Beneteau First 40 Buyer's Guide, the Hobart-Winning Family Racer

A Beneteau 40 First with one job, beat the 40.7

When buyers type beneteau 40 first into a search bar they almost always mean this boat: the Farr Yacht Design First 40 that Beneteau introduced in Europe around 2007 and 2008 and that Cruising World put through its 2010 Boat of the Year trials. The brief, as Cruising World's Alvah Simon described it, was to keep or improve the performance of the hugely successful First 40.7 while adding everything a family cruiser needs, from cockpit lounging space to systems for longer coastal trips. Beneteau predicted up to 15 seconds a mile of improvement over its predecessor.

The early numbers were encouraging. SAIL reported that about 100 boats sold within a year of the European launch, and its test boat was sailing in Marseille not long after the model appeared. Then came the result that made the boat's name: in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart, Andrew Saies' First 40 Two True won the Tattersall's Cup for first overall on handicap, with the sistership Wicked second.

Beamier, lower and a foot longer than the 40.7

SAIL described the hull as beamier, lower and sleeker than the 40.7's, a foot longer and with 25 percent more righting moment thanks to build changes that lowered the center of gravity and cut hull weight. Powerful stern sections are paired with a shallow aft overhang that keeps the static waterline short and lengthens it as the boat heels, which also lets the wheel sit far enough forward to leave room behind it for the driver and tactician.

Keel choice matters more than on most cruisers. SAIL tested the T-bulb, which it said weighs about 760 lb less than the shoal fin, has much less wetted surface and is noticeably faster. Cruising World's figures give 15,895 lb displacement with the deep keel and 16,614 lb with the shoal, a deep ballast ratio of 0.42, a displacement to length ratio of 166 and a sail area to displacement ratio of 21.5. Beneteau's 2013 CR inventory lists a 7,900 kg light displacement under the EC method and four keel options from cast iron to full lead.

• Deep cast iron keel, 2.45 m, standard on the 2013 CR inventory (2,925 kg)
• Deep iron and lead keel, 2.45 m (3,000 kg), optional
• Deep all-lead keel, 2.45 m (2,925 kg), optional and preferred by racers
• Shoal cast iron keel, 1.95 m (3,340 kg), optional

What the testers found under sail

In 5 to 8 knots off Marseille, SAIL found the helm extremely light and well balanced upwind and warned that the T-keel boat needs flow over the foils before it will point, so slow mark roundings reward precise steering. In 10 to 13 knots it locked into a groove; in 15 to 22 knots with three crew it was a joy to steer upwind, and a few inches of mainsheet were all it took to keep it on its feet while making 6.7 knots or more with no weight on the rail. Twist control through vang and mainsheet mattered more than backstay.

Cruising World's judges tested it off Annapolis and admitted that their notepads hit the deck once it powered up. Simon found it accelerated quickly, tacked nimbly and handled well on all points of sail in strong breeze, with an enormous, perfectly balanced wheel. With its narrow fin and deep spade rudder it turned in its own length under power and backed with precision on the 40 hp Yanmar.

Lockers that stay on the dock on race night

Farr carried over and refined the 40.7's convertible cockpit. The cockpit seat and stowage lockers lift out for racing, leaving an open working area for a full crew, and the helm seat that spans the open transom also stays ashore on race night to give room around the backstay adjuster. Bolted back in, the lockers are long enough to lie on and big enough for cruising gear. A double-ended mainsheet works off a wide traveler forward of the wheel, and SAIL praised the cast A-frame pedestal and a liferaft-sized locker under the helm with good access to the steering quadrant.

The cruising compromises are real. Cruising World noted a removable bow roller and no windlass on its test boat, lifelines at the 24 inch minimum and no boarding gates, and an 8 ft draft that rules out many anchorages. The deck is teak covered with wide, uncluttered side decks.

Nauta interior, three cabins and a single head

Below, the layout echoes the 40.7 with the head forward so the bow cabin is effectively en suite. Beneteau quotes 2.00 by 1.50 m berths in the two symmetrical aft cabins and 1.90 by 1.40 m in the forward cabin, and the saloon settees are long enough, at 1.95 m, to serve as sea berths. SAIL measured 6 ft of headroom aft and a V-berth 6 ft 8 in long. The light oak or Alpi veneer gives an airy feel.

The L-shaped galley to port is small but has a two-burner stove and an icebox, and the nav station is properly sized. The centerline table is a drawback for racers sorting sails, and SAIL wanted more handholds when the boat is heeled. One head for eight people is the price of the racing layout.

From the 2008 launch to the 2015 Carbon Edition

The boat changed in specification more than in shape. Early US boats came with a triple-spreader aluminum rig and an optional turbo package that added a carbon mast and rod rigging, according to Cruising World. By 2013 Beneteau listed a First 40 CR (cruiser-racer) inventory with a tapered aluminum mast, Dyform rigging, a hydraulic backstay and a cast iron deep keel as standard. For the 2015 model year Beneteau added a Carbon Edition of the First 30, 35 and 40, delivered race-ready with a carbon mast, lead keel, black composite wheel and Raymarine racing electronics, plus a retractable carbon bowsprit for asymmetric spinnakers.

That spread means two boats of the same year can be very different. Read the inventory line by line.

Owning one in the US

Annual costs for a 41 ft racer-cruiser typically run $11,000 to $26,000 excluding depreciation once slip, insurance, haul-out and maintenance are counted; owners who campaign the boat will spend more on sails and crew logistics. The Yanmar saildrive is simple to service, and the 34 gallon tank is ample for a boat that motors little.

The First 40 is mainly a European and Australian boat, so the US brokerage pool is smaller than for the 40.7. That helps sellers of race-proven boats and means buyers sometimes look at imports.

Other boats that answer to First 40

The name has history. Beneteau's 1983 IOR One Tonner was also marketed as the First 40 Evolution; only a dozen were built in carbon and Kevlar, and one of them, Phoenix, won individual honors at the 1985 Admiral's Cup. The Jean Berret First 405 of 1986 is a masthead cruiser-racer, and the First 40.7 of 1997 to 2008 is the boat this one replaced. A plain Beneteau 40 without the First prefix usually refers to a cruising model from the Oceanis side of the catalog. Check the hull identification number, keel and rig before comparing prices.