Review of First 26

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

The boat is equipped with 5 berths.

The First 26 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.35 - 1.45 meter (4.43 - 4.73 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

First 26 is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta 2001 diesel engine.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for First 26 is 2.11, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 26 is about 145 kg/cm, alternatively 816 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 145 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 816 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 26 is 2.77.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 79% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First 26 is 35%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 31% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 15.88

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for First 26 is 69

The relative speed performance is 69 which means that a it is faster than 69% of all similar sailboat designs.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First 26 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.