• Source: Beneteau First 26

The Beneteau First 26 is a French sailboat that was designed by Jean-Marie Finot of Groupe Finot as a cruiser-racer and first built in 1984.




Production


The design was built by Beneteau in France from 1984 to 1991 with about 300 examples completed, but it is now out of production.




Design



The First 26 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. The deck is a sandwich of balsa, fiberglass and polyester. It has a deck-stepped mast with aluminum spars, a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a slightly reverse transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel or, optionally, a stub keel and centreboard. It has 70 in (178 cm) of headroom in the main cabin and sleeping accommodation for five people.
The boat is fitted with a Swedish Volvo 2001 8 hp (6 kW) diesel engine for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds 6 U.S. gallons (23 L; 5.0 imp gal) and the fresh water tank has a capacity of 13 U.S. gallons (49 L; 11 imp gal).
The design can be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker with an area of 603 sq ft (56.0 m2). The boat has a hull speed of 6.42 kn (11.89 km/h).




Variants


First 26 fin keel
This model displaces 4,814 lb (2,184 kg) and carries 1,455 lb (660 kg) of ballast. The boat has a draft of 4.30 ft (1.31 m) with the standard keel fitted.
First 26 centreboard
This model displaces 4,850 lb (2,200 kg) and carries 1,543 lb (700 kg) of ballast. The boat has a draft of 2.79 ft (0.85 m) with the centreboard retracted and 5.74 ft (1.75 m) with the centreboard extended.




Operational history


In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote about the boat, "best features: The cabin layout is refreshingly unusual, with a dedicated space for a navigator's station, a head located aft, and a complete-looking galley (except for no icebox!). Worst features: The diesel engine, housed under the companionway ladder, will make the aft double berth hot in summer (but cozy in winter, if you like sailing among the icicles)."




See also


List of sailing boat types
Similar sailboats

Beneteau First 265
C&C 26
C&C 26 Wave
Contessa 26
Dawson 26
Discovery 7.9
Grampian 26
Herreshoff H-26
Hunter 26
Hunter 26.5
Hunter 260
Hunter 270
MacGregor 26
Mirage 26
Nash 26
Nonsuch 26
Outlaw 26
Paceship PY 26
Parker Dawson 26
Pearson 26
Sandstream 26
Tanzer 26
Yamaha 26




References






External links



Official website

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Detroit
• Beneteau First 26
• Beneteau
• List of classes of Beneteau keelboats and yachts
• Beneteau First 265
• Beneteau 34.7
• MacGregor 26
• Dave Beneteau
• Contessa 26
• Beneteau Evasion 32
• Beneteau First 305