Beneteau First 285vsCatalina Yachts 30 MkII
Beneteau against Catalina Yachts · used asking prices, listed in the UK, Europe and the US
At the same age, the Catalina Yachts 30 MkII asks 9.2% more than the Beneteau First 285; on the headline Gauge Values it asks 28% more, which compares the whole fleets rather than boats of the same age. Neither has a published depreciation curve yet, so we can't say which holds its value better.
same age · 5 shared build years · 10 and 15 boats in them · Indicative · in today’s prices · asking, not sold
Head to head
The better figure on each line is in orange. Where either side has too few boats, we say so rather than pick a winner.
Year by year
Each build year's Gauge Estimate, for the 5 years both have boats in. Pooled across those years (10 and 15 boats), the Catalina Yachts 30 MkII asks 9.2% more than the Beneteau First 285.
What your budget buys
At £16,500 your money buys 4 years newer in the Beneteau First 285: a 1990 against a 1986.
A year of ownership
Each at its Gauge Value, on a South Coast marina berth, 44 engine hours a year (the median of 103 UK-listed sailing boats that report hours). An estimate in pounds from published rates, not a quote.
Each line is the middle of the cited range, to the nearest fifty pounds. Depreciation is a year of age on each model's published curve, at its Gauge Value, and stays out of the totals.
Neither model has a published depreciation curve, so depreciation is withheld on both sides.
Sources: Lake Yard price list 2026 · BerthFinder · Boatsetter · Velos Insurance; Admiral Yacht Insurance · Boating Magazine, "Calculating Boat Fuel Consumption" · Littlehampton Marina fuel prices
Specification
Questions
Which is cheaper, the Beneteau First 285 or the Catalina Yachts 30 MkII?
At the same age the Beneteau First 285 is cheaper: the Catalina Yachts 30 MkII asks 9.2% more than the Beneteau First 285 across 5 shared build years. Their Gauge Values, the median asking prices of all the boats we observed whatever their age, are £14,500 and £18,500.
Which holds its value better?
We can't say yet: neither has a published depreciation curve, and we fit one from at least 20 boats across six build years and publish it only when the fit holds. We have 10 Beneteau First 285 boats across 5 build years. We have 19 Catalina Yachts 30 MkII boats across 9 build years.
Which spends less time on the market?
Boats of the Beneteau First 285 had been listed a median of 173 days when we last saw them; too few Catalina Yachts 30 MkII boats were seen on two dates to say. That is time listed so far, not time to sell, which we don't measure yet. 13% of the Beneteau First 285 boats we saw 14 or more days apart cut their asking price; too few Catalina Yachts 30 MkII boats were seen that far apart to say.
How do you compare them like for like?
We compare boats of the same build year. For each of the 5 years both models have boats in, we take the ratio of their median asking prices in today's prices, then pool the years, giving more weight to years with more boats on both sides. The figure is Indicative because the thinner side has 10 boats in those years. The Gauge Values compare the whole fleets instead, so they mix boats of different ages.