Class CHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

First 375

Beneteau · Jean Berret · 1985

Updated

The First 375 is a 11.29 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jean Berret and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1985. It races in Class C.

First 375 - Jean Berret - BeneteauP 12.69 mLOA 11.29 m

Length

11.29 m

37′ 0″

Beam

3.82 m

Draft

2.01 m

Displacement

6.7 t

Sail area

75 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

On the podium

Where a First 375 finishes when she goes racing.

0

Wins

0

Seconds

0

Thirds

3

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 3 starts by 2 boats between 2022 and 2024, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a First 375 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

  • ItalyRegata dei Cinque Fari2024
  • ItalyCampionato Invernale del Sabato2023
  • ItalyCampionato di Primavera2022

Raced one we are missing?

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Round 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: 2 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.

Offshore & coastal

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Not enough data yet: 1 race over 10 NM carry a published distance.

Who she races against

The designs a First 375 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

Met too few times for a figure:

Polaris 33 (2 meetings), Rimar 44.3 (2 meetings), Dufour 44 (1 meeting), Dufour 40 (1 meeting), Oceanis 41.1 (1 meeting), X-442 (1 meeting), Dufour 382 (1 meeting), Elan 340 (1 meeting), Elan 333 (2 meetings), Elan 40 (1 meeting), Salona 42 (1 meeting), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (1 meeting), First 40 (1 meeting), Oceanis 31 (1 meeting), First 35 (Farr) (1 meeting), More 40 (1 meeting)

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

36930°60°90°120°150°WIND8.8

Upwind VMG

5.14

38°

Beam reach

8.04

90°

Broad reach

8.68

135°

Downwind VMG

7.62

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 one is at home going to windward. Windward-leeward courses give it more of what it is good at than a coastal race does.

Where it gains

Its best ground is on the beat in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having.

Where it pays

It falls short on a broad reach once it pipes up, 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.

True wind
Upwind+0.13 kn
Beam reach+0.11 kn
Broad reach+0.03 kn
Downwind+0.04 kn

Full width is 0.4 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.

How fast is a First 375

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle6 kn10 kn14 kn20 kn
Beat VMG3.314.555.055.14
52°5.086.607.087.21
60°5.386.797.257.42
75°5.566.937.427.76
90°5.517.017.548.04
110°5.367.087.758.54
120°5.186.987.728.77
135°4.676.667.528.68
150°3.976.047.208.22
Run VMG3.445.256.547.62

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail32 m² – 33 m²
Headsail39 m² – 47 m²
Spinnaker89 m² – 99 m²

Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 600 kg.

Rigging

First 375 rig and sail dimensions

A First 375 carries 12.90 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.33 m boom, a forestay 14.76 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP12.90 m12.69 – 13.11
Boom lengthE4.33 m4.25 – 4.41
Forestay heightIG14.76 m14.60 – 14.93
Fore triangle baseJ4.15 m4.14 – 4.17
Spinnaker hoistISP14.74 m14.55 – 14.93
Boom above deckBAS1.68 m1.66 – 1.71

Sails

Mainsail32.2 m²31.7 – 32.7
Headsail43.2 m²39.2 – 47.2
Spinnaker93.8 m²89.1 – 98.6

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 89 to 99 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.