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Review of First 42


First 42
First 42 anno 1983. FIDDLESTICKS

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The First 42 aka Beneteau First 42 is a large sailboat designed by the Argentine maritime architect Germán Frers in the early eighties. The First 42 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.

Interior
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins and 8 berths.
The headroom is near average

Keel

The First 42 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 only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.30 - 2.40 meter (7.55 - 7.85 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

First 42 is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.108 diesel engine at 50.0 hp (37 kW), which gives a max speed about 7.3 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 150.0 liters (39 US gallons, 32 imperial gallons).


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 42 is 1.98, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 8.0 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 42 is about 294 kg/cm, alternatively 1650 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 294 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1650 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 42 is 24.6.

Low High 21% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 21% 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 42 is 3.21.

Slim Wide 62% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 62% 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 42 is 42%.

Low High 69% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 69% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for First 42 is 177 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

Heavy Light 79% 0 50 100
79% 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)

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): 23.97


RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for First 42 is 82

Slow Fast 82% 0 50 100
The relative speed performance is 82 which means that a it is faster than 82% 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 52m2 (559 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

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
Jib sheet 12.8 m(42.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet12.8 m(42.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 32.1 m(105.4 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet28.3 m(92.7 feet)14 mm(0.55 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 42 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