First 27.7 Lifting keel

Sailboat specifications

The First 27.7 is a 27’2” (8.3m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by Finot Conq Architectes (France). She was built between 2002 and 2015 by Bénéteau (France). The Lifting keel version features an appendage configuration without compromise between draft and performance. Only drawback: some space is taken inside by the keel. She has been awarded "2003 - European Yacht of the Year: L < 10m".

The First 27.7 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in Shoal draft version (see all the versions compared).

First 27.7's main features

Model

First 27.7

Version

Lifting keel

Hull type

Monohull

Category

Cruiser-racer sailboat

Sailboat builder

Bénéteau

Sailboat designer

Finot Conq Architectes

Sailboat range

First

Country

France

Construction

GRP (glass reinforced polyester):
- Hull: Single skin fiberglass polyester
- Deck: Sandwich balsa fiberglass polyester (vacuum infusion)

First built hull

2002

Last built hull

2015

Award(s)

2003: European Yacht of the Year: L < 10m

Appendages

Keel : retractable L-shaped keel (with bulb)

Helm

Single tiller

Rudder

Single transom hung rudder

Unsinkable

Trailerable

EC design category iThe CE design category indicates the ability to cope with certain weather conditions (the sailboat is designed for these conditions) A: Wind < force 9, Waves < 10m B: Wind < force 8, Waves < 8m C: Wind < force 6, Waves < 4m D: Wind < force 4, Waves < 0,5m

Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only)

N/A €

First 27.7's main dimensions

Hull length: 27’ 2”8.3 m
Waterline length: 27’ 2”8.3 m
Beam (width): 9’ 10”3 m
Draft: 7’ 2”2.2 m
Draft when appendages up: 2’ 1”0.65 m
Mast height from D_WL: 44’ 11”13.7 m
Light displacement (M_LC): 6162 lb2795 kg
Ballast weight: 1369 lb621 kg
Ballast type: Glass fiber/vinylester (infusion) fin with lead bulb
French customs tonnage: 7.26 Tx

First 27.7's rig and sails

Upwind sail area: 525 ft²48.8 m²
Downwind sail area: 990 ft²92 m²
Mainsail area: 299 ft²27.8 m²
Genoa area: 226 ft²21 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area: 691 ft²64.2 m²
Asymmetric spinnaker area: 618 ft²57.4 m²
I iFore triangle height (from mast foot to fore stay top attachment): 38’ 2”11.63 m
J iFore triangle base (from mast foot to bottom of forestay): 10’ 6”3.19 m
P iMainsail hoist measurement (from tack to head): 36’10.96 m
E iMainsail foot measurement (from tack to clew): 13’ 10”4.21 m
Rigging type: Sloop Marconi 19/20
Mast configuration: Deck stepped mast
Rotating spars: No
Number of levels of spreaders: 1
Spreaders angle: Swept-back
Spars construction: Aluminum spars

First 27.7'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.: 265 ft²/T24.59 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.: 499 ft²/T46.37 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.: 138
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.: 22 %
Prismatic coefficient iThe prismatic coefficient is obtained by dividing the volume of the boat (mass divided by the density of water) by the waterline length multiplied by the area of the maximum transverse section. This coefficient describes the effectiveness of a sailboat for a certain speed range: lower is the coefficient (<0.45), more effective the yacht is below its hull speed; higher the coefficient is, more the boat is suitable for planning speed.: 0.59
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.: 6.99 knots