Beneteau First 36.7

The Beneteau First 36.7 is a Farr Yacht Design (design no. 446) racer-cruiser introduced in 2001 as the smaller sibling of the First 40.7, built by Beneteau in France and by Beneteau USA at Marion, South Carolina. It combines a solid-fiberglass hull, lead bulb fin keel, spade rudder and fractional rig with a genuine two-cabin cruising interior, and it became one of the largest one-design keelboat classes in North America.

The boat was launched for the 2002 model year and immediately won Sailing World's 2002 Boat of the Year Best Value award, at a base price of $107,400. Production continued through the 2000s at both yards; most sources put the total at around 800 hulls, roughly 500 of them from Marion. The Marion plant closed in 2020, and Beneteau later replaced the model with the First 36 (2022).

Farr drew a contemporary racing shape with no overhangs, a fine entry, broad stern and generous rudder area. The hull is solid glass with vinylester resin and a bonded internal grid; the deck is balsa-cored. Ballast is a lead bulb on a deep 7'2" fin, with a 5'11" shoal option. Power is a 29 hp Volvo Penta MD2030 on a saildrive. The 100% sail area of 666 sq ft on a displacement of 12,939 lb gives an SA/D of about 19.

The deep and shoal keels are modelled as options on one model: the hull, rig and interior are identical, listings do not use distinct names, and the class rules simply exclude the shoal keel. The French- and US-built boats are recorded as two production runs rather than two models for the same reason, although buyers should note that fit-out details (teak toerail, deck hardware, electrical standards) differ between the yards and across years.

Practical Sailor documented two early-hull factory issues: an Edson steering drag link that inhibited steering on hulls 1–33 and an undersized D-2 shroud stemball washer on hulls 1–43, both addressed by kits. Surveyors look for keel-to-hull joint damage after groundings, mast fatigue on raced boats, deck-core moisture at fittings, rudder-bearing wear and hull/deck-join cracking on hard-campaigned examples. Sources do not agree on when production ended (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2021 are all claimed), so the discontinued year is left unset.

Confirm keel type: the deep keel is required for one-design racing and holds value better, while the shoal keel suits shallow cruising grounds. Race boats often come with extensive sail inventories and upgraded backstay and hardware, but also more fatigue; check the keel joint, mast and hull/deck flange closely. Used prices in 2022–2025 ran roughly $49,000–$89,000 depending on year and inventory.