Beneteau First 35 (2009 to 2016), Used Racer-Cruiser Guide

The First 35 most buyers mean, and the two older boats with the same number

Type first 35 into a listing search and three different Beneteaus come back. The one this page covers, and the one most people are hunting for, is the Farr Yacht Design boat launched in 2009 and sold until 2016. Beneteau introduced it alongside the Juan Kouyoumdjian First 30 as part of a complete rebuild of the First range that had started with the First 50 and 45 in 2008 and the First 40 in 2009. SAIL called it the logical successor to the First 36.7, and Cruising World framed it as cut from the same cloth as the First 40.

The other two share only the name. The 1980 First 35 was a Jean Berret design derived from an IOR three-quarter-ton racer, a masthead boat of about 35 ft 2 in with a 10,485 lb displacement; sailboatdata counts 455 built and notes it was sold in the US as the Beneteau R/C 35. The First 35s5 of 1988 to 1994 is the Berret and Philippe Starck boat with the mahogany interior and carbon tiller that shocked the 1987 Paris show. Neither has the Farr boat's twin-spreader fractional rig, open transom or saildrive, so a quick look at the stern and the rig settles which one is in front of you.

What Farr drew, and why it is gentler than the 34.7

The hull measures 35 ft 7 in overall on a 35 ft hull length, with a 30 ft 7 in waterline and an 11 ft 11 in beam. Beneteau's own equipment list gives a light displacement of 5,500 kg (12,125 lb) with the deep keel and 6,060 kg (13,360 lb) with the heavier shoal fin, which explains why some websites print the larger number. Cruising World worked out a sail area to displacement ratio of 20.3 on the 670 sq ft of 100 percent sail area, with a ballast ratio around 0.37 on the deep keel.

Those numbers describe a quick boat that is not extreme, and every tester said the same thing on the water. SAIL's reviewer, who had sailed the First 34.7, noted that the older boat demanded constant attention from driver and trimmers while the 35 felt forgiving from the moment he took the wheel. It was drawn to IRC for windward-leeward work and longer races, but Farr kept the helm light and the rudder deep enough that a cruising couple does not need a full crew on the rail to keep it on its feet.

Test sail numbers from 14 knots of flat water

Cruising World's Bill Springer sailed a boat with the optional carbon mast, North 3DL sails and the deep bulb keel in about 14 knots and flat water. Upwind under the 108 percent blade jib it tacked through roughly 75 degrees and held 6.5 to 7 knots, and he described it tracking like a train with silky feedback through the big wheel. With the symmetric spinnaker up on a broad reach the log jumped into the 8 knot range and the helm stayed just as responsive.

SAIL tested in 10 knots or less and still saw 7 knots and more, pointing to within about 30 degrees of the apparent wind and carrying the kite from dead downwind up to about 75 degrees off the wind without drama. The one caution in both reports concerns low speed. The high aspect rudder and skinny T-keel foil need flow, so in light air and chop you sail for speed first and height second, exactly as you would on a modern one-design.

One big wheel, a German mainsheet and three rigs

The cockpit is laid out for a full crew but works for two. A single large wheel dominates the aft end, with a full-width traveler just ahead of it and a German-style mainsheet led to winches the helmsman can reach. Primary winches sit on the coamings and the halyard and sheet winches on the cabin top, with jib tracks running alongside the house so the side decks stay clear. SAIL's tester found the outhaul, cunningham, vang and backstay all fell easily to hand, calling it a real tweaker's boat, though a singlehander has to leave the wheel to trim the jib.

Beneteau offered three rigs: a standard aluminum mast with wire, a performance aluminum version with rod rigging, and a carbon racing spar. The 2015 and 2016 Carbon Edition bundled the carbon mast, rod rigging, fiber backstay, rigid vang, lead keel, a retractable carbon bowsprit for asymmetric spinnakers and a composite wheel that tilts out of the way on tacks. Earlier boats were often delivered with symmetric spinnaker gear; adding a sprit and a furling A-sail is one of the most useful upgrades for shorthanded owners.

• Removable aft beam across the open transom
• Liferaft locker in the cockpit sole, 120 by 110 cm
• Detachable bow roller; a windlass was optional
• No cockpit table as standard, a clue to the racing bias

Two private cabins and a saloon sized like the First 40's

Nauta Design styled the interior in light Alpi teak or oak with a white cerused oak sole. The saloon, SAIL noted, is the same length as the First 40's but a little narrower, with straight settees that are long enough for sea berths and a hinged folding table that drops out of the way on race day. Under that table sits the water heater, and both swing aside to expose the keel bolts, a clever use of space that also makes inspection easy.

Double doors open the forecabin to the saloon, which helps both light and access on either tack. Beneteau's list gives the forward berth as about 6 ft 7 in long and the aft double as roughly 6 ft 6 in, but the aft cabin loses height under the cockpit and the molded wheel well intrudes into it. The single head with shower sits aft by the companionway. There is a proper chart table to starboard and an L-shaped galley opposite; reviewers liked the galley's bracing but wanted more counter space, and long-term stowage is thin. Headroom runs about 6 ft 1 in to 6 ft 2 in.

The Yanmar saildrive and the systems you will touch

This was among the first Firsts to move to a saildrive. The 29 hp Yanmar drives a two-blade Flexofold folding propeller, and Cruising World reported the hull motoring at about 7 knots with noticeable but not intrusive noise. SAIL found it spun in its own length and backed under control. Everything except the oil filter is easy to reach.

Tankage is modest at 20 gallons of diesel and 53 gallons of water, with a 20 gallon holding tank, so this is a weekend and coastal boat unless you add capacity. The electrical side is simple 12 volt with a 125 amp alternator on later boats. Expect to replace the saildrive diaphragm on Yanmar's schedule, typically every seven years, and to check the folding prop's gears and zinc each haul.

What a used First 35 costs to buy and keep

In 2010 Cruising World listed the boat at $225,000 sailaway. Today most US asking prices fall between roughly $95,000 and $165,000, and condition, rig and sails explain more of that gap than model year. A tired early boat with the shoal keel and original cruising canvas is a very different purchase from a Carbon Edition with a recent racing wardrobe, even though the hull is identical.

Annual ownership for a 35 ft fin keeler in the US, excluding depreciation and racing sails, typically runs about $9,000 to $18,000 depending on slip location, insurance and how much you race. Racers should budget separately for sails; a laminate main and jib for this rig quickly become a five-figure line item.

Where the First 35 fits on a US racecourse

The First 35 never built a US one-design fleet the way the 36.7 did, so in North America it is mainly a PHRF and ORC boat. That can be a plus: you are not bound by class sail limits, and the boat's IRC heritage means it was designed to be raced with a cruising interior in place. Against the J/109 it gives up some refinement on deck but offers a lighter helm and a lower price per foot on the used market.

For cruising, the two-cabin layout suits a couple or a small family better than the three-cabin layouts of its predecessor. If you plan on overnight races with six crew, accept that the saloon settees become the sea berths and that the single head is the bottleneck.