First 40 Lead keel

Sailboat specifications

The First 40 is a 40’2” (12.24m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design (United States). She was built between 2008 and 2016 by Bénéteau (France). The Lead keel version displays a deep lead fin offering high righting moment and low drag.

The First 40 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft and Shoal draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 40's main features

Model: First 40
Version: Lead keel
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Farr Yacht Design
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
First built hull: 2008
Last built hull: 2016
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single helm wheel
Rudder: Single spade rudder
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): N/A €

First 40's main dimensions

Overall length: 41’ 4”12.58 m
Hull length: 40’ 2”12.24 m
Waterline length: 35’10.67 m
Beam (width): 12’ 10”3.89 m
Draft: 8’2.45 m
Mast height from D_WL: 63’ 4”19.3 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 17417 lb7900 kg
Ballast weight: 6449 lb2925 kg
Ballast type: Lead
French customs tonnage: 15.54 Tx

First 40's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 974 ft²90.5 m²
Downwind sail area: 2120 ft²197 m²
Mainsail area: 538 ft²50 m²
Genoa area: 436 ft²40.5 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 1421 ft²132 m²
Asymmetric spinnaker area: 1582 ft²147 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 54’ 1”16.5 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 15’ 1”4.6 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 52’ 11”16.11 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 18’ 2”5.54 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi fractional
Mast configuration: Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 3
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars (carbon fiber spars as an option)
Standing rigging: Dyform

First 40'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.: 246 ft²/T22.82 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.: 535 ft²/T49.66 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.: 184
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.: 37 %
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.: 7.93 knots