First 24

Sailboat specifications

The First 24 is a 24’7” (7.5m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Groupe Finot (France). She was built between 1982 and 1985 by Bénéteau (France) with 677 hulls completed.

First 24's main features

Model: First 24
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Coastal cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Groupe Finot
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
Single skin fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: 677
First built hull: 1982
Last built hull: 1985
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single transom hung rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: Yes
Former French navigation category: 3
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

First 24's main dimensions

Overall length: 26’ 2”8 m
Hull length: 24’ 7”7.5 m
Waterline length: 20’ 8”6.3 m
Beam (width): 8’ 2”2.5 m
Draft: 4’1.22 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 3307 lb1500 kg
Ballast weight: 1102 lb500 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron

First 24's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 351 ft²32.6 m²
Downwind sail area: 624 ft²58 m²
Mainsail area: 161 ft²15 m²
Genoa area: 189 ft²17.6 m²
Solent area: 141 ft²13.1 m²
Jib area: 86 ft²8 m²
Stormjib area: 43 ft²4 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 463 ft²43 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 28’ 2”8.6 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 8’ 4”2.52 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 26’ 2”7.98 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 10’ 10”3.29 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: 0 °
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire continuous

First 24'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.: 10.5
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.: 268 ft²/T24.88 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.: 476 ft²/T44.26 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.: 170
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.: 33 %
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.: 6.09 knots

First 24's auxiliary engine

Engine(s): 1 outboard engine
Engine(s) power: 10 HP
Fuel type: Gas

First 24's accommodations and layout

Cockpit: Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s): 1
Berth(s): 5
Head(s): 1
Freshwater tank capacity: 13.2 gal50 liters
Galley headroom: 5’ 6”1.68 m
Head headroom: 4’ 10”1.45 m

First 24's saloon

Maximum headroom: 5’ 6”1.68 m
Saloon table length: 3’ 2”0.99 m
Saloon table width: 2’ 8”0.81 m
Saloon width: 5’ 10”1.78 m
Berth length: 5’ 11”1.8 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 1’ 11”0.59 m / 1’ 10”0.54 m / 1’ 6”0.46 m / 1’ 4”0.4 m

First 24's fore cabin

Berth length: 7’ 2”2.2 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 5’ 5”1.65 m / 4’ 7”1.39 m / 3’ 8”1.13 m / 2’ 11”0.87 m

First 24's aft cabin

Maximum headroom: 4’ 10”1.45 m
Berth length: 6’ 7”2 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 4’ 4”1.3 m / 4’ 2”1.27 m / 3’ 8”1.14 m / 3’ 1”0.93 m