Beneteau First 40.7 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Beneteau First 40.7 means weighing a Bruce Farr-designed cruiser-racer built from 1997, with owner three-cabin layouts more common but both configurations available, and ex-charter examples a frequent sight. The boat's race-derived hull and three-stateroom interior make it a recognizable used proposition across several national markets, though the buyer's task is less about finding one than about inspecting the known design concentrations before committing.
Layouts on the Used Market
The predominant used layout is the owner three-cabin arrangement with two mirror-image aft cabins and a forward V-berth, sleeping six with a single head to starboard; the alternative configuration is also seen. Below, the saloon carries two straight settees around a 44-inch double-leafed table, with a big forward-facing chart table and L-shaped galley. Space below the settees is dedicated to tankage rather than stowage, though high-level lockers and spaces behind seat backs add practical volume. Ex-charter boats are common, so wear in the single head and the top-opening reefer galley — where the lid forms the entire counter — warrants a close look regardless of which layout is presented.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, autopilot, chartplotter and spinnaker are commonly fitted, while hot water and bimini are often seen. Less universal but present as owner upgrades or occasional factory options are life raft, heating, solar, short-handed setup, gennaker, teak decks, cockpit shower, inverter, asymmetric spinnaker, electric winches and AIS. The boat's own design provisions include a dedicated cockpit space for a life raft canister below the helm seat, a port-corner propane well vented overboard, and a starboard locker for an inflatable dinghy. Standard original equipment listed a suit of sails, ProFurl furler and Volvo engine, with primary Lewmar 50 self-tailers and coachroof Lewmar 44s; an optional Navtec hydraulic backstay and spinnaker winches were available.
What to Inspect
The First 40.7 routes several hoses to a centralized manifold or sea chest amidships emptying through a single through-hull, so confirm that penetration and its associated hoses for leakage or past work. The hull-deck joint is an internal flange bonded to an external deck flange with polyurethane glue and stainless steel bolts, and the deck is balsa-cored with solid patches under hardware — soundings for deck-core moisture around winch and track mounts are prudent. Hulls are hand laid-up with vinylester and polyester resins; the builder claimed vinylester protects against blistering and earlier models used the WaterShield process, so hull gelcoat blistering history should be queried by model year. Updated rudders use carbon fiber stocks with self-aligning bearings, and the removable cockpit seat modules and plumbing manifold should be checked for age and sealing.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in the United States, Croatia, France, Italy, United Kingdom and Australia. For a buyer, the checklist is short but specific: verify the single sea-chest through-hull and hose runs; test the balsa-cored deck for moisture at hardware mounts; confirm hull blister history relative to build year and WaterShield use; inspect carbon rudder stocks and self-aligning bearings; and assess the single-head, reefer-lid galley against your cruising tolerance. The 40.7 remains a structurally distinctive Farr cruiser-racer whose used-market prevalence is broad but whose known concentrations are inspectable rather than hidden.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Beneteau First 40.7. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 17 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $ 97,500 | — |
| Mar 25 | 1 | $ 98,388 | +0.9% |
| Apr 25 | 1 | $ 79,000 | -19.7% |
| May 25 | 4 | $ 106,000 | +34.2% |
| Jun 25 | 2 | $ 83,638 | -21.1% |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $ 84,659 | +1.2% |
| Aug 25 | 3 | $ 94,000 | +11.0% |
| Sep 25 | 13 | $ 80,463 | -14.4% |
| Oct 25 | 7 | $ 87,168 | +8.3% |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $ 84,659 | -2.9% |
| Jan 26 | 14 | $ 94,380 | +11.5% |
| Feb 26 | 4 | $ 110,000 | +16.6% |
| Mar 26 | 2 | $ 100,476 | -8.7% |
| Apr 26 | 23 | $ 91,512 | -8.9% |
| May 26 | 5 | $ 77,468 | -15.3% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $ 73,005 | -5.8% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $ 79,252 | +8.6% |
Where they're listed
Beneteau First 40.7 listings appear across 17 countries. United States has the most listings with 14 (18.9%), followed by France and Croatia.
Country view
74 listings · 17 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 98,700 | 14 | 3 | 18.9% |
| France | $ 76,067 | 9 | 1 | 12.2% |
| Croatia | $ 105,252 | 8 | 0 | 10.8% |
| Italy | $ 91,512 | 8 | 2 | 10.8% |
| United Kingdom | $ 73,757 | 7 | 0 | 9.5% |
| Australia | $ 87,338 | 6 | 1 | 8.1% |
| Guadeloupe | $ 83,957 | 4 | 0 | 5.4% |
| Germany | $ 68,070 | 3 | 2 | 4.1% |
| Denmark | $ 75,941 | 3 | 1 | 4.1% |
| Netherlands | $ 90,951 | 3 | 0 | 4.1% |
| Spain | $ 87,412 | 2 | 1 | 2.7% |
| Turkey | $ 109,475 | 2 | 0 | 2.7% |
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 First 40 | 40.16' | $ 99,000 | 76 | 16 |
| Dufour 470 | 48.72' | $ 405,757 | 76 | 23 |
| Beneteau, France First 40.7You are here | — | $ 90,381 | 75 | 13 |
| Performance 40 Performance | 40.42' | $ 120,127 | 55 | 23 |
| Beneteau First 47.7 | 47' | $ 137,388 | 50 | 7 |
| Beneteau First 44.7 | 44.83' | $ 139,999 | 46 | 9 |
| Performance 40 | 40.42' | $ 113,262 | 37 | 15 |
| Elan 40 | 39.04' | $ 88,145 | 30 | 3 |
| Jeanneau Sun Sun Fast 37 | 37.4' | $ 66,362 | 23 | 3 |
| X-Yachts X-40 | 40' | $ 177,046 | 14 | 4 |
| North End 40 | 39.83' | $ 29,000 | 8 | 3 |