Beneteau First 38s5vsCatalina Yachts 36
Beneteau against Catalina Yachts · used asking prices, listed in the US
At the same age, the Catalina Yachts 36 asks 2.7% less than the Beneteau First 38s5; on the headline Gauge Values it asks 5.5% more, which compares the whole fleets rather than boats of the same age. We can't yet say which holds its value better: the Beneteau First 38s5 has no published depreciation curve.
same age · 4 shared build years · 8 and 10 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 4 years both have boats in. Pooled across those years (8 and 10 boats), the Catalina Yachts 36 asks 2.7% less than the Beneteau First 38s5.
What your budget buys
At £37,500, only the Catalina Yachts 36 has a build year within reach.
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.
The Beneteau First 38s5 has no published depreciation curve, so its depreciation is withheld.
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 38s5 or the Catalina Yachts 36?
At the same age the Catalina Yachts 36 is cheaper: the Catalina Yachts 36 asks 2.7% less than the Beneteau First 38s5 across 4 shared build years. Their Gauge Values, the median asking prices of all the boats we observed whatever their age, are £36,500 and £38,500.
Which holds its value better?
We can't say yet. The Catalina Yachts 36 loses about 4.5% of its asking price a year of age, but the Beneteau First 38s5 has no published depreciation curve: we fit one from at least 20 boats across six build years and publish it only when the fit holds. We have 12 Beneteau First 38s5 boats across 6 build years.
Which spends less time on the market?
Boats of the Beneteau First 38s5 had been listed a median of 309 days when we last saw them, against 60 days for the Catalina Yachts 36. That is time listed so far, not time to sell, which we don't measure yet. 40% of the Beneteau First 38s5 boats we saw 14 or more days apart cut their asking price, against 15% of the Catalina Yachts 36 boats.
How do you compare them like for like?
We compare boats of the same build year. For each of the 4 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 8 boats in those years. The Gauge Values compare the whole fleets instead, so they mix boats of different ages.