Beneteau First 50 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The First 50 was offered with one interior plan: a forward master cabin with ensuite head and a centerline queen, plus two aft double berths sharing a single head and shower. Ex-charter boats are common and usually show this three-cabin owner layout. Light wood trim, a parquet sole, and six-and-a-half-foot headroom throughout give the cabins an open feel, with straight saloon settees that work as sea berths. A buyer should check the folding doors and the swing-away nav table, as these moving interior parts see hard use in charter service.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Commonly fitted equipment on used First 50s includes teak decks, bow thruster, air conditioning, chartplotter, life raft, asymmetric spinnaker, autopilot, electric winches, bimini, hot water, cockpit shower, and AIS. For a buyer, the bow thruster and air conditioning speak directly to Mediterranean and tropical use, while the electric winches and autopilot reduce short-handed effort. Often-seen additions such as solar, inverter, radar, and a swim platform extend independence at anchor and ease navigation. Less common owner upgrades include heating, a gennaker, freezer, EPIRB, and dodger—worth noting if a specific climate or passage plan demands them.

What to Inspect

The hull is solid fiberglass with an internal reinforcing grid, and the deck is a balsa-cored sandwich, so survey the deck core for moisture given the balsa construction anchor. The anchor roller and sprit retract below the foredeck and should operate smoothly via their manual lift. Genset access is through panels in both aft cabins, so confirm those panels open and the unit astern of the engine is serviceable. Numerous engine access panels should expose all maintenance points; verify they are intact and not obscured by later additions.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These yachts typically appear in Greece, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Canada, and Malaysia. For a buyer, the checklist is straightforward: confirm the three-cabin layout and charter history, test the retracting anchor system and electric winches, survey the balsa deck core, and verify genset and engine access. A well-kept example rewards with a fast, comfortable sport cruiser ready for coast or course.