First 50 Standard

Sailboat specifications

The First 50 is a 43’6” (13.25m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Philippe Briand (France). She was built since 2006 (and now discontinued) by Bénéteau (France).

The First 50 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 50's main features

Model: First 50
Version: Standard
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Philippe Briand
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
First built hull: 2006
Last built hull: Discontinued
Appendages: Keel : T-shaped keel (with bulb)
Helm: Twin helm wheels
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): About
276 000 €
(2007)

First 50's main dimensions

Overall length: 49’ 2”14.99 m
Hull length: 43’ 6”13.25 m
Waterline length: 43’ 6”13.25 m
Beam (width): 14’ 6”4.41 m
Draft: 7’ 11”2.4 m
Mast height from D_WL: 73’ 4”22.35 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 29950 lb13585 kg
Ballast weight: 10516 lb4770 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 26.00 Tx

First 50's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 1493 ft²138.7 m²
Downwind sail area: 2461 ft²228.6 m²
Mainsail area: 738 ft²68.6 m²
Genoa area: 755 ft²70.1 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 1722 ft²160 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 62’ 5”19.03 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 17’ 7”5.36 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 60’ 8”18.5 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 21’ 4”6.5 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 9/10
Mast configuration: Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 3
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: Single-strand (ROD) discontinuous

First 50'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.: 262 ft²/T24.36 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.: 432 ft²/T40.15 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.: 165
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.: 35 %
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.: 8.83 knots