I have just listed a Beneteau Oceanis 361 Clipper for sale, it was the first one I had been aboard and I wasn’t too excited about having a 36 foot yacht to offer in a region where 40 foot seems the norm. However, this compact cruiser has left me suitably impressed at how a well-designed boat can give the feeling of being much larger than it actually is.

An easy step onto the swim platform led me into a large cockpit and then down the companionway where a nicely laid out galley and functional navigation station fronted a saloon that appeared to have as much room if not more than many bigger boats I have been aboard.

The cabins fore and aft may not offer a great deal of spare room but there was plenty of space where it mattered, including a shower area in the larger than normal heads.

My eyesight may not be as great as it used to be, but everything aboard looked to me as if had hardly seen any use at all, even the upholstery was spotless! This boat could have been a showroom model and it was hard to believe that it was built in 1999.

It would appear that everything on this compact cruiser received prompt attention as and when it was required and probably even when it wasn’t. The lighting had all been changed to LED and the batteries kept constantly charged by a two-panel solar system.

Above deck, the rigging had just been checked and tuned and there was a new unused storm mainsail as well as cruising chute.

The tender had been replaced in 2014 with a small rib and this was provided with a new 4 stroke mercury in 2015, despite the fact the existing 2 stroke was in good running order and now acts as a spare.

A gleaming Lofrans project X2 windlass had only just been fitted and I was informed the chain it was hauling was certified high tensile steel.

I only have positive things to say about this boat, so if anyone out there is looking for a well laid out comfortable boat that has had a lot of love and attention, this particular Beneteau Oceanis 361 comes highly recommended and has to be considered as a bargain.