Review of First 38s5
Basic specs.
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Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 370 liters (97 US gallons, 81 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity.
The First 38s5 is built with a fractional rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 62.3 m2 (670.6 ft2). 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 gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
The First 38s5 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Fin 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 full keel.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Wing keel
But be aware that even though a Wing Keel keel is very good for speed racing, a fishing nets and the like in the water can easily make you into a troublesome situation.
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 additional surface area created by the cast iron keel in comparison to a lead keel of the same weight would be negligible for cruising yachts.
First 38s5 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.57 - 1.67 meter (5.15 - 5.45 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Fin keel
Another option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.
The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.98 - 2.08 meter (6.50 - 6.80 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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for First 38s5 is 2.02, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.5 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for First 38s5 is about 239 kg/cm, alternatively 1340 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 239 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1340 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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for First 38s5 is 22.6 - 23.8.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for First 38s5 is 3.03.
The ballast ratio for First 38s5 is 30%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for First 38s5 is 207 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for First 38s5 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 18.0, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.8.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 42m2 (452 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.
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 37.8 m | (124.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 37.8 m | (124.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 37.8 m | (124.0 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 11.4 m | (37.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.4 m | (37.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 28.5 m | (93.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 25.0 m | (82.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Cunningham | 4.7 m | (15.4 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 9.4 m | (30.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 9.4 m | (30.8 feet) | 12 mm | (1/2 inch) |
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