Beneteau Oceanis 50 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Two interior configurations are commonly encountered when browsing used examples, and understanding the difference matters before you inspect any particular boat. The owner version features a generous two-stateroom arrangement — a forward owner's suite with its own en suite head and a large aft guest cabin — that delivers a relaxed, liveaboard feel with real privacy between crew and guests. The second configuration divides the aft section into two separate cabins, each with reasonable berths, giving three cabins and two heads; this version was particularly popular with charter operations and is widely seen on the brokerage market. A four-cabin charter configuration exists as well and turns up occasionally, having been optimized for maximum guest capacity rather than owner comfort.

Ex-charter examples are common on the used market. They have typically been maintained on structured service schedules — which can be a genuine advantage — but also carry higher cycle counts on gear, more wear on soft furnishings, and frequently show the scuffs and faded fabrics that come from hosting rotating crews of strangers. Private-ownership examples, while less numerous, tend to show more individual care and often carry meaningful upgrades beyond the charter-spec baseline.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

The Oceanis 50 was delivered from the factory with a solid electronics and sailing-equipment baseline, and the used market reflects that. Chartplotters, autopilots, and radar are commonly fitted across nearly all examples; AIS is widely seen as well. Biminis are almost universal, and electric winches are frequently found, reflecting Beneteau's standard equipment offerings as well as owner preference for shorthanded sailing ease. Teak cockpit and deck installations are common — the boat was designed with teak in mind and it suits the proportions well. Bow thrusters appear frequently enough to be expected rather than remarkable, particularly on ex-charter boats. Life rafts and dodgers and cockpit enclosures show up on a large share of listings; EPIRBs are also seen on many examples, particularly on boats prepared for offshore use.

Air conditioning is often fitted, particularly on boats that have spent time in the Mediterranean or in warmer American waters. Freezer capacity, cockpit showers, and hot water systems are also often seen. Heating installations appear on boats whose owners extended their sailing seasons into northern European or North Atlantic conditions.

Among owner-added upgrades, watermakers and dinghy davits are a frequent addition on privately owned examples that have been prepared for longer passages or extended coastal living. Spinnaker and asymmetric spinnaker gear is sometimes added by more performance-oriented owners. Solar panels and inverters are common on boats that have evolved toward self-sufficient passage-making, and a small but growing share of examples in the upper tier of the market have had lithium battery upgrades fitted in place of the original lead-acid banks.

What to Inspect

The Oceanis 50 shares its hull with the earlier Beneteau 49, and the construction is conventional: a solid fiberglass hull with a balsa-cored deck and house. The balsa-cored deck deserves careful attention during survey — any signs of soft spots, delamination, or discoloration around deck fittings should prompt a moisture survey. Water ingress around chainplates, stanchion bases, and hardware penetrations is a point of vulnerability common to production cruisers of this era.

The Selden furling mast and rod-kicker vang are worth inspecting carefully; check the condition of standing rigging, halyard exit points, and the integrity of the furling system, particularly on boats with high hour counts from charter service. The Lewmar anchor windlass and bow roller assembly take significant loads and are worth operating under realistic conditions during the survey.

Below decks, the Alpi reconstituted veneer interior wears reasonably well and has the advantage of being matchable if panels are damaged, but pay attention to the joinery around the bilge and any areas prone to moisture accumulation. The aft cabin's access arrangement through the head compartment is a quirk of the layout noted in contemporary reviews and can create wear patterns on the head furniture over time.

The diesel engine — a Yanmar unit in the 76 to 110 horsepower range depending on configuration — is known to be economical and generally long-lived, but on any used example it is worth checking service records, impeller replacement history, heat exchanger condition, and the state of the fuel tank and Racor filter assembly. The three-bladed prop installation is worth inspecting for cavitation pitting and proper pitch. Electrical wiring was reportedly bundled, labeled, and tidily routed at build, which makes it easier to trace any subsequent owner-added circuits — and on a well-traveled cruising boat, there will invariably be additional wiring to assess.

The twin-rudder, twin-wheel configuration requires checking both steering cables or hydraulic runs for wear, and the rudder bearings for play. On boats that have spent time in charter, the cockpit sole, companionway hatch tracks, and winch bases all benefit from close scrutiny.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

The Oceanis 50 is widely available across the Mediterranean, with Greece, Croatia, Spain, Turkey, and Italy all representing active secondary markets. The United States — particularly Florida, the Chesapeake, and the Pacific coast — also carries a solid inventory of used examples, many of which have returned from charter deployments or been brought back from extended cruising passages. Buyers on either side of the Atlantic should have little difficulty locating multiple examples to compare.

This is a boat that rewards the buyer who takes the time to distinguish between an ex-charter example that has been properly maintained and one that has been merely run hard and returned. A clean private-ownership boat with documented upgrades and consistent service records represents the strongest value. For the buyer who intends to sail offshore — whether Mediterranean passages or transatlantic crossings — the performance characteristics and the Beneteau dealer and parts network make this a pragmatic and genuinely enjoyable choice.

Pre-purchase checklist:

• Commission an independent survey with moisture metering of the balsa-cored deck and house
• Inspect chainplate and stanchion bases for water ingress
• Verify standing and running rigging condition and age, especially on high-use boats
• Confirm engine service history; inspect impeller, heat exchanger, Racor filter, and fuel tank
• Operate windlass, furling systems, electric winches, and bow thruster under load
• Check both rudder bearings and full steering runs for play and wear
• Review all added wiring circuits for quality and labeling
• Clarify layout version (two-cabin owner, three-cabin, or four-cabin charter) before viewing
• Assess air conditioning, watermaker, and solar/battery installations if fitted