Beneteau 25S and First 25.7 Buyer's Guide

260 Spirit, 25.7, 25S, First 25: the same boat by four names

Anyone shopping for a Beneteau 25S quickly runs into a naming tangle. The design started as the First 260 Spirit, a Groupe Finot lifting-keel boat of the mid-1990s (sailboatdata says 1994 and records 500 built; Yachting Monthly dates the launch to 1996). Yachting Monthly noted that it remained in production virtually unchanged as the First 25.7, which SAIL says arrived in 2003 and sailboatdata lists from 2004. A 25.7 S refresh followed, and when Beneteau USA began importing the boat in 2012 it was sold as the First 25S. By 2016 Beneteau's own site simply called it the First 25.

Through all those names the core numbers barely move: a 7.90 m (25 ft 11 in) overall length, a 7.50 m hull, a 7.35 m (24 ft 1 in) waterline, a 2.75 m (9 ft) beam and a 2,150 kg (4,740 lb) light displacement. What changes is the rig, the interior trim and the engine supplier. That is good news for buyers: parts, sails and knowledge carry across the whole family.

• First 260 Spirit (mid-1990s): reverse transom, lifting keel, Nanni diesel
• First 25.7 (2003 to 2004 launch): vertical transom, fixed or lifting keel, pear-tinted joinery
• First 25.7 S and First 25S: bigger square-top main, Yanmar 14 hp, blond oak interior
• First 25 (about 2016 on): the 25S renamed, with a code zero added in 2016

A long waterline and two rudders

The hull is what made the 260 Spirit a hit in France, and what keeps the 25S quick today. SAIL's Zuzana Prochazka described a nearly plumb bow with a deep V-entry, rounded midsections and a flatter underbody aft, producing a long sailing waterline and the form stability to carry sail. Waterline length is within inches of overall hull length, which is why the boat feels bigger than 25 feet on a reach.

The wide stern pushes the leeward quarter deep when heeled, so Finot fitted twin kick-up rudders to keep the boat tracking at any angle of heel. On the later boats both rudders are retractable and adjustable. SAIL reported that the 25S came out almost 1,000 lb lighter than the boat it described as the original, crediting resin transfer moulded construction, even as the transom gained some girth.

Fixed keel or lifting keel, and why the shaft limits draft

Two keels were offered. The fixed cast iron fin draws 1.45 m (4 ft 9 in) and carries 615 kg of ballast per Beneteau. The lifting keel is cast iron, pivoted and adjusted with a lifting screw and a winch handle, draws 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) down and carries 620 kg. SAIL listed the ballast at 1,366 lb for the swing keel and 1,355 lb for the fixed keel and noted the lifting option cost only about $1,200 extra when new.

There is one catch with the lifting version. Because the boat has an inboard diesel with a shaft and propeller, raising the keel only gets you down to about 0.85 m (2 ft 9 in). That is still shallow enough for a ramp launch and most thin-water anchorages, but it is not a beachable boat in the way an outboard-powered First 21.7 or First 24 is.

What SAIL measured on the Chesapeake

SAIL's 2014 test of the First 25 S happened in a variable breeze of 7 knots or less, which is a fair test of any small boat. While other boats sat still, the 25S slipped along at 4.7 knots at a 60 degree apparent wind angle and still carried 4.2 knots on a broad reach. The flat-top North Sails main drove the hull well to windward, sailing as close as 40 degrees off the wind, and a retractable sprit and asymmetric could be added for more speed off the wind.

SAIL calculated a sail area to displacement ratio of 24 and a displacement to length ratio of 151, and listed total sail area at 414 sq ft. The rig is a 9/10 aluminum deck-stepped mast with single aft-swept spreaders rising 41 feet above the waterline. Under power, the 14 hp Yanmar and fixed propeller pushed the boat near 7 knots on flat water.

A real cabin and an enclosed head

Unlike most trailerable sportsboats, the 25.7 and 25S have a proper interior. Forward is an enclosed cabin with a 1.90 m by 1.50 m double berth and a sliding door. Aft of it, between cabin and saloon, is a pass-through with a sink and an enclosed marine toilet. The saloon has two settees either side of a drop-leaf table that convert to a double, and to port of the companionway is a compact galley with a sink, a manual water pump, an icebox (50 L on the late First 25) and an optional gimballed single-burner stove.

SAIL singled out a dedicated aft-facing nav desk to starboard that uses the end of the settee as a seat. Headroom is 5 ft 10 in at the companionway, tapering to 5 ft 1 in in the forward cabin, so this is a weekend cruiser rather than a liveaboard, but it is a comfortable one for two adults with kids or a race crew sleeping aboard.

Club racing and the road

Yachting World's coolest-yachts series featured a 2004 First 25.7 that ARC organizer Jeremy Wyatt had raced around the Solent for seven years with a crew of five, picking up trophies and wintering the boat on the owner's driveway. That is the 25.7 in a nutshell: a boat you can club race seriously, cruise for a weekend and store at home.

Trailering is realistic but not casual. The 9 ft beam is wider than the 8 ft 6 in US limit, so check your state's rules for wide loads, and with the boat's 4,740 lb light weight plus engine fuel, gear and a trailer you need a full-size truck. Most US owners keep the boat in a slip or on a mooring and trailer only for seasonal moves.

Prices and running costs

Used values in 2026 run from roughly $15,000 for a tired First 260 Spirit to about $55,000 for a late First 25 or 25S with good sails and a trailer. The inboard adds maintenance compared with an outboard trailer sailer, so budget roughly $3,000 to $7,500 a year for slip or storage, insurance, a haulout, engine service and sails.