First Class 8
Beneteau · Jean-Marie Finot · 1982
Updated
The First Class 8 is a 7.79 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Jean-Marie Finot and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1982. It races in Sportboat. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 19% 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 19% of the boats it races against.
23rd of 28 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 191 starts across 23 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
7.79 m
25′ 7″
Beam
2.50 m
Draft
1.83 m
Displacement
1.5 t
Sail area
39 m²
On the podium
Where a First Class 8 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
21%
of 191 starts by 12 boats
Wins
6%
Read from 191 starts by 12 boats between 2017 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a First Class 8 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Lliga Creuers2026- XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026
54° Campionato Invernale Vela d'Altura del Golfo di Napoli2026
Tirsdagsregatta ÅSS2026- Lliga Creuers2025
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
23%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
4%
of these races end on the podium
Sharper round the buoys. Short courses reward acceleration and manoeuvring, and that is where this design makes its money.
Who she races against
The designs a First Class 8 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
UFO 22 (7 meetings), First 27.7 (7 meetings), Oceanis 331 (4 meetings), Dufour 34 (4 meetings), First 40 (3 meetings), First 45 (Briand) (2 meetings), Bh 36 (2 meetings), Mean Marine 32 (2 meetings), Comfortina 32 (2 meetings), Aphrodite 101 (2 meetings), Astraea 295 (2 meetings), Hanse 342 (2 meetings), First 345 (2 meetings), Yatlant 24 (2 meetings), Salona 37 (2 meetings), Drac One Ton (2 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the First Class 8 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
4.74
37°
Beam reach
7.75
90°
Broad reach
9.28
135°
Downwind VMG
7.33
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. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is cracked off once it pipes up, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
There is no condition where it falls away badly, which is worth something over a season of mixed weather.
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 1.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a First Class 8
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.35 | 4.44 | 4.70 | 4.74 |
| 52° | 5.00 | 6.15 | 6.44 | 6.57 |
| 60° | 5.21 | 6.26 | 6.63 | 6.82 |
| 75° | 5.33 | 6.37 | 6.92 | 7.26 |
| 90° | 5.25 | 6.49 | 7.04 | 7.75 |
| 110° | 5.21 | 6.58 | 7.44 | 8.46 |
| 120° | 5.03 | 6.47 | 7.44 | 9.21 |
| 135° | 4.50 | 6.18 | 7.11 | 9.28 |
| 150° | 3.76 | 5.65 | 6.68 | 8.25 |
| Run VMG | 3.26 | 4.93 | 6.11 | 7.33 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 380 kg.
Rigging
First Class 8 rig and sail dimensions
A First Class 8 carries 10.05 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.40 m boom, a forestay 8.94 m above the deck and a 3.64 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 46 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 35 to 56 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.