First 300
Beneteau · Jean-Marie Finot · 1994
Updated
The First 300 is a 8.96 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1994. It races in Class C.
Length
8.96 m
29′ 5″
Beam
2.96 m
Draft
1.81 m
Displacement
3.4 t
Sail area
48 m²
On the podium
Where a First 300 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
57%
of 14 starts by 3 boats
Wins
14%
Read from 14 starts by 3 boats between 2013 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 300 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2026
50 Mijl Doublehanded2023
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2013
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
64%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a First 300 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
J/80 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 32 (1 meeting), X-362 (1 meeting), F & F 95 (4 meetings), J/110 (1 meeting), Dehler 34 (Judel/Vrolijk) (2 meetings), Dehler 29 (1 meeting), Stadt 34 (1 meeting), Winner 11.20 (1 meeting), Dehler 33 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 50 (Judel/Vrolijk) (3 meetings), Elan 333 (1 meeting), Elan 37 (1 meeting), Sun Odyssey 42 (Lombard) (1 meeting), Dufour 36 (1 meeting), X-43 (1 meeting), Sun Fast 37 (1 meeting), First 36.7 (1 meeting), First 34.7 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 300 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
4.72
40°
Beam reach
7.91
90°
Broad reach
9.12
135°
Downwind VMG
7.67
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
It falls short to windward once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the broad reach.
How fast is a First 300
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.06 | 4.27 | 4.67 | 4.72 |
| 52° | 4.70 | 6.24 | 6.67 | 6.79 |
| 60° | 4.96 | 6.45 | 6.89 | 7.04 |
| 75° | 5.12 | 6.62 | 7.17 | 7.48 |
| 90° | 5.24 | 6.76 | 7.31 | 7.91 |
| 110° | 5.28 | 6.94 | 7.69 | 8.32 |
| 120° | 5.11 | 6.88 | 7.78 | 8.79 |
| 135° | 4.59 | 6.58 | 7.56 | 9.12 |
| 150° | 3.89 | 5.93 | 7.10 | 8.47 |
| Run VMG | 3.37 | 5.14 | 6.43 | 7.67 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 430 kg.
Rigging
First 300 rig and sail dimensions
A First 300 carries 11.32 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.85 m boom, a forestay 12.47 m above the deck and a 4.40 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 70 to 79 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.