Review of First Class 8

Basic specs.

The First Class 8 aka Beneteau First Class 8 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean-Marie Finot together with Jacques Fauroux in the early eighties. The First Class 8 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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 4 berths.

Rig

First Class 8 anno 1985 with spinnaker.

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 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.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.70 - 0.80 meter (2.30 - 2.60 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.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for First Class 8 is 2.24, indicating that this boat would not 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 6.5 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 Class 8 is about 118 kg/cm, alternatively 663 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 118 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 663 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 Class 8 is 12.0.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 12% 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 Class 8 is 3.15.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 69% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First Class 8 is 36%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 34% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for First Class 8 is 109 which categorizes this boat among 'ultra light racers'.

92% 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)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for First Class 8 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 23.6, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 27.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 99% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The First Class 8 has more rig than 99% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for First Class 8 is 99

The relative speed performance is 99 which means that a it is faster than 99% 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 23m² (247 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

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	26.4 m	(86.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	26.4 m	(86.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	26.4 m	(86.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet	7.8 m	(25.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	7.8 m	(25.8 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	19.6 m	(64.4 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	17.3 m	(56.7 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Cunningham	3.4 m	(11.2 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap	6.8 m	(22.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul	6.8 m	(22.3 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First Class 8 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.