Beneteau


Beneteau or Bénéteau is a French sail and motor boat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, commanding a substantial worldwide market. With the holding company Beneteau Group now also holding other prestige brands such as Jeanneau and its multihull subsidiary Lagoon in 1995.

History

Shipwright founded the company in 1884, at Croix-de-Vie, France to build sailing trawlers. In the mid sixties, Benjamin's grandchildren Annette Bénéteau Roux and her brother André Bénéteau introduced a line of fiberglass boats.

Production

The main production facility is in France with five factories in the Vendée area of France. However they have one US plant producing boats for the America's market in Marion, South Carolina which opened in 1986; since then the factory has nearly doubled in size to about. As of May, 2017, the Marion plant has built and distributed more than 8,700 boats.

Beneteau Sailing Models

Early Models

NameDesignerYearsNo. BuiltNotes
Guppy-1964Dinghy
Fletan-1966
Galion-1967
Pirahna-1972
KerlouanAndré BENETEAU1972
CapelanAndré BENETEAU1972
Baroudeur MkIIAndré BENETEAU1973
CabochardAndré BENETEAU1973
EscapadeAndré BENETEAU1976
ChenapanAndré BENETEAU1976
Canot 3.90-1977Junk Rig
WizzJean Marie Finot1981Two Person Dinghy
California 5.20André BENETEAU1982
California 4.70André BENETEAU1983
California 6.60André BENETEAU1983
California 5.50André BENETEAU1986
Beneteau Idylle 880André BENETEAU1982
Beneteau Idylle 1050André BENETEAU1985
Beneteau Idylle 1150Jean BERRET1983
Beneteau Idylle 1350German FRERS1984
Beneteau Idylle 1550German FRERS1985

One Design Racing

Racer/Cruiser - First Series

These are racer/cruiser sailboats, with a higher emphasis on the racing aspects, yet are substantially equipped for comfortable cruising. Equipped with tall fractional rigs, high performance keels and upgraded deck hardware. Introduced in 1976 with the First 30 model designed by Andre Mauric. Current First models being offered include:

Sense Series

Introduced in 2010, the Sense range is a modern interpretation of a cruising yacht, incorporating several industry firsts, while the company continued to produce the more conventional Oceanis cruising range. It introduced innovations to deck, superstructure, and interior design.

Seascape

In 2018 Beneteau purchased Seascape and rebrand it products under the Beneteau First brand.

Excess Catamarans

Excess is the catamaran brand from Groupe Beneteau with a sporty and connected character.

Beneteau Powerboats Models

Swift Trawler Series

These are trawler yacht powerboats. The Swift Trawler 42 was the company's first trawler yacht and the first Beneteau powerboat to reach the U.S. Market.

Outboard motorboats

These are outboard powered motorboats in three different models: Antares cabincruisers, Barracuda seafishing boats and Flyer consoleboats.

Notable boats or models