First 47.7 Standard

Sailboat specifications

The First 47.7 is a 47’7” (14.5m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Farr Yacht Design (United States). She was built between 1999 and 2004 by Bénéteau (France).

The First 47.7 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 47.7's main features

Model: First 47.7
Version: Standard
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
Number of hulls built: About 250
First built hull: 1999
Last built hull: 2004
Appendages: Keel : L-shaped keel (with 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
Former French navigation category: 1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

First 47.7's main dimensions

Overall length: 48’ 11”14.9 m
Hull length: 47’ 7”14.5 m
Waterline length: 41’ 4”12.6 m
Beam (width): 14’ 10”4.5 m
Draft: 7’ 8”2.35 m
Mast height from D_WL: 69’ 1”21.05 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 26687 lb12105 kg
Ballast weight: 8766 lb3976 kg
Ballast type: Lead
French customs tonnage: 26.53 Tx

First 47.7's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 1464 ft²136 m²
Downwind sail area: 2400 ft²223 m²
Mainsail area: 689 ft²64 m²
Genoa area: 775 ft²72 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 1711 ft²159 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 59’ 8”18.19 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 17’ 1”5.2 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 57’ 5”17.5 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 21’ 2”6.45 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 3
Spreaders angle: 17 °
Spars construction: Aluminum spars (carbon fiber spars as an option)
Standing rigging: Single-strand (ROD) discontinuous

First 47.7'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.: 278 ft²/T25.8 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.: 455 ft²/T42.3 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.: 171
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.: 8.62 knots