Detailed sailboat specifications and datasheets since 2015
MetricSI (m)
Imperial & Metricboth
ImperialIMP (ft)

First 38s5 Wing keel

Sailboat specifications

The First 38s5 is a 37’8” (11.5m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Jean Berret (France). She was built between 1989 and 1995 by Bénéteau (France) with 120 hulls completed. The Wing keel version is offered with a short keel fitted with large winglets. This configuration provides an interesting draft / low center of gravity / upwind performance trade-off.

The First 38s5 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Deep draft and Regatta version (see all the versions compared).

First 38s5's main features

Model
First 38s5
Version
Wing keel
Hull type
Monohull
Category
Cruiser-racer sailboat
Sailboat builder
Sailboat designer
Sailboat range
Country
France
Construction
GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester
Number of hulls built
120
First built hull
1989
Last built hull
1995
Appendages
Keel : wing keel
Helm
Single helm wheel
Rudder
Single spade rudder
Unsinkable
No
Trailerable
No
Former French navigation category
1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only)
N/A

First 38s5's main dimensions

Overall length
38’ 5”11.7 m
Hull length
37’ 8”11.5 m
Waterline length
30’ 2”9.2 m
Beam (width)
12’ 4”3.75 m
Waterline beam (width)
9’ 7”2.94 m
Draft
5’ 2”1.57 m
Mast height from DWL
52’ 6”16 m
Light displacement (MLC)
14551 lb6600 kg
Ballast weight
4850 lb2200 kg
Ballast type
Cast iron

First 38s5's rig and sails

Upwind sail area
866 ft²80.49 m²
Downwind sail area
1368 ft²127.12 m²
Mainsail area
416 ft²38.67 m²
Genoa area
450 ft²41.82 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area
952 ft²88.45 m²
I
 iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment)
47’ 1”14.37 m
J
 iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay)
12’ 10”3.9 m
P
 iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head)
47’ 11”14.6 m
E
 iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew)
15’ 5”4.7 m
Rigging type
Sloop Marconi 7/8
Mast configuration
Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars
No
Number of levels of spreaders
2
Spreaders angle
Swept-back
Spars construction
Aluminum spars
Standing rigging
1x19 strand wire discontinuous

First 38s5'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.
246 ft²/T22.88 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.
389 ft²/T36.13 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.
240
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.
33 %
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.
7.36 knots

First 38s5's auxiliary engine

Engine(s)
Inboard engine
Engine(s) power (min./max.)
28 HP / 43 HP
Fuel type
Diesel
Fuel tank capacity
31.7 gal120 liters

First 38s5's accommodations and layout

Cockpit
Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s) (min./max.)
2 / 3
Berth(s) (min./max.)
4 / 8
Head(s) (min./max.)
1 / 2
Freshwater tank capacity
97.7 gal370 liters
Fridge/ice-box capacity
30.4 gal115 liters
Maximum headroom
6’ 2”1.9 m
Have you spotted incorrect data?  You can report it in the forum or contact the webmaster

Similar sailboats that may interest you:


Sailboats
First built hull
Hull length
First 45F5 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1990
45’ 7”13.9 m
First 32S5 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1989
31’ 10”9.68 m
First 41S5 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1989
40’ 5”12.3 m
Dufour 39 Wing keel (Dufour)
1982
38’ 1”11.6 m
Albin Ballad (Albin Marine)
1971
30’9.14 m
First 42s7 Shoal draft (Bénéteau)
1994
41’ 8”12.7 m
First 35.7 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1992
34’ 7”10.55 m
First 35S5 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1988
34’ 10”10.6 m
First 36.7 Shoal draft (Bénéteau)
2002
35’10.68 m
First 36s7 Wing keel (Bénéteau)
1995
34’ 5”10.49 m
First 345 Shoal draft (Bénéteau)
1983
34’ 7”10.55 m
First 375 Deep draft (Bénéteau)
1985
37’11.27 m
First 38s5 Deep draft (Bénéteau)
1989
37’ 8”11.5 m
First 38 Shoal draft (Bénéteau)
1982
38’ 6”11.75 m
First 405 Shoal draft (Bénéteau)
1985
39’ 4”11.99 m
Boat-Specs.com uses cookies to improve user experience. By using our website you consent to all cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.

Read more