Beneteau shows First 36 Spirit and Oceanis 42 at Cannes

By Press Mare

09/09/2026 - 17:18

Beneteau presented the First 36 Spirit and the Oceanis 42 at the Cannes Yachting Festival, where the yard also ran an onboard visit of the First 60, the model shown for the first time at boot Düsseldorf 2026.

The First 36 Spirit is a planing cruiser built on the First 36 platform. The Spirit name first appeared in 1992 with the First Spirit 300 and later left the range. The hull is vacuum-infused and light displacement is 4,620 kg. The twin rudders use CNC-milled Corecel cores, and the sailing controls and deck layout were laid out for small crews, with deck hardware oversized in places.

Below deck the boat has a three-cabin layout, a saloon and a single head. The press material lists durable worktops, removable magnetic doors, open lockers in every cabin with a hanging rail and a retaining net, and a folding sink in the head.

The starting price is €200,000 excluding VAT. The world premiere is set for boot Düsseldorf in January 2027.

Provisional figures give an overall length of 11.98 m, hull length of 11.00 m and beam of 3.80 m. Draft is 2.25 m with the standard keel (1,550 kg of ballast) or 1.95 m with the shallow keel (1,710 kg). The saildrive engine is rated at 29 HP, with 70 litres of fuel and 160 litres of fresh water. Sail area is 80 m² upwind and 183 m² downwind, and air draft excluding antennae is 17.80 m. EC certification is A6/B8/C10.

Naval architecture is by Samuel Manuard and exterior design by Lorenzo Argento. Structural engineering is by Pure Design & Engineering, interior design by SITO and Lorenzo Argento, with concept and R&D handled by the Seascape team and Beneteau.

Thibaut de Montvalon, Director Beneteau Sailing and CSO of the Sailing Division at Groupe Beneteau, said: "This is what First Spirit means: joy, simplicity, no artefacts. In a world and age that often feels complex, First Spirit offers simple and authentic sailing to share our passion and expand our community."

Andraž Mihelin, CEO of Seascape and First Range Manager, said: "So we took the standard First 36 through another round of 'simplify, then add lightness' and kept asking ourselves what could be removed, refined, or made more intuitive."

The Oceanis 42 arrives in the fortieth year of the Oceanis range and replaces the Oceanis 40.1 in the 40-foot segment. Naval architecture is by Marc Lombard Yacht Design, with exterior and interior design by Nauta Design. Compared with its predecessor, cockpit floor space grows by 12% and seating areas by 10%; the yard describes it as the largest cockpit in the segment. The stern comes in two configurations: an open version in which the swim platform extends the cockpit, and a closed version with aft seating near the helm stations.

Sail area has been increased. The standard furling mast is 600 mm taller, while the classic and performance masts gain 300 mm. The helm stations carry over solutions introduced on the Oceanis 47 and Oceanis 52, with integrated seating and backrests, consoles grouping the controls, and the engine throttle built into the helm console.

Inside, saloon and cabin hull windows are 2.5 times larger than on the previous model, and the coachroof glazing has also been enlarged. Upholstery comes in three combinations — Ivory, Sunset and Pacific — matched with Sand Oak or Laos Teak woodwork, the latter developed for the four-cabin charter version. The saloon includes a dedicated desk area, a bookshelf built into the mast bulkhead and a cabinet at the companionway grouping the electrical controls.

The L-shaped galley sits at the foot of the companionway and offers 215 litres of refrigeration, which the yard states is the largest cold storage volume in the 40-foot segment. Five interior configurations are available, from two cabins and one head to four cabins and two heads for charter use, along with two interior architectures: an L-shaped galley or a longitudinal galley.

Provisional data give an overall length of 12.86 m, hull length of 11.99 m, waterline length of 11.42 m and hull beam of 4.23 m. Draft is 2.25 m with the deep cast-iron keel (2,050 kg of ballast) or 1.68 m with the shallow keel (2,237 kg). Light displacement is 7,985 kg, standard engine power 45 HP, with 195 litres of fuel and 235 litres of fresh water. EC certification is A10/B10/C12.