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Review of First 38s5

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The First 38s5 aka Beneteau First 38 S5 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean Berret in the late eighties. The First 38s5 is built by the French yard Bénéteau.

Here we would have liked to show you nice photos of the First 38s5.
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Looking for a new boat? Find a First 38s5 or similar boat for sale

Hull
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Rig
The boat equipped with 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.

Keel

The First 38s5 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.But be aware that even though a Q keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 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.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 38s5 is about 285 kg/cm, alternatively 1601 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 285 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1601 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 38s5 is 3.03.

Slim Wide 73% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First 38s5 is 30%.

Low High 8% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 8% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 86% 0 50 100
The First 38s5 has more rig than 86% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.


Maintenance

Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

mainsail specifications headsail 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
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 37.8 m(124.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard37.8 m(124.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard37.8 m(124.0 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 11.4 m(37.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet11.4 m(37.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 28.5 m(93.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet25.0 m(82.1 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham4.7 m(15.4 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap9.4 m(30.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul9.4 m(30.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

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.


Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First 38 S 5 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.



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