Class CDisplacementCruiser/Racer

Oceanis 351

Beneteau · Philippe Briand · 1993

Updated

The Oceanis 351 is a 10.37 m displacement racing yacht designed by Philippe Briand and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1993. It races in Class C.

Oceanis 351 - Philippe Briand - BeneteauP 11.60 mLOA 10.37 m

Length

10.37 m

34′ 0″

Beam

3.80 m

Draft

1.53 m

Displacement

5.9 t

Sail area

60 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a Oceanis 351 finishes when she goes racing.

Not enough data yet to show how this design finishes. It has not been found in the race results we have collected so far.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a Oceanis 351 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

No regattas found yet.

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round the buoys, or offshore

A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.

Round the buoys

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Not enough data yet: no races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a Oceanis 351 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Not enough data yet to say who this design races against. No result we have collected puts it on the water beside another design we track.

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND8.8

Upwind VMG

4.64

43°

Beam reach

8.00

90°

Broad reach

8.63

135°

Downwind VMG

7.54

170°

Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.

Where it wins and where it pays

Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.

This is a boat that wants breeze. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.

Where it gains

Its best ground is on the beam once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.

Where it pays

It falls short on the beat when the breeze is soft, giving away time it never gets back.

Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.

True wind
Upwind-0.22 kn
Beam reach+0.35 kn
Broad reach+0.27 kn
Downwind+0.04 kn

Full width is 0.6 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.

How fast is a Oceanis 351

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG2.723.894.534.64
52°4.315.966.746.96
60°4.666.286.987.26
75°4.886.527.197.70
90°4.996.817.538.00
110°5.127.007.758.72
120°4.946.917.738.80
135°4.426.497.508.63
150°3.725.727.058.14
Run VMG3.224.966.297.54

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail22 m² – 29 m²
Headsail27 m² – 45 m²
Gennaker74 m² – 93 m²

Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 420 kg.

Rigging

Oceanis 351 rig and sail dimensions

A Oceanis 351 carries 11.60 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.00 m boom, a forestay 13.30 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP11.60 m11.28 – 11.67
Boom lengthE4.00 m3.85 – 4.17
Forestay heightIG13.30 m13.24 – 13.30
Fore triangle baseJ4.20 m3.82 – 4.20
Spinnaker hoistISP13.30 m13.14 – 13.30
Boom above deckBAS1.60 m1.57 – 1.60

Sails

Mainsail26.6 m²21.9 – 29.1
Headsail33.6 m²26.7 – 44.7
Gennaker87.1 m²73.9 – 93.2

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 74 to 93 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.