Beneteau Antares 11 Fly

The Antares 11 Fly sits at the top of a wheelhouse-cruiser range Beneteau has been building for more than forty years. The interesting decision is under the transom: twin outboards, 2 × 250 hp as standard and 2 × 300 hp in practice, instead of the inboard diesels that used to define this class. That gives back the volume an engine box swallowed, makes the flush aft deck and the side swim platform possible, and moves servicing to a dealer rather than an engine room — at the price of thirst. At the 17-knot cruise the boat is happiest at, 80 litres an hour against 800 litres of tankage leaves roughly 150 miles, so this is a coastal boat and not a passage-maker. Two cabins, a single shower room and a convertible saloon sleep up to seven, which is optimistic for a full week. Used, outboard cruisers hold up well: buyers value the engines separately, and repowering reads as a known cost rather than a risk.