First 345 Deep draft

Sailboat specifications

The First 345 is a 34’7” (10.55m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Jean Berret (France). She was built between 1983 and 1988 by Bénéteau (France). The Deep draft version displays a deeper fin allowing a lower center of gravity and extra performance especially upwind.

The First 345 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Shoal draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 345's main features

Model: First 345
Version: Deep draft
Hull type: Monohull
Category: Cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder: Bénéteau
Sailboat designer: Jean Berret
Sailboat range: First
Country: France
Construction: Hull and deck: GRP (glass reinforced polyester)
Number of hulls built: About 80
First built hull: 1983
Last built hull: 1988
Appendages: Keel : fin without bulb
Helm: Single tiller
Rudder: Single spade rudder
Unsinkable: No
Trailerable: No
Former French navigation category: 1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only): N/A €

First 345's main dimensions

Overall length: 36’ 1”11 m
Hull length: 34’ 7”10.55 m
Waterline length: 29’ 2”8.9 m
Beam (width): 11’ 6”3.5 m
Draft: 6’ 2”1.9 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 11244 lb5100 kg
Ballast weight: 4409 lb2000 kg
Ballast type: Cast iron
French customs tonnage: 10.30 Tx

First 345's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 689 ft²64 m²
Downwind sail area: 1218 ft²113.15 m²
Mainsail area: 258 ft²24 m²
Genoa area: 431 ft²40 m²
Jib area: 248 ft²23 m²
Stormjib area: 82 ft²7.65 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 960 ft²89.15 m²
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi fractional
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 2
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars
Standing rigging: 1x19 strand wire

First 345'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.: 233 ft²/T21.6 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.: 411 ft²/T38.19 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.: 205
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.: 39 %
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.: 7.24 knots