The Beneteau 331 is a French

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by Group Finot/Conq for cruising and first built in 1999. The Beneteau 331 has also been marketed as the Oceanis 331, Oceanis Clipper 331 and Moorings 332. The design replaced the Oceanis 321 in the company's line.

Production

The design was built by

Beneteau Beneteau or Bénéteau () is a French sail and motor boat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, commanding a substantial worldwide market, with its holdi ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, with 822 examples completed between 1999 and 2004, but it is now out of production. It was introduced in 1999 as a 2000 model.

Design

The Beneteau 331 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of solid

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

with the deck

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

-cored. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig,

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

spars, a deck-stepped mast, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a walk-through

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, shoal draft keel or lifting keel. It can be equipped with a spinnaker of . The interior layouts vary, based on the model and role, but a typical layout has sleeping accommodation for four to six people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin around a drop-leaf table and an aft cabin with a double berth. The galley is located on the port side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The galley is "U"-shaped and is equipped with a two-burner stove,

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

and a single sink. A navigation station is forward of the galley, on the port side. The head is located opposite the galley on the starboard side and includes a shower. A three-cabin layout was also available. Headroom is in the galley and head, in the main and aft cabins and in the bow cabin. The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of .

Variants

;Beneteau 331 :This model has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard fin and weighted bulb keel. It was also sold with a shoal draft bulb keel and lifting keel with twin rudders. The boat is fitted with a Westerbeke

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

of . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . ;Oceanis 331 :This model has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard fin and weighted bulb keel and with the optional shoal draft bulb keel. A lifting keel with twin rudders was also offered. The boat is fitted with a Swedish

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

diesel engine. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . ;Moorings 332 :Model with three cabins, for the

yacht charter Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and travelling to various coastal or island destinations. This is usually a vacation activity, but it also can be a business event. There are two main kinds ...

market.

Operational history

Beneteau 331 sailboat Me Minou cockpit 1664

A review described the design, "the Beneteau 331 offers a sophisticated hull with traditional lines. A spacious cockpit, top-of-the-line deck hardware and a roller furling main accent her ease of handling. The 331 features lots of extras such as an optional retractable keel, standard refrigeration, improved ventilation and additional electronics."

References

External links