Review of First 27.7

Basic specs.

The First 27.7 is a sailboat designed by the French maritime architect bureau Groupe Finot in the early 2000. The First 27.7 is built by the French yard Bénéteau.

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Hull

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.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 50 liters (13 US gallons, 10 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity.

Keel

The First 27.7 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel with bulb

The First 27.7 is built with 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 advantage of the bulb is that it lowers the center of gravity which resists heeling and reduces the draft.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.80 - 1.90 meter (5.91 - 6.21 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Drop keel

The First 27.7 is built with a drop keel. A drop keel is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised vertically, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters.

First 27.7 can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 0.65 - 0.75 meter (2.13 - 2.43 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 30 liters (7 US gallons, 6 imperial gallons).

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine

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.

EU classification

First 27.7 holds three CE certifications:

If less than 6 in on board the boat is by European Union certified as Class B. OFFSHORE:

Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including, wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 4 m may be experienced.

If less than 8 in on board the boat is by European Union certified as Class C. INSHORE:

Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced.

If less than 8 in on board the boat is by European Union certified as Class D. SHELTERED WATERS:

Designed for voyages on sheltered coastal waters, small bays, small lakes, rivers and canals when conditions up to, and including, wind force 4 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights up to, and including, 0,3 m may be experienced, with occasional waves of 0,5 m maximum height, for example from passing vessels.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First 27.7 is about 172 kg/cm, alternatively 967 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 172 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 967 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.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First 27.7 is 2.77.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 82% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

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 27m² (290 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

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
Jib sheet	8.3 m	(27.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	8.3 m	(27.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	20.8 m	(68.1 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	18.3 m	(59.9 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)

Keel Inspection

Keels with moving parts need to be inspected and maintained on a regular basis according to advice given in owner's manual. Manufacturers usually advise which maintenance work can be done by the owner and which work should be carried out by a suitably experienced boatyard.

Boat owner's ideas

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

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First 27.7 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.