Beneteau


Beneteau or Bénéteau is a French sail and motorboat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, with its holding company now also holding other prestigious 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. Until 2020, they had one US plant in Marion, South Carolina, which produced boats for the American market and opened in 1986. Over time, the factory nearly doubled in size to about. By May 2017, the Marion plant had built more than 8,700 boats. The Marion plant was closed in September 2020 and production was moved to the existing facilities in France.

Beneteau sailing models

Below is a list of Beneteau yacht models.

Early models

NameDesignerYearsNotes
Guppy-1964Dinghy
Fletan-1966
Galion-1967
BaroudeurAndré Bénéteau1970
Piranha-1972
KerlouanAndré Bénéteau1972
CapelanAndré Bénéteau1972
Baroudeur MkII|Baroudeur MkII]André Bénéteau1973
CabochardAndré Bénéteau1973
EscapadeAndré Bénéteau1976
ChenapanAndré Bénéteau1976
Canot 3.90-1977Junk Rig
WizzJean-Marie Finot1981Two Person Dinghy
Beneteau [California 5.20|California 5.20]André Bénéteau1982
California 4.70André Bénéteau1983
California 6.60André Bénéteau1983
California 5.50André Bénéteau1986
Beneteau Idylle 880André Bénéteau1982
Beneteau Idylle 1050André Bénéteau1985
Beneteau Idylle 1150Jean Berret1983
Beneteau Idylle 1350Germán Frers1984
Beneteau Idylle 1550Germán 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. They are equipped with tall fractional rigs, high performance keels and upgraded deck hardware. Introduced in 1976 with the First 30 model designed by Andre Mauric. The 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 the deck, superstructure, and interior design.

Seascape

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

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 cabin cruisers, Barracuda seafishing boats and Flyer console boats.

Notable boats or models