking jib in quality laminate can cost $40,000 to $70,000, and a code zero or screecher adds to that. Standing rigging should be inspected every few years and replaced around ten years, which on a mast of more than 75 feet is a five figure job.

Buying one of the first hulls

The model is young, so the used market is small. Most early boats on sale come from Europe, where 2023 hulls have asked between about $1.0 and $1.1 million, while a 2023 boat in Long Beach was listed at $1.35 million. Importing from Europe can save money but adds transport, duty and the cost of adapting 230 volt systems for US shore power.

Because owners specified these boats heavily, compare inventories line by line. A boat with the performance rig, hardtop, stern thruster, lithium bank and watermaker may be worth $200,000 more than a lightly optioned one of the same year.