First 305 Shoal draft

Sailboat specifications

The First 305 is a 30’8” (9.35m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Jean Berret (France). She was built between 1984 and 1989 by Bénéteau (France) with 644 hulls completed. The Shoal draft version features a shorter keel to grant access to shallow areas.

The First 305 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 305's main features

Model: First 305
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 balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built: 644
First built hull: 1984
Last built hull: 1989
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 305's main dimensions

Overall length: 32’ 2”9.8 m
Hull length: 30’ 8”9.35 m
Waterline length: 26’ 2”8 m
Beam (width): 10’ 8”3.25 m
Waterline beam (width): 8’ 8”2.64 m
Draft: 4’ 5”1.35 m
Mast height from D_WL: 41’ 8”12.7 m
Fore freeboard: 3’ 10”1.15 m
Mid-ship freeboard: 3’ 1”0.94 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 7937 lb3600 kg
Maximum displacement (M_LDC): 9259 lb4200 kg
Ballast weight: 2976 lb1350 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 8.20 Tx

First 305's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 527 ft²49 m²
Downwind sail area: 958 ft²89 m²
Mainsail area: 199 ft²18.5 m²
Genoa area: 328 ft²30.5 m²
Solent area: 264 ft²24.5 m²
Jib area: 137 ft²12.75 m²
Stormjib area: 62 ft²5.75 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 759 ft²70.5 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 39’ 4”11.99 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 11’ 5”3.47 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 33’ 7”10.24 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 11’ 1”3.37 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi masthead
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 305'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.: 16.5
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.: 225 ft²/T20.86 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.: 408 ft²/T37.89 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.: 199
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.: 38 %
Wetted area: 207 ft²19.2 m²
Righting moment @ 1° iThe righting moment is a moment (torque) that tends to restore a boat to its previous position after heeling. Its value corresponds to the torque needed to heel the boat for this angle. Higher the righting moment is for an angle, greater is the stability.: 454 lb.ft63 kg.m
Maximum transverse section: 12 ft²1.1 m²
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.: 6.87 knots

First 305's auxiliary engine

Engine(s): 1 inboard engine
Engine(s) power (min./max.): 9 HP / 18 HP
Fuel type: Diesel
Fuel tank capacity: 7.1 gal27 liters

First 305's accommodations and layout

Cockpit: Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s): 2
Berth(s): 6
Head(s): 1
Freshwater tank capacity: 26.4 gal100 liters
Fridge/ice-box capacity: 21.1 gal80 liters
Maximum headroom: 6’ 2”1.89 m
Galley headroom: 5’ 10”1.77 m
Head headroom: 5’ 7”1.71 m

First 305's saloon

Maximum headroom: 5’ 10”1.78 m
Saloon table length: 3’ 1”0.95 m
Saloon table width: 2’ 8”0.81 m
Saloon width (min./max.): 4’ 4”1.32 m / 6’ 5”1.94 m
Berth length: 6’ 1”1.85 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 2’0.6 m / 2’0.6 m / 1’ 10”0.55 m / 1’ 7”0.5 m

First 305's fore cabin

Maximum headroom: 5’1.53 m
Berth length: 6’ 8”2.03 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 4’ 5”1.35 m / 3’ 6”1.07 m / 2’ 2”0.68 m / 1’ 2”0.37 m

First 305's aft cabin

Maximum headroom: 5’ 7”1.71 m
Berth length: 6’ 1”1.85 m
Berth width (head/elbows/knees/feet): 5’ 1”1.56 m / 4’ 10”1.47 m / 4’ 1”1.25 m / 3’ 6”1.07 m