Performance cruiser: Already sailed: first impressions of Beneteau's First 36
Jochen Rieker
· 03.05.2022
In series yacht building, it rarely takes more than two years between the rough concept and the world premiere, sometimes only one. With the First 36, Beneteau has taken longer, much longer.
Four years have passed since the industry leader first announced its plans in a small circle. Back then, in 2018, shortly after the French company's investment in Slovenian sports boat manufacturer Seascape was announced, there was still talk of a 35-footer. The model was intended to build a bridge between the small runabouts and the luxurious top model, the First Yacht 53, which was presented a year later.
The First der Mitte will offer almost the performance of a Pogo 36 for the price of a Dehler 34, Seascape CEO Andraz Mihelin indicated during a background discussion with YACHT. Projected base price: under 150,000 euros. Planned debut: late 2019, early 2020.
Two years later, she is finally moored at jetty B in Marina Izola. It's mid-February and the water and air are still very cold. Ten days after the first launch and tests by the shipyard team, we are allowed on board for two days. It is the time of the harsh winter storms over Germany. The Adriatic, on the other hand, is initially windless and listless. This gives us time to inspect the boat in peace.
As can already be seen from the computer illustrations, it is a restrained design, modern in its lines, i.e. with a fairly full front section and a wide, flat rear, but with a restrained elegance.
No brute superstructures with multiple angled side windows, as Pogo and JPK have been propagating for some time, no cockpit superstructure on the companionway, as seen on the current Class 40 and on the Bente 39 performance cruisers. Unlike all Seascape designs to date, the First 36 does not even have tiller steering, but instead has two steering columns in the extremely spacious and highly functional cockpit.
Even below deck, the new yacht surprises, not only with the spaciousness of the saloon, but also with the light, reduced but beautifully arranged cosiness of an extension that lacks nothing.
Only the somewhat small wet room requires a certain ability to compromise, especially as there would have been more than enough space below deck to give it more floor space. However, a fold-up washbasin, which is pleasingly large, provides the necessary freedom of movement. The last time you saw something like this was in the seventies or eighties.
Inner shells and wall panelling with textile covering give the First 36 a certain noblesse. And even if not all the gaps in the first boat were within millimetres, it still looks sufficiently mature for a performance cruiser trimmed for lightweight construction. Instead of floorboards with a sober, cold laminate surface, for example, the ridge is covered with high-quality, multi-impregnated Alpi teak. The galley line is covered in white Corian, which extends behind the saloon upholstery to the main bulkhead, creating a subtle visual highlight.
Although the boat remains far removed from the veneer wood worlds of more conventional yachts in the segment, the First 36's endeavours to reduce weight are certainly visible. For example, many bolts and nuts of deck fittings remain deliberately visible. However, anyone coming from a First 27, for example, where the hull laminate is only lightly sanded and minimally filled, will experience a completely different level of quality.
The shipyard managed to stay close to the calculated construction weight. Because the platforms of the superstructure are part of the load-bearing structure, the bulkheads are made of foam sandwich and the hull and deck are a small doctoral thesis made of meticulously pre-cut Corecell core elements, the First 36 weighs only 4.8 tonnes. By comparison, the Dehler 38 comes in at 7.5 tonnes, the JPK 39 at 5.6 tonnes - both roughly the same size in terms of volume, only the Pogo 36 is significantly lighter at 3.9 tonnes.
And how does she sail now? "Amazing" is probably the best way to describe it!
When we were looking for wind on the first day and actually found a kind of private gust of 4 to 6 knots off Piran, which was barely noticeable on the water, it suddenly gurgled and gurgled quietly at the stern. The log jumps to 3, then just under 4, and finally to 4.8 knots. It all happens almost of its own accord, and it seems almost spherical to pull away with this large, wide boat practically out of nowhere, just under the main and code zero. You can leave the incredibly responsive rudders to their own devices. The First 36 makes its own bubble trail through the Adriatic.
And things are not much different on the second test day, only much faster. A light bora sends 8 to 12 knots of wind across the Gulf of Trieste. Again, not a serious test for an eleven-metre yacht, but at least an opportunity to try out the entire wardrobe, all courses. On the wind, the First 36 logs an average of 6.3 knots with tacking angles of less than 90 degrees, and at its peak it marches to windward at up to 7 knots.
Under gennaker, she starts to hum slightly at 8 knots, a sign that she is already leaving her hull speed behind her. At around 8.5 knots, the wake at the stern breaks off and the boat starts to glide. It only stops at 9.5 knots. At the same time, she is as true to track as the day before and extremely stiff. Her stability reserves are sufficient to carry full sail up to 5 Beaufort.
Our French colleague on the European Yacht of the Year jury, Loïc Madeline from Voiles & Voiliers, had perfect test conditions ten days after us, with 20 knots of wind (up to 25 knots in gusts) and a good one metre wave. He was impressed by the ease with which the First 36 surfed across the sea. With a single reefed main and a small fractional gennaker, he was constantly sailing above the 12-knot mark, reaching over 15 knots through the water several times at the peak.
Read the detailed test of the First 36 with all the data and measurements exclusively in YACHT 9/2022. YACHT tv also features a detailed video, then from the Baltic Sea. We have ordered 5 to 6 Beaufort for this; we won't go out to sea under that. And in May, Beneteau's performance cruiser will have to face up to all the competition in a major YACHT comparison. So: stay tuned!
You can read all about the test run with the First 36 in the 09/2022 issue of YACHT. DK-Shop or you can download the test directly via the link below.
