Sailboat Bénéteau First 36 for sale

Fast planing and long sailing cruises: the First 36 can do both

Is the First 36 from BENETEAU a sailing boat that suits your requirements as a sailor?

You're after something out of the ordinary? The new boat should be fast and fun, she should be the best at planing and sail away from the rest of the fleet? Win a Wednesday regatta? That should be possible! At the same time, your wife and children should feel comfortable on board. You need proper berths, a fully equipped kitchen and, of course, enough space in the cockpit to relax? In short, you want to buy the perfect combination of cruising boat and racer.

The Seascape concept comes close to what you imagine active sailing with comfort should be. Safe and not overcomplicated operation, but powerful under sail, even in light winds. A boat that promises these things - and in our opinion largely delivers - is the BENETEAU First 36, designed and built by Seascape in Slovenia. This yacht created quite a buzz when it was launched in 2022, and its smaller, slightly newer sister, the First 30, is also surfing on this wave. In this article, we take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of this sailing boat so that you can make an informed purchase decision. Is the BENETEAU First 36 your new yacht? Let’s find out!

Cruising sailor, regatta die-hard and family skipper? The First 36 wants to cater for them all

Andraž Mihelin and Kristian Hajnšek had to do nothing less than square the circle with the First 36. Their ambition to build high-performance sailing boats while still offering a certain degree of cruising comfort and many practical solutions now had to be reconciled with the demands of the series mass producer BENETEAU. Until then, Seascape boats had been produced without the cost pressures of a series manufacturer and the high-priced small Seascapes sold well. However, BENETEAU wants to make its products accessible to a wider audience - is it possible to combine the two?

IMOCA designer and yacht-building genius Sam Manuard has once again drawn the yacht’s high-performance underwater hull. Lorenzo Argento, a renowned Italian yacht designer, has created timelessly elegant lines, moving away from the more angular Seascape lines. As a result, the First 36 looks far more elegant and is more harmonious with the French design language. The yacht sails so well and is so pretty that Argento has bought one himself and still sails it enthusiastically to this day.

But what about the price? From our point of view (and we are not alone in this), the price is still quite high: a newly built, well-equipped First 36 can be bought for a good 350,000 to 400,000 euros. Seascape and BENETEAU only manage the price balancing act one yacht later, with the extremely attractively priced First 30.

So you can’t expect bargain prices, but you can expect Seascape’s customary high-quality manufacturing, the best materials, fittings and equipment. The First 36 wants to be everything: cruising yacht, regatta racing yacht and holiday platform - all at full speed.

Planing for everyone: but safely!

Thanks to Sam Manuard, the Slovenians have invented a whole new category of sailing boat: the 'planning cruiser' or 'planing cruiser'. As we have already seen with the First 24 SE and the First 27 SE, the real sailing fun eith these boats begins when the stern wave finally breaks free, the quiet 'swooosh' of planing can be heard and the log levels out beyond 12, 13 or 14 knots of boat speed. The First 36 is optimised and designed for fast planing from a beam reach to downwind.

At the same time, the boat should remain safe and controllable at all times. This is an art. Class 40 racing boats have been planing for many years if not decades, but their running rigging and mainsails are complicated to trim and are not for the average sailor. With the First 36, however, the shipyard has managed to offer the thrill and adrenaline of high-speed planing without overloading the cockpit with tangled lines. With a hull weighing just 4,800 kilograms and 75 m² of upwind sail area (plus a correspondingly powerful gennaker), the First 36 starts planing relatively quickly - and remains stable at all times thanks to the enormous lever of the 1.5 tonne lead bulb that keeps the yacht easily controllable for keen, ambitious sailors.

Big footsteps: the legacy of the legendary First 36.7

It was clear that the dream team of Manuard, Argento, Mihelin and Hajnšek would deliver a high-performance yacht. But can the new First 36 live up to the image of its legendary predecessor, the First 36.7? If you are looking around to buy a yacht on the used boat market, you should first of all be very careful not to buy one of these boats by mistake. This boat is often only advertised as a First 36 and can then only be identified as an 'old' boat by the year it was built. Just under 800 units of the First 36.7 were built between 2000 and (in the States until) 2021. The boat designed by Farr Design is legendary and is certainly a high-performance sailing yacht, but has nothing in common with the planing claim of the current new First 36. The new yacht does not only follow in the 36.7's footsteps, but defines a completely new path of its own.

BENETEAU First 36 for sale - hull, construction, design and sail plan

It’s the weight that counts: lightweight construction for the First 36

As with all yachts manufactured by Seascape, the First 36 is built to an unusually high standard compared to other production boats of this size. Where other manufacturers use the simple hand lay-up method, the First 36 is built using the significantly more expensive and complex vacuum infusion process. Added to this is the use of vinylester resin, which is more expensive than normal polyester. The sandwich core is made of Corecell, a high-strength professional rigid foam, and the structural bulkheads are also made of composite materials. On the one hand, this enables Seascape to achieve its target of low overall weight, which is so important for the outstanding sailing characteristics. But on the other hand, this elaborate construction method naturally explains the comparatively high price when buying these boats.

