First 40.7
Beneteau · Bruce Farr · 1997
Updated
The First 40.7 is a 11.92 m displacement racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1997. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 29% of the designs it races against. It is at its best in light air and struggles to hold that once it blows.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 29% of the boats it races against.
66th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 914 starts across 139 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
11.92 m
39′ 1″
Beam
3.77 m
Draft
2.42 m
Displacement
7.1 t
Sail area
94 m²
On the podium
Where a First 40.7 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
11%
of 914 starts by 95 boats
Wins
3%
Read from 914 starts by 95 boats between 2010 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First 40.7 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
National Championship for Keel Boats2026
66. Yil Donanma Kupasi2026
Round Aeolian Race 2026 - Campionato Italiano Offshore ORC2026- 25. Bosphorus Cup2026
Rodos Cup2026
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
8%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
14%
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 40.7 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the First 40.7 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
5.58
37°
Beam reach
8.75
90°
Broad reach
9.64
135°
Downwind VMG
8.26
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 to windward in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 upwind.
How fast is a First 40.7
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.71 | 5.03 | 5.44 | 5.58 |
| 52° | 5.64 | 7.22 | 7.61 | 7.76 |
| 60° | 5.94 | 7.40 | 7.80 | 7.99 |
| 75° | 6.14 | 7.54 | 8.05 | 8.37 |
| 90° | 6.06 | 7.60 | 8.18 | 8.75 |
| 110° | 5.91 | 7.72 | 8.50 | 9.21 |
| 120° | 5.72 | 7.61 | 8.50 | 9.64 |
| 135° | 5.10 | 7.22 | 8.20 | 9.64 |
| 150° | 4.29 | 6.48 | 7.76 | 9.02 |
| Run VMG | 3.71 | 5.62 | 6.99 | 8.26 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 720 kg.
Rigging
First 40.7 rig and sail dimensions
A First 40.7 carries 14.86 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.40 m boom, a forestay 15.69 m above the deck and a 4.94 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 157 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 84 to 161 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.