Beneteau First 31.7 Buyer's Guide
The Beneteau First 31.7 is a Finot-designed performance cruiser-racer built from the late 1990s into the mid-2000s, evolved from the earlier First 310 with a deeper bulb keel and taller rig. On the used market she attracts club racers and coastal cruisers alike, and understanding her layout options, typical equipment, and known structural points will sharpen any purchase decision.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The standard plan pairs a forward V-berth master with a second private aft cabin and a single head, while the saloon settees and drop-leaf table let the boat sleep up to six. A wide, short self-bailing cockpit with teak seats and a small integrated transom swim platform serves as the social center, and a huge lazarette under the starboard seat swallows gear.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Commonly fitted electronics include a chartplotter, autopilot, and spinnaker gear, reflecting her race heritage. Often-seen comforts are hot water, cabin heating, and an asymmetric spinnaker for reaching ease. Less common owner additions range from a bimini and life raft to a gennaker, teak decks, radar, AIS, and simplified shorthanded leading systems. For a buyer, the meaningful clusters are navigation (chartplotter and autopilot as baseline, radar or AIS as later upgrades), sail handling (spinnaker or asymmetric as standard race kit, gennaker or shorthanded rigging as personal additions), and comfort (heating and hot water worth verifying, teak decks a cosmetic plus). A 21 hp Yanmar diesel is usual, with some early Volvos.
What to Inspect
The deck is balsa-cored, so any moisture intrusion around deck penetrations or the large forward hatch warrants close survey balsa-cored deck construction. The hull is a single-skinned shell on an integral GRP grid, and the deep L-shaped keel with aft-extending bulb should be checked for grounding damage given its depth. The transom-mounted backstay tails and full-width cockpit traveller are functional but mean many through-decks at the bridgedeck. Focus survey effort on core dryness and keel integrity.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up regularly in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Italy, Greece, and Spain. For a shopper, the short checklist is: confirm whether the three-cabin or standard two-cabin layout suits, verify the diesel is the Yanmar or note an early Volvo, test the balsa deck for softness, and confirm the spinnaker or asymmetric is present if racing matters. A clean, dry example with the common navigation suite is a turnkey club racer.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Beneteau First 31.7. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 12 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 2 | $53,311 | — |
| May 25 | 1 | $54,308 | +1.9% |
| Sep 25 | 11 | $54,768 | +0.8% |
| Oct 25 | 2 | $50,940 | -7.0% |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $64,090 | +25.8% |
| Jan 26 | 10 | $52,335 | -18.3% |
| Mar 26 | 3 | $58,820 | +12.4% |
| Apr 26 | 14 | $54,768 | -6.9% |
| May 26 | 9 | $51,272 | -6.4% |
| Jun 26 | 6 | $50,977 | -0.6% |
| Jul 26 | 5 | $69,917 | +37.2% |
| Aug 26 | 6 | $52,042 | -25.6% |
Where they're listed
Beneteau First 31.7 listings appear across 14 countries. United Kingdom has the most listings with 19 (30.2%), followed by France and Australia.
Country view
63 listings · 14 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $47,572 | 19 | 6 | 30.2% |
| France | $55,933 | 10 | 2 | 15.9% |
| Australia | $57,206 | 8 | 3 | 12.7% |
| Spain | $56,590 | 4 | 1 | 6.3% |
| Portugal | $69,917 | 4 | 3 | 6.3% |
| Belgium | $57,681 | 3 | 0 | 4.8% |
| Greece | $54,768 | 3 | 0 | 4.8% |
| Italy | $58,264 | 3 | 0 | 4.8% |
| Germany | $59,720 | 2 | 0 | 3.2% |
| Ireland | $43,115 | 2 | 0 | 3.2% |
| Netherlands | $51,855 | 2 | 1 | 3.2% |
| Austria | $54,768 | 1 | 0 | 1.6% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
11 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau, USA Marion First 36.7 | 35.76' | $ 74,898 | 88 | 10 |
| Beneteau, France First 40.7 | 39.25' | $ 90,832 | 79 | 16 |
| Franchi First 31.7You are here | — | $ 52,800 | 67 | 18 |
| Beneteau First 35 | 35.17' | $ 68,666 | 52 | 14 |
| Beneteau First 30 (Mauric) | 29.36' | $ 79,758 | 44 | 13 |
| Beneteau First 33.7 | 32.74' | $ 44,840 | 36 | 4 |
| diseño Finot First 310 | 31' | $ 30,837 | 36 | 13 |
| BENETEAU First 29 | 29.67' | $ 21,990 | 34 | 4 |
| Beneteau First 32 | 32.5' | $ 20,961 | 15 | 2 |
| Beneteau First 10 R | 32.75' | $ 79,000 | 14 | 4 |
| Beneteau First 35.7 | 34.58' | $ 58,518 | 10 | 2 |