Review of First 435

Basic specs.

The First 435 also known as Beneteau First 435 is a large sailboat designed by the Argentine maritime architect Germán Frers in the mid eighties. The First 435 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.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 7-9 berths.

Rig

The First 435 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Keel

The First 435 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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.30 - 2.40 meter (7.55 - 7.85 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.

First 435 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.90 - 2.00 meter (6.23 - 6.53 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

CentreBoard

Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.68 - 1.78 meter (5.51 - 5.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.108 diesel engine

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 435 is 1.89, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 435 is about 358 kg/cm, alternatively 2006 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 358 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2006 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 435 is 3.28.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First 435 is 39%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 54% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for First 435 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.5, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.9.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 46% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The First 435 has more rig than 27% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

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
Mainsail halyard	38.5 m	(126.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	38.5 m	(126.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	38.5 m	(126.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	13.2 m	(43.4 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	13.2 m	(43.4 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	33.1 m	(108.6 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	29.1 m	(95.6 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	4.8 m	(15.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	9.5 m	(31.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	9.5 m	(31.2 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 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.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First 435 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.