First 30
Beneteau · Sam Manuard · 2025
Updated
The First 30 is a 9.34 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Sam Manuard and built by Beneteau, first launched in 2025. It races in Class C.
Length
9.34 m
30′ 8″
Beam
2.98 m
Draft
2.04 m
Displacement
3.1 t
Sail area
53 m²
On the podium
Where a First 30 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
7%
of 14 starts by 2 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 14 starts by 2 boats between 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 30 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
"Πανελληνιο Κυπελο ORCI 2026"2026
Island Offshore - Race to the Arctic2026- Norgesmesterskap Doublehanded/Seilmakeren Doublehanded2026
- Bergen Singlehanded2026
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
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Not enough data yet: 6 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 30 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Aphrodite 101 (6 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (5 meetings), Salona 34 (4 meetings), Elan 380 (4 meetings), Dehler 36 (Stadt) (4 meetings), X-332 (2 meetings), Bavaria Match 35 (2 meetings), Victory 42 (1 meeting), Arcona 370 (1 meeting), Maxi 105 (1 meeting), Hanse 320 (1 meeting), Swan 45 (1 meeting), Maxi 130 (1 meeting), Dehler 38 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Hanse 430 (1 meeting), Elan 362 (1 meeting), Hanse 400 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 30 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
5.04
40°
Beam reach
8.42
90°
Broad reach
10.94
135°
Downwind VMG
8.42
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. 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 does more than its size and sail area promise, 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 on the beat in the light stuff, giving away time it never gets back.
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 2.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a First 30
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.26 | 4.45 | 4.90 | 5.04 |
| 52° | 4.97 | 6.58 | 7.02 | 7.18 |
| 60° | 5.22 | 6.78 | 7.24 | 7.45 |
| 75° | 5.48 | 6.95 | 7.54 | 7.96 |
| 90° | 5.72 | 7.20 | 7.69 | 8.42 |
| 110° | 5.78 | 7.49 | 8.29 | 9.25 |
| 120° | 5.66 | 7.45 | 8.57 | 9.95 |
| 135° | 5.09 | 7.15 | 8.37 | 10.94 |
| 150° | 4.29 | 6.43 | 7.64 | 9.72 |
| Run VMG | 3.71 | 5.57 | 6.63 | 8.42 |
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 450 kg.
Rigging
First 30 rig and sail dimensions
A First 30 carries 11.96 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.95 m boom, a forestay 11.37 m above the deck and a 5.28 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 89 to 102 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.