First 260
Beneteau · Jean-Marie Finot · 1995
Updated
The First 260 is a 7.46 m displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1995. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 57% of the designs it races against.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 57% of the boats it races against.
69th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 37 starts across 6 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
7.46 m
24′ 6″
Beam
2.76 m
Draft
1.47 m
Displacement
2.3 t
Sail area
37 m²
On the podium
Where a First 260 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
5%
of 37 starts by 2 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 37 starts by 2 boats between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 260 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
54° Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2026- Regata dell'Amicizia2025
- 53° Campionato Invernale d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2025
- Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2024
- Regate di Primavera Altura2023
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
6%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 5 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a First 260 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Figaro 1 (7 meetings), Dufour 44 (7 meetings), More 40 (7 meetings), First 40.7 (7 meetings), Sun Fast 37 (7 meetings), First 33.7 (7 meetings), Comet 36 (5 meetings), Dufour 350 (5 meetings), First 47.7 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 343 (2 meetings), Salona 34 (2 meetings), IMX 38 (1 meeting), X-35 (1 meeting), First 32 (1 meeting), X-332 (1 meeting), Comet 770 (1 meeting), Ecume De Mer (1 meeting), First 34.7 (1 meeting), Elan 333 (1 meeting), Hanse 350 (1 meeting), J/70 (2 meetings), J/22 (7 meetings), First Class 8 (1 meeting), Meteor (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 260 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.23
41°
Beam reach
7.27
90°
Broad reach
8.17
135°
Downwind VMG
6.97
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This design earns its keep off the wind. A course with long free legs suits it better than a windward-leeward.
Where it gains
Its best ground is cracked off in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a First 260
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 2.83 | 3.85 | 4.27 | 4.23 |
| 52° | 4.35 | 5.67 | 6.14 | 6.21 |
| 60° | 4.58 | 5.87 | 6.33 | 6.46 |
| 75° | 4.71 | 6.02 | 6.54 | 6.89 |
| 90° | 4.90 | 6.27 | 6.74 | 7.27 |
| 110° | 4.99 | 6.42 | 7.14 | 7.82 |
| 120° | 4.83 | 6.33 | 7.14 | 8.24 |
| 135° | 4.34 | 6.04 | 6.86 | 8.17 |
| 150° | 3.70 | 5.51 | 6.48 | 7.61 |
| Run VMG | 3.21 | 4.79 | 5.92 | 6.97 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 360 kg.
Rigging
First 260 rig and sail dimensions
A First 260 carries 9.75 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.50 m boom, a forestay 10.25 m above the deck and a 3.49 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 8 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 46 to 58 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.