Excess 12 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for an Excess 12 means looking at the first VPLP-designed sport cat from Groupe Beneteau's dedicated line, a 38ft 6in boat launched in 2019 with the same under-waterline hull and bridge deck as the Lagoon 40 but reshaped outer shells and a lighter interior. Ex-charter examples are common, and the model's three-cabin owner layout and four-cabin charter layout are both well represented, so buyers can choose between a private-spec boat and a higher-cycle former fleet unit without hunting a niche variant.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Excess 12 was sold in three-cabin/two-head, four-cabin/two-head, and four-cabin/four-head arrangements. The owner's version places the master suite in the port hull with a cut-away berth aft, head and shower forward, and a vanity desk and sofa amidships; the starboard hull then holds two double cabins sharing a single head. The four-cabin versions simply multiply the sleeping spaces for charter use. Across both layout families the interior is deliberately lean: streamlined wood structures with drawer pulls removed, hanging lockers replaced by fabric garment bags, and drawers replaced by cupboards, all in service of the weight reduction that distinguishes the boat from its Lagoon parent.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market these boats commonly carry a chartplotter, autopilot, inverter, electric winches, freezer, AIS, a code zero, self-tacking jib, hot water, and a bimini. Often-seen additions include dinghy davits, solar, air conditioning, and radar. Less commonly, as a sometimes-or-owner upgrade, you may find a life raft, heating, trampoline, cockpit shower, watermaker, or gennaker. The standard helm pair splits instruments — starboard with a Raymarine MFD and engine controls, port with wind instruments and a tablet repeater — and an optional Fischer Panda genset has start controls in the owner's cabin to port. The Pulse version is the peppier rig with a taller mast, extra sail area, and laminate Incidence sails, while an optional sprit takes a Code 0.
What to Inspect
Documented known issues are few but worth a look. The accordion sunroof makes it more difficult to tuck the lines into the mainsail bag since you can't step onto the canvas middle, so check the canvas and its manual mechanism for wear. Engine access is via the transoms, but the engines are set fairly far forward, so access to belts and impellers will be a stretch, and you should confirm belt and impeller service history closely. The aft portion of the starboard engine room has adequate space for an optional watermaker, meaning a former owner's installation there should be inspected for proper mounting and wiring.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These cats typically appear in the United States, Croatia, Greece, Martinique, Italy, and Türkiye. For a buyer, the checklist is short: confirm which layout and whether Pulse rig; verify helm instrumentation split and any optional dual engine controls; inspect sunroof mechanism and forward engine access points; and review any owner-added watermaker in the starboard engine room. The Excess 12 remains a light, visibility-forward sport cat whose used population spans private and ex-charter histories in the major cruising regions listed.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Excess 12. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 10 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 5 | $ 475,000 | — |
| Jun 25 | 2 | $ 527,787 | +11.1% |
| Jul 25 | 1 | $ 399,360 | -24.3% |
| Aug 25 | 3 | $ 439,500 | +10.1% |
| Sep 25 | 8 | $ 462,250 | +5.2% |
| Jan 26 | 7 | $ 412,051 | -10.9% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $ 456,575 | +10.8% |
| Apr 26 | 26 | $ 443,038 | -3.0% |
| May 26 | 3 | $ 419,500 | -5.3% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $ 445,721 | +6.3% |
Where they're listed
Excess 12 listings appear across 6 countries. United States has the most listings with 15 (31.9%), followed by Croatia and Greece.
Country view
47 listings · 6 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 439,800 | 15 | 1 | 31.9% |
| Croatia | $ 457,719 | 14 | 2 | 29.8% |
| Greece | $ 365,831 | 9 | 2 | 19.1% |
| Martinique | $ 399,360 | 5 | 0 | 10.6% |
| Italy | $ 422,226 | 3 | 0 | 6.4% |
| Spain | $ 412,051 | 1 | 0 | 2.1% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excess 11 | 37.17' | $ 456,575 | 124 | 42 |
| Nautitech 40 Open | 39.3' | $ 371,441 | 118 | 31 |
| Jeanneau 14 | 45.83' | $ 667,227 | 105 | 26 |
| Nautitech 44 Open | 43.64' | $ 750,000 | 62 | 22 |
| Jeanneau 12You are here | — | $ 439,500 | 51 | 6 |
| Outremer 45 | 44.95' | $ 660,000 | 47 | 6 |
| Pogo 12.5 | 41.01' | $ 331,846 | 33 | 5 |
| Seawind 1260 | 40.85' | $ 510,000 | 31 | 9 |
| Nautitech 40 | 39.67' | $ 225,000 | 26 | 6 |
| Nautitech 48 Open | 48.13' | $ 1,167,160 | 14 | 5 |
| Outremer 4X | 48' | $ 1,045,474 | 10 | 2 |