First 345
Beneteau · Jean Berret · 1984
Updated
The First 345 is a 10.50 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jean Berret and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1984. It races in Class C.
Length
10.50 m
34′ 5″
Beam
3.49 m
Draft
1.92 m
Displacement
5.5 t
Sail area
60 m²
On the podium
Where a First 345 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
3%
of 37 starts by 3 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 37 starts by 3 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 345 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Friendship Regatta2026- FR252025
Malaga Sailing Cup2025- Apostole Paul2024
- Friendship Regatta2024
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
5%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a First 345 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
First 27 (Mauric) (7 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 38 (7 meetings), X-99 (7 meetings), Canados 33 (6 meetings), Elan 37 (6 meetings), Canados 37 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (6 meetings), Salona 37 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 36 (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (6 meetings), X-372 (6 meetings), Sun Odyssey 37.1 (6 meetings), Sun Light 30 (6 meetings), JPK 11.80 (6 meetings), Dufour 44 (5 meetings), Dufour 425 (5 meetings), Sun Odyssey 39 (5 meetings), Queen 34 (4 meetings), Sun Odyssey 32 (4 meetings), Olympic Sea 42 (3 meetings), Melges 24 (3 meetings), Oceanis 423 (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 345 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
4.92
38°
Beam reach
7.66
90°
Broad reach
8.29
135°
Downwind VMG
7.31
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.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beat when it blows, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
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 beam reach.
How fast is a First 345
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.06 | 4.25 | 4.81 | 4.92 |
| 52° | 4.71 | 6.23 | 6.73 | 6.88 |
| 60° | 4.98 | 6.42 | 6.89 | 7.08 |
| 75° | 5.16 | 6.56 | 7.06 | 7.41 |
| 90° | 5.06 | 6.64 | 7.19 | 7.66 |
| 110° | 5.07 | 6.74 | 7.41 | 8.17 |
| 120° | 4.88 | 6.64 | 7.38 | 8.38 |
| 135° | 4.39 | 6.32 | 7.18 | 8.29 |
| 150° | 3.74 | 5.73 | 6.86 | 7.88 |
| Run VMG | 3.24 | 4.98 | 6.25 | 7.31 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 500 kg.
Rigging
First 345 rig and sail dimensions
A First 345 carries 11.71 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.83 m boom, a forestay 13.42 m above the deck. 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 — 63 to 76 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.