First 27 (Manuard)
Beneteau · Sam Manuard · 2012
Updated
The First 27 (Manuard) is a 7.99 m planing racing yacht designed by Sam Manuard and built by Beneteau, first launched in 2012. It races in Sportboat.
Length
7.99 m
26′ 3″
Beam
2.53 m
Draft
1.98 m
Displacement
1.6 t
Sail area
43 m²
On the podium
Where a First 27 (Manuard) finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
7
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 7 starts by 1 boat between 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 27 (Manuard) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
- Garmin ORC World Championship2025
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: 5 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a First 27 (Manuard) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Italia 9.98 (7 meetings), Farr 30 (7 meetings), X-34 (7 meetings), J/99 (7 meetings), IMX 38 (7 meetings), Ridas 31 (7 meetings), Fareast 28 (7 meetings), Ridas 35 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 27 (Manuard) 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
4.97
38°
Beam reach
8.67
90°
Broad reach
11.94
135°
Downwind VMG
9.32
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 is a boat that wants breeze. 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 in a strong breeze, 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
It falls short to windward in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
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 2.8 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a First 27 (Manuard)
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.61 | 4.70 | 4.90 | 4.97 |
| 52° | 5.44 | 6.68 | 6.88 | 7.02 |
| 60° | 5.70 | 6.89 | 7.15 | 7.36 |
| 75° | 5.86 | 7.10 | 7.58 | 7.97 |
| 90° | 5.72 | 7.08 | 7.98 | 8.67 |
| 110° | 5.78 | 7.45 | 8.34 | 9.77 |
| 120° | 5.66 | 7.44 | 8.79 | 10.39 |
| 135° | 5.09 | 7.04 | 8.61 | 11.94 |
| 150° | 4.31 | 6.34 | 7.65 | 10.76 |
| Run VMG | 3.73 | 5.49 | 6.63 | 9.32 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 420 kg.
Rigging
First 27 (Manuard) rig and sail dimensions
A First 27 (Manuard) carries 9.99 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.57 m boom, a forestay 9.74 m above the deck and a 5.29 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 5 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 68 to 81 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.
Other designs under the same name
The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.