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Review of First 30 E


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The First 30 E is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean Berret in the early eighties. Several hundred boats have been produced. The First 30 E is built by the French yard Bénéteau.

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Hull
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 hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

Interior
The interior is like most other boats made of teak.
The boat is equipped with 7-8 berths.

Rig
The boat has more than one rig.

One option is a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Another option is a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

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.

First 30 E can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for First 30 E is 2.22, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 30 E is about 178 kg/cm, alternatively 1002 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 178 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1002 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for First 30 E is 16.5.

Low High 14% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 14% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 30 E is 2.86.

Slim Wide 76% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 76% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First 30 E is 41%.

Low High 50% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This righting moment (ability to resist heeling) is spot on average!


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for First 30 E is 160 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 86% 0 50 100
86% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for First 30 E with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.3.

Low High 62% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 62% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 69% 0 50 100
The First 30 E has more rig than 69% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly overrigged.


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for First 30 E is 73

Slow Fast 73% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 73 which means that a it is faster than 73% of all similar sailboat designs.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 31m2 (333 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications genoa specifications spinnaker specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



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.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
Masthead rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 26.1 m(85.5 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard26.1 m(85.5 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard26.1 m(85.5 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet 9.3 m(30.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet9.3 m(30.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 23.2 m(76.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet20.5 m(67.1 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Cunningham3.4 m(11.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Fractional rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 30.7 m(100.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard30.7 m(100.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard30.7 m(100.6 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet 9.3 m(30.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet9.3 m(30.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 23.2 m(76.3 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet20.5 m(67.1 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Cunningham3.4 m(11.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul6.7 m(22.0 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

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

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Finally

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References