The
First 38 is a 38’6” (11.75m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by
Berret Racoupeau Yachts Design (France). She was built between 1982 and 1985 by
Bénéteau (France) with 566 hulls completed. The
Deep draft version displays a deeper fin allowing a lower center of gravity and extra performance especially upwind.
The
First 38 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in
Shoal draft and
S version (
see all the versions compared).
First 38's main features
Model
First 38
Version
Deep draft
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
566
First built hull
1982
Last built hull
1985
Appendages
Keel : fin without bulb
Helm
Single helm wheel
Rudder
Single spade rudder
Unsinkable
No
Trailerable
No
Former French navigation category
1
Standard public price ex. VAT (indicative only)
First 38's main dimensions
Overall length
40’ 2”12.25 m
Hull length
38’ 6”11.75 m
Waterline length
33’ 11”10.32 m
Beam (width)
12’ 10”3.9 m
Draft
6’ 11”2.1 m
Mast height from DWL
52’ 6”16 m
Light displacement (MLC)
15653 lb7100 kg
Ballast weight
6614 lb3000 kg
French customs tonnage
14.00 Tx
First 38's rig and sails
Upwind sail area
845 ft²78.5 m²
Downwind sail area
1496 ft²139 m²
Mainsail area
323 ft²30 m²
Genoa area
522 ft²48.5 m²
Jib area
301 ft²28 m²
Stormjib area
83 ft²7.69 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area
1173 ft²109 m²
Rigging type
Sloop Marconi masthead
Mast configuration
Keel stepped mast
Rotating spars
No
Number of levels of spreaders
2
Spreaders angle
0 °
Spars construction
Aluminum spars
Standing rigging
1x19 strand wire
First 38'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.229 ft²/T21.25 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.405 ft²/T37.63 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.183
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.42 %
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 1.34.7.80 knots
First 38's auxiliary engine
Engine(s)
1 inboard engine
Engine(s) power (min./max.)
40 HP / 60 HP
Fuel type
Diesel
Fuel tank capacity
34.3 gal130 liters
First 38's accommodations and layout
Cockpit
Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s)
3
Berth(s) (min./max.)
6 / 10
Head(s) (min./max.)
/ 2
Freshwater tank capacity
105.7 gal400 liters
Maximum headroom
6’ 4”1.93 m
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