First 27.7
Beneteau · Jean-Marie Finot · 2002
Updated
The First 27.7 is a 8.30 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Beneteau, first launched in 2002. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 27% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 27% of the boats it races against.
116th of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 70 starts across 40 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
8.30 m
27′ 3″
Beam
3.02 m
Draft
2.13 m
Displacement
2.8 t
Sail area
47 m²
On the podium
Where a First 27.7 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
34%
of 70 starts by 6 boats
Wins
10%
Read from 70 starts by 6 boats between 2017 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 27.7 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Τρίγωνο Καλλιθέας2026- ¨16ο Athens Trophy 2026¨2026
- "Αιγινα2026
- 'Σαββα Γεωργιου 2026' (Α+γ)2026
- 3ος Ιστιοπλοϊκός Αγώνας Α/Θ ¨Πέρδικα 2026¨2026
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
—
Not enough data yet: 9 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
37%
of these races end on the podium
Who she races against
The designs a First 27.7 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
J/80 (7 meetings), First Class 8 (7 meetings), J/11 (7 meetings), Dehler 35 (Voogd) (7 meetings), X-40 (7 meetings), J/99 (7 meetings), First 34.7 (6 meetings), Elan 340 (6 meetings), Bavaria Match 35 (6 meetings), First 36 (6 meetings), Atlantic 31 (6 meetings), Farr 40 (5 meetings), X-412 (5 meetings), First 44.7 (4 meetings), Elan 410 (4 meetings), Oceanis 38 (Finot-Conq) (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 27.7 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
4.66
39°
Beam reach
7.80
90°
Broad reach
9.25
135°
Downwind VMG
7.38
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.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage running deep as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 1.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a First 27.7
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.08 | 4.21 | 4.62 | 4.66 |
| 52° | 4.65 | 6.10 | 6.55 | 6.67 |
| 60° | 4.88 | 6.29 | 6.75 | 6.90 |
| 75° | 5.03 | 6.47 | 7.01 | 7.34 |
| 90° | 5.18 | 6.71 | 7.19 | 7.80 |
| 110° | 5.25 | 6.87 | 7.76 | 8.53 |
| 120° | 5.08 | 6.76 | 7.77 | 9.10 |
| 135° | 4.53 | 6.40 | 7.42 | 9.25 |
| 150° | 3.84 | 5.75 | 6.86 | 8.23 |
| Run VMG | 3.32 | 4.98 | 6.11 | 7.38 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 400 kg.
Rigging
First 27.7 rig and sail dimensions
A First 27.7 carries 10.90 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.20 m boom, a forestay 11.55 m above the deck and a 4.18 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 27 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 49 to 72 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.