Review of First 25

Basic specs.

The First 25 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean-Marie Finot in the late seventies. A few thousand boats have been produced. The First 25 is built by the French yard Bénéteau.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 5 berths, a galley, 40.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for First 25 is 2.15, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

EU classification

First 25 holds two CE certifications:

The boat is by European Union certified as Class C. INSHORE:

Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced.

The boat is by European Union certified as Class D. SHELTERED WATERS:

Designed for voyages on sheltered coastal waters, small bays, small lakes, rivers and canals when conditions up to, and including, wind force 4 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 0,3 m may be experienced, with occasional waves of 0,5 m maximum height, for example from passing vessels.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.2 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 25 is about 119 kg/cm, alternatively 670 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 119 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 670 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for First 25 is 14.6 - 17.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This is an average comfort value!

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 25 is 2.73.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 79% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for First 25 is 200 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

58% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

Maintenance

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	7.5 m	(24.6 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	7.5 m	(24.6 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	18.8 m	(61.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	16.5 m	(54.1 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First 25 (1977-1983) it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.