First Yacht 53 Performance

Sailboat specifications

The First Yacht 53 is a 52’5” (15.98m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Biscontini Yacht Design (Italy). She is built since 2019 by Bénéteau (France). The Performance version offers a deeper keel, longer mast, and larger sail area.

The First Yacht 53 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Standard version (see all the versions compared).

Find out more about the First Yacht 53 on Boat-Spec's blog: European Yacht of the Year 2020 nominated sailboats.

First Yacht 53's main features

Model: First Yacht 53
Version: Performance
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Offshore cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Biscontini Yacht Design
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester (vacuum infusion)
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester (vacuum infusion)
First built hull: 2019
Last built hull: Still in production
Appendages: Keel : T-shaped keel (with bulb)
Helm: Twin helm wheels
Rudder: Twin spade rudders
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
EC design category iThe CE design category indicates the ability to cope with certain weather conditions (the sailboat is designed for these conditions) A: Wind < force 9, Waves < 10m B: Wind < force 8, Waves < 8m C: Wind < force 6, Waves < 4m D: Wind < force 4, Waves < 0,5m: A
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): About
483 000 €
(2020)

First Yacht 53's main dimensions

Overall length: 56’ 4”17.16 m
Hull length: 52’ 5”15.98 m
Waterline length: 50’ 6”15.4 m
Beam (width): 16’ 5”5 m
Draft: 9’ 10”3 m
Mast height from D_WL: 84’ 7”25.8 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 34172 lb15500 kg
Ballast weight: 9921 lb4500 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron fin with lead bulb

First Yacht 53's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 1862 ft²173 m²
Downwind sail area: 3832 ft²356 m²
Mainsail area: 980 ft²91 m²
Genoa area: 883 ft²82 m²
Asymmetric spinnaker area: 2852 ft²265 m²
Code 0 area: 1991 ft²185 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 75’ 1”22.9 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 21’6.4 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 75’ 6”23 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 22’ 4”6.8 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 3
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Carbon fiber mast and aluminum boom
Standing rigging: Single-strand (ROD) discontinuous

First Yacht 53's performances

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.: 300 ft²/T27.83 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.: 616 ft²/T57.27 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.: 120
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.: 29 %
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.: 9.52 knots