The Beneteau First 235 is a French

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

, that was designed by

Group Finot Group Finot is a French Naval architecture, boat design company based in Jouy-en-Josas. Founded by Jean-Marie Finot, the company specializes in the design of fiberglass sailboats. The company also collaborates with designer Pascal Conq as ''Gr ...

and first built in 1986.

Production

The boat design was built by

Beneteau Beneteau or Bénéteau () is a French sail and motorboat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, with its holding company (Groupe Beneteau) now also holdin ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

between 1986 and 1991, with 680 examples completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The First 235 is a small recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. It has a fractional sloop rig, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

wing keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht ''Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of ''Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the winged ...

or optionally a

centreboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard fin keel and with the optional shoal draft wing keel. A centreboard version was also produced with a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted. The boat is normally fitted with a small outboard motor for docking and maneuvering. The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 189 with the swing keel or the fin keel and 195 with the wing keel.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 152.

International Marine McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

McGraw-Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, 2010. The boat has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "here is a boat you might call elegant, if you like the French approach to design—all rounded corners and brushed aluminum. It may take time to get over the idea that she's not 23 1/2 feet long, (She's really only 21' 8" on deck, without the rudder, and even her official LOA is only 23' 4"...so where does the "235" come from? Marketing!) ... Best features: Roomy cabin with good headroom and enclosed head. Very pretty, very sleek, very ... French. Worst features: That aft berth under the cockpit is a bear to climb into or out of."

References

External links

* {{Sailboat types built by Beneteau Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Groupe Finot Sailboat types built by Beneteau

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links