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Review of First 325


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The First 325 aka Beneteau First 325 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean Berret in the mid eighties. The First 325 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.


Keel

The First 325 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Deep keel

One option is a deep keel. A deep keel provide a better healing moment than a shallow keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.77 - 1.87 meter (5.81 - 6.11 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Shallow keel

Another option is a shallow keel. A shallow keel allow to sail both coastal and inland waters.

This keel is also made of iron.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.34 - 1.44 meter (4.40 - 4.70 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

First 325 may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2002 diesel engine at 18 hp (13 kW).


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 325 is 2.02, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 325 is about 224 kg/cm, alternatively 1257 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 224 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1257 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 325 is 2.90.

Slim Wide 76% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 76% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First 325 is 35%.

Low High 21% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 21% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for First 325 is 69

Slow Fast 69% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 69 which means that a it is faster than 69% of all similar sailboat designs.


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
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 9.9 m(32.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet9.9 m(32.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 24.6 m(80.9 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet21.7 m(71.2 feet)12 mm(1/2 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 325 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