Beneteau First 44.7 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The standard accommodation is three cabins and two heads, and that owner layout dominates the used fleet, though the boat’s race-oriented origins mean other configurations exist. Two staterooms sit port and starboard under the cockpit, with a head forward of the port cabin and an L-shaped galley opposite. A forward ensuite head and shower was added at owner request from earlier models. Headroom is generous at 6 feet 8 inches in the main cabin and 6 feet 9 inches in the aft head, and the light Beachwood interior reads larger than its footprint. The nav station faces forward at the boat’s center. Ex-charter boats are common, so wear in these high-traffic interior zones deserves a close look.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Chartplotters, spinnakers, autopilots, and asymmetric spinnakers are commonly fitted, marking her as ready to sail or race as found. Often-seen upgrades that matter to a buyer include lithium batteries and AIS for energy and traffic awareness, heating for shoulder-season cruising, a code zero for light-air performance, and radar plus electric winches for short-handed ease; dodgers, biminis, and life rafts round out the frequently carried comfort and safety kit. Less common owner additions such as solar, a gennaker, teak decks, an inverter, or a cockpit shower appear but should be treated as individual-boat extras rather than expected equipment.

What to Inspect

The hull is solid fiberglass with a laminated structural liner, and all bulkheads are bonded 360 degrees to hull and deck, so check for any indication of grid or liner separation. Keelbolts and the lowest bilge sit under a centerline settee; the lever-action seat lifts and slides to port for easy inspection, and a buyer should use that access to examine the keelbolts directly. The deck is a balsa-cored fiberglass sandwich, so probe around rebedded or poorly sealed hardware for core saturation. The ends of all wood floorboards and panels were sealed at build, but confirm none have been cut or left exposed to moisture over time.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These boats turn up across the United States, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Australia, and France. For a shopper, the short list is: confirm the centerline settee lifts cleanly to view keelbolts and bilge; sound the balsa deck near all through-deck fittings; verify which rig version (Standard, Race 1, Race 2) is fitted and match it to intended use; check the lift-up companionway stairs and forward-facing water pump for unmodified engine access; and assess ex-charter wear in the three-cabin interior before negotiating.