Incidentally, what is interesting about the First 36 is that the furniture on this sailing boat, especially the navigation table, the centrally centred refrigerator superstructure, the galley and the settees in the saloon are all part of a single inner shell. This means that the furniture is structually integrated into the boat itself which in turn saves weight - an ingenious trick by the designers.

Lively planing and sprints on the regatta course with the First 36 SE!

As the boat only weighs 4,800 kilograms in its lightweight version, fast planing is possible even at low boat speeds (around 8.5 knots) due to the shape of the hull. The keel - which is optimised for this planing speed and has a mighty 2.25 m draught - is also said to be available as a shorter 2 m version, but we were unable to find any official documents on this and know of no owner who has bought a First 36 with the shorter keel. Pay particular attention to this and make sure to ask if you are looking for a boat of this type for sale for a designated shallow water area.

The sail plan of the First 36 naturally supports planing. As is typical of Seascape, this has been kept as simple as possible, although there are some regatta sailors who have 'tuned' their First 36 extensively (some by adding a longer bowsprit). The yacht comes as standard, with a 42 m² mainsail, fully battened of course, and a 38 m² jib. For light wind sailing, a 141 m² gennaker (masthead) or a 58 m² Code 0 can be fitted.

You don’t need to know anything special to begin planing. The sailboat enters this state relatively unspectacularly as the stern wave breaks away. It becomes a little quieter as the gurgling at the stern gives way to a 'swooosh'. However, the boat speed then increases quite rapidly. Depending on the wind speed, you will be planing in double figures very quickly; there are videos and reports of sailors who have managed over 20 knots SOG on a First 36. And even at 'only' 15 knots boat speed, the yacht remains stable and controllable, thanks to the two rather large, slightly angled twin rudders. In any case it's addictive fun!

The cockpit of the First 36 is modular. Ingenious!

Sailors will be delighted with the rather versatile cockpit of the BENETEAU First 36. First of all, the First 36 is available as a yacht with double wheel steering. As the helmsman, you have a good forward view from behind the wheel and can easily reach both the rear genoa/gennaker winches and the traveller lines. The controls for the diesel engine are also easily accessible on the starboard side.

There are six winches available for trimming as standard on this versatile regatta yacht. The working winches are located on both sides of the companionway and are mainly used for the halyards and the reefing lines for the two sails. The winches for the mainsheet are located on the coaming, halfway up the cockpit. From here, the mainsheet operator - when in racing mode - also has control over the large traveller, which runs across the entire cockpit. Behind this are winches which can be used for cross-sheeting of all sheets to the windward side.

A small 'trick' provides more space: around a third of the seat surface of the cockpit bench consists of a modular GRP part that can be removed in a few simple steps. This creates a cockpit that is even better suited to crewed racing, providing the sail trimmers with even more space. Once this has been reassembled after the race, the First 36 can be converted back into a cruiser again. The cockpit can be equipped with a fixed or removable table, which also converts the yacht to regatta or holiday mode as required. Small ideas with a big impact.

Is the First 36 suitable as a holiday yacht?

If you want to go on holiday with the First 36, you will find many cruising elements on board, albeit in a weight-optimised or 'slimmed-down' version. We have already discussed the (rather ingenious) option of converting the cockpit benches. In addition to the fact that you get more seating and lounging space here, there is also plenty of storage space underneath for fenders or lines.

The First 36 is for sale with a folding bathing platform on the transom, which makes it much easier to get on board after splashing around in the water. However, this is very narrow and not big enough for much more. The First 36 also offers all the comforts of a cruising boat below deck: we will take a closer look at the galley, shower room and cabins later in this text. But this much can be revealed: six adults can sleep in cabins on board, and two more could sleep in the saloon. Normally, however, the First 36 is more likely to be occupied by two adults with two guests or children, so one of the two aft cabins remains free and can be used for important storage space, as a full-blown sailing holiday requires a lot of luggage and provisions. However, caution is advised here. The First 36 reacts very sensitively to (too much) additional load. The planing pleasure is therefore further delayed as the boat becomes heavier and heavier with every additional kilogram. Clever weight management is therefore required here in order not to ruin the fantastic sailing characteristics by adding too much weight.

BENETEAU First 36 for sale - all the information for skippers/sailors

What you as a skipper should know about the First 36

We would say that there are two types of First 36 skippers. The holiday and leisure skipper who enjoys an exceptionally fast boat on the one hand, and the ambitious regatta and performance sailor who wants to win races on the other. The First 36 covers both bases, but like any compromise, it doesn’t truly excel at either.

