First 32 Shoal draft

Sailboat specifications

The First 32 is a 31’6” (9.6m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Jean Berret (France). She was built between 1980 and 1984 by Bénéteau (France). The Shoal draft version features a shorter keel to grant access to shallow areas.

The First 32 has also been marketed as Bénéteau R/C 32 and she is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 32's main features

Model: First 32
Version: Shoal draft
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Jean Berret
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: About 500
First built hull: 1980
Last built hull: 1984
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 2
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

First 32's main dimensions

Overall length: 33’ 11”10.33 m
Hull length: 31’ 6”9.6 m
Waterline length: 27’ 11”8.5 m
Beam (width): 11’ 1”3.37 m
Draft: 4’ 5”1.35 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 8378 lb3800 kg
Ballast weight: 3638 lb1650 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 9.00 Tx

First 32's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 616 ft²57.2 m²
Downwind sail area: 1054 ft²97.9 m²
Mainsail area: 225 ft²20.9 m²
Genoa area: 391 ft²36.3 m²
Solent area: 316 ft²29.4 m²
Jib area: 242 ft²22.5 m²
Stormjib area: 62 ft²5.75 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 829 ft²77 m²
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi masthead
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: 0 °
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire

First 32's performances

HN (French rating) iHN or "Handicap Nationale" is an empirical rating system used in France allowing various monohulls, of different sizes and designs, to race each other fairly. It is particularly suitable for cruiser and cruiser-racer. Therefore, by comparing these values, we can have an indication of the relative speed of 2 boats.: 17.0
Upwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size. Upwind: under 18 the ratio indicates a cruise oriented sailboat with limited performances especially in light wind, while over 25 it indicates a fast sailboat.: 253 ft²/T23.49 m²/T
Downwind sail area to displacement iThe ratio sail area to displacement is obtained by dividing the sail area by the boat's displaced volume to the power two-thirds. The ratio sail area to displacement can be used to compare the relative sail plan of different sailboats no matter what their size.: 433 ft²/T40.2 m²/T
Displacement-length ratio (DLR) iThe Displacement Length Ratio (DLR) is a figure that points out the boat's weight compared to its waterline length. The DLR is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement in tons by the cube of one one-hundredth of the waterline length (in feet). The DLR can be used to compare the relative mass of different sailboats no matter what their length: a DLR less than 180 is indicative of a really light sailboat (race boat made for planning), while a DLR greater than 300 is indicative of a heavy cruising sailboat.: 175
Ballast ratio iThe Ballast ratio is an indicator of stability; it is obtained by dividing the boat's displacement by the mass of the ballast. Since the stability depends also of the hull shapes and the position of the center of gravity, only the boats with similar ballast arrangements and hull shapes should be compared. The higher the ballast ratio is, the greater is the stability.: 43 %
Critical hull speed iAs a ship moves in the water, it creates standing waves that oppose its movement. This effect increases dramatically the resistance when the boat reaches a speed-length ratio (speed-length ratio is the ratio between the speed in knots and the square root of the waterline length in feet) of about 1.2 (corresponding to a Froude Number of 0.35) . This very sharp rise in resistance, between speed-length ratio of 1.2 to 1.5, is insurmountable for heavy sailboats and so becomes an apparent barrier. This leads to the concept of "hull speed". The hull speed is obtained by multiplying the square root of the waterline length (in feet) by 1.34.: 7.08 knots