The
First 435 is a 44’ (13.4m) cruiser-racer sailboat designed by
Frers Naval Architecture & Engineering (Argentina). She was built since 1984 (and now discontinued) by
Bénéteau (France). The
Keel and centerboard version features a centerboard inside of a short fin-keel allowing shoal draft while maintaining upwind capabilities.
The
First 435 is as well listed, on Boat-Specs.com, in
Deep draft and
Shoal draft version (
see all the versions compared).
First 435's main features
Model
First 435
Version
Keel and centerboard
Hull type
Monohull
Category
Offshore 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
First built hull
1984
Last built hull
Discontinued
Appendages
Centerboard : pivoting centerboard in the 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)
First 435's main dimensions
Overall length
44’ 7”13.6 m
Hull length
44’13.4 m
Waterline length
36’ 1”11 m
Beam (width)
13’ 4”4.05 m
Draft
10’ 6”3.2 m
Draft when appendages up
5’ 7”1.7 m
Light displacement (MLC)
23810 lb10800 kg
Ballast weight
9259 lb4200 kg
First 435's rig and sails
Upwind sail area
1132 ft²105.2 m²
Downwind sail area
1993 ft²185.2 m²
Mainsail area
422 ft²39.2 m²
Genoa area
710 ft²66 m²
Solent area
481 ft²44.73 m²
Jib area
347 ft²32.2 m²
Stormjib area
154 ft²14.3 m²
Symmetric spinnaker area
1572 ft²146 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 435'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.232 ft²/T21.53 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.408 ft²/T37.9 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.230
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 1.34.8.05 knots
First 435's auxiliary engine
Engine(s)
1 inboard engine
Fuel type
Diesel
Fuel tank capacity
51.5 gal195 liters
First 435's accommodations and layout
Cockpit
Closed aft cockpit
Cabin(s) (min./max.)
2 / 3
Berth(s) (min./max.)
4 / 9
Head(s) (min./max.)
2 / 3
Freshwater tank capacity
126.8 gal480 liters
Boiler capacity
11.1 gal42 liters
Maximum headroom
6’ 5”1.95 m
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