Let’s start with the regattas. If your racing ambitions are limited to your local club’s Wednesday regatta, then the First 36 with a sensible laminate sail configuration and minimal payload will not disappoint you. If you want to be at the front in the 'serious' big regattas, a little more tuning is called for. It makes sense to slim down the sailboat even more and everything that is heavy should be removed. Doors, the cooker, the furniture inserts, the saloon table and even the cushions have to go. Alternatively, the shipyard offers the First 36 SE, a highly aggressive, racing-orientated version of the 36 which we will discuss shortly. If you want to retain the cruising character of the boat, the only option is to tune the First 36 which involves a strict weight-loss programme.

Her competitors, such as the Pogo 36, the JPK boats in this size or the SunFast from Jeanneau, are a little better suited to regattas and are even better in terms of sailing characteristics under certain conditions and wind courses. As a regatta sailor, you will certainly know exactly what to look for here and make your choice.

The First 36 SE. Let it rip!

The SE version of the First 36 has been available to buy since 2025. 'SE' stands for Seascape Edition and in this case means much more than the usual cosmetic trim packages such as racing stripes and black guardrails that are dreamed up for marketing purposes. The First 36 SE is a completely rethought boat, hence the long development period. Most striking, the racing version is a whole 400 kilograms lighter than the 36 - that’s almost half a tonne! The weight saving has been achieved by replacing what little wood that remained in the First 36 with carbon and composite components. This is particularly noticeable in the saloon, which still looks surprisingly chic! On deck a carbon mast from Axxon also reduces weight and lowers the centre of gravity slightly. Incidentally, the sail areas and sail sizes remain the same. The lighter weight means that the ballast has been reduced slightly (by 20 kg), as has the draught, which is now 1.95 metres which will please many sailors! The keel has also been optimised under ORC rules to improve the SE's rating, giving the yacht an additional performance boost.

In the cockpit there is now a single tiller for steering, which - in our opinion - suits a boat like the First 36 much better than the twin-wheel steering of its standard sister. The fresh water tank now only holds 160 litres instead of the 200 litres of the First 36, and of course the First 36 SE also comes with high-quality winches, the best Ronstan fittings and premium lines. In the galley, there is only a gimballed two-burner cooker (there is no oven), and there are a few other restrictions in terms of comfort, but these would not play a role on a rracing yacht anyway.

The First 36 SE is a real beast thanks to the subtly reshaped bow section, which also gives the yacht a more favourable ORC rating. The sailboat is set up for single and double-handed as well as crewed racing, with details such as storage for many items like downwind sails in the berths. So if you want to buy a pure racing boat, the SE version should definitely be on your list.

BENETEAU First 36 for sale - comfort below deck

What does the First 36 offer below deck?

When you first take a look below deck on the First 36, you can expect a long, drawn out ""Ahhhhhhh!"". This is because most visitors are surprised by the huge volume of the interior and how much space there is. The inside of First 36 feels closer to a 38 or even 40-foot yacht. This is mainly due to the yacht's width of 3.80 metres, but also thanks to an uncluttered layout that avoids stuffing the boat with cabinetry and shelves. On the contrary, the look is very restrained. Glossy white dominates, with a little wood and subtle grey upholstery. Carefully positioned indirect lights add depth, with the result being an interior that immediately feels self-contained, calming and yet still chic.

The layout below deck is unusual for a 36-foot yacht, as this boat comes exclusively as a three-cabin version. As skipper, you have a (large!) V-berth in the forepeak, next comes the shower room on the fore bulkhead (more on this later), then the classic saloon with two settees facing each other and a central folding table at the foot of the mast. Moving aft, there's a (fantastic!) navigation station on the starboard side, while opposite on the port side, the unusual galley (more on this in a moment). Further aft are the huge stern cabins, which we will look at in more detail shortly. In terms of both layout and interior finish — the colour scheme, fabrics or upholstery — there’s effectively no choice. The options list simply doesn’t allow you to customise the boat. If you want different colours, you'll have to change things after delivery. Presumably this is a measure taken by the shipyard to keep the - already high - costs of production under control, because every option adds expense.

Great galley with a twist

When you descend the companionway, you walk directly towards a centrally-positioned GRP pylon which houses the 70-litre top-loading refrigerator inside. This is a nice solution in itself because, as already mentioned, all the GRP furniture parts are basically a single piece, namely the yacht's inner shell which also provides structural support. The pylon therefore becomes a key element of the galley. A teak chopping board can be inserted between the pylon and the galley, transforming the layout into an 'L' and providing additional space for working, chopping vegetables or drying off. Practical!

The port side of the galley is equipped with a two-burner hob with a gimballed oven and next to it is the sink and a small work surface. There is also some storage space - not much, but in our opinion enough.

