Beneteau Oceanis 281
Description
The Beneteau Oceanis 281 is a compact aft-cockpit cruiser designed by Groupe Finot and built by Beneteau in France from 1995 to 1998. As a smaller entry in the Oceanis line, it shares hull roots with the sportier First 285, blending racer performance with family-friendly comfort for coastal day sails or weekend getaways. With around 200 units produced, it's trailerable and forgiving, ideal for beginners or couples—owners praise its "surprising space" and ease of handling, though it's limited for extended voyages due to modest tankage and headroom. Variants include a deeper keel (5.25 ft draft) for better pointing and basic vs. equipped packages.
Construction Details
| Designer | Groupe Finot |
|---|---|
| Builder | Beneteau |
| Length | 28.500 ft |
| LOA | 28.500 ft |
| LWL | 24.500 ft |
| Beam | 9.670 ft |
| Displacement | 6173 lb |
| Ballast | 2205 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.250 ft |
| Year Built | 1995 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 33.30 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 10.80 ft |
| p | 29.20 ft |
| e | 11.30 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33.30 ft | 10.80 ft | 29.20 ft | 11.30 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Beneteau Oceanis 281 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 29.2 ft - (8900 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 11.3 ft - (3444 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.65 ft - (9342 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 30.94 ft - (9431 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 169.92 ft² |
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Beneteau Oceanis 281 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 28.01 ft - (8537 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.34 ft - (4371 mm) |
| Leech | * 24.26 ft - (7394 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.42 ft - (3786 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.03 ° |
| Area | * 173.93 ft² |
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Beneteau Oceanis 281 - GENOA
| Luff | * 33.26 ft - (10138 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 17.47 ft - (5325 mm) |
| Leech | * 31.25 ft - (9525 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 16.2 ft - (4938 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.01 ° |
| Area | * 269.42 ft² |
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Beneteau Oceanis 281 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 33.26 ft - (10138 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 19.44 ft - (5925 mm) |
| Foot | * 19.44 ft - (5925 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 550 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.