The galley is perfectly adequate for cooking for a family: the yacht certainly can’t claim to boast the fully equipped galley of a cruising yacht, but Seascape and First have always been about leaving behind the unnecessary, over-refined ballast of an overly saturated world, focusing on the essentials and rediscovering the fun. That said, the galley of the First 36 is anything but ascetic.

The shower room is a weak point

As ingenious and ground-breaking as the First 36 is in many respects, there can’t always only be plus points. A big minus - and to be honest, this is also a big deal-breaker for many potential buyers of this boat - is the boat’s shower room. There’s no other way to describe it than far too cramped! Although the shipyard has finally installed a door to the shower room so that it now opens outwards, this has made little difference to the basic problem of the space.

Attention used boat buyers - if you are looking for one of the early First 36 for sale, pay attention to whether the shower room door opens inwards (as in early models) or outwards. If it swings inwards, you may have to do quite a few contortions to get past the door and to close it. More corpulent sailors will have major problems with this (especially when the sailboat is moving around in the waves)!

This has been rectified on the newer boats, but the shower room remains extremely small. The washbasin - is still very shallow and therefore hardly usable when the boat is heeling or sailing through waves. It has to be folded away from the wall in order to be used but even then you can’t do more than brush your teeth and have a quick wash. The pump toilet underneath can only be used when it is opened. If you want to take a shower, you can look forward to a back-breaking session of wiping down and cleaning afterwards. You have to turn a very, very blind eye to this shower room and be very forgiving. We can only recommend that you take a very close and detailed look at this part of the boat and, above all, 'test' it thoroughly in real life before you commit to buying a boat that doesn’t suit you or your crew.

There are rumours that Seascape and BENETEAU are developing a two-cabin version of the First 36. This would see the shower room move aft from the fore bulkhead, with the starboard cabin being removed to make way for reasonably sized head (most likely paired with a large forepeak). This would further enhance the owner’s area and also better reflect how yachts are typically used by crews of two to four people. In principle, the First 30 in large. As at the end of 2025, it was not yet clear when and whether this variant will be realised. It would be nice in any case, but it would also add value to the three-cabin versions as used boats. Good for buyers, bad for sellers.

Modular cabins, plenty of space for sleeping…

The aft cabins are very spacious. They are absolutely symmetrical and offer 1.90 m headroom, which is unusual at the stern of such small boats. The berths measure a reasonable 2.02 x 1.35 metres, which is more than enough for two people. In both cabins, you can remove the mattress and cushions from the inner berth if you only want to sleep here alone. The resulting centre space can then be used for luggage or other items such as provisions, sail bags, etc.

Alternatively, you can remove both mattresses and lash them upright against the side of the yacht and have a completely free cabin for equipment or provisions. This option is favoured by many owners as, to be honest, you rarely sail with six people and therefore don’t need a full three cabins. It is also possible to leave the front cabin empty and only 'live' aft. More active skippers use the forward cabin to stow sails such as gennakers or Code 0, which can then be quickly bought on deck or returned below deck again through the large bow hatch.

The art of omission: or, less is more

Seascape is sailing with a twinkle in its eye. The philosophy of the yard has always been to bring the fun of sailing to the fore and to leave ballast - unnecessary luxury, anything heavy, and anything complex, on land. Better still, not to fit them in the first place. This is an almost ingenious solution in many respects (modular aft compartments, the removable cockpit benches or the central cooling pylon), but for some portential buyers this principle can go too far. If you are looking for more luxury, more comfort, more wood and, above all, more customisation options, then the First 36 will probably seem too spartan. However, if you finally want to take the opportunity to shed ballast and start afresh without any drag-inducing appendages, then the First 36 could open up an entirely new kind of sailing experience for you.

The First 36 on the used boat market

The First 36 is certainly available to buy as a used boat, however due to the rather small number of units built and the high prices of new boats, the prices for used 36s are still relatively high. The boat's high build quality justifies its price, so you should take a very close look at offers that seem too good to be true. New boat buyers will be pleased with this Seascape-typical value retention - but those looking for a used boat are likely to wait in vain for real bargains.

As with all BENETEAU yachts, the First 36 is susceptible to premature wear of the laminated or veneered wood: pay particular attention to the steps and mouldings on used yachts. The floorboards (especially on the early boats) are a weak point; they react sensitively to moisture, can warp, swell and, in the worst case, the decorative veneer can delaminate.

BENETEAU First 36 for sale - what we particularly like:

• Timeless, very modern design
• High sail performance with easy and safe handling, very stiff and robust
• A real sense of space below deck, a huge volume for 'only' 36 feet

BENETEAU First 36 for sale - you should take a close look:

• Don’t overload it with too many extras, otherwise it will be too heavy for fast planing
• Bathroom could be far too small for many
• Quality of the floorboards

Further reviews and test reports: