Beneteau First Class 7
Description
The Beneteau First Class 7 is a compact fractional sloop monotype designed by Jean-Marie Finot and Jacques Fauroux (Groupe Finot) and built by Beneteau in France from 1983 to 1985. As a high-performance one-design racer in the First Class series, it was created for inland and coastal club racing, emphasizing agility, stability, and ease of maintenance in a lightweight fiberglass hull with a swing keel for shallow-draft versatility and trailerability. Less than 200 units were produced, making it a rare vintage performer today—many are used in sailing schools or as family day sailors. Owners describe it as a "light, high performer" that's stable and stiff under sail but with low righting moment if capsized, ideal for protected waters or junior fleets, not heavy offshore.
Construction Details
| Designer | Groupe Finot and Jacques Fauroux |
|---|---|
| Builder | Beneteau |
| Length | 21.500 ft |
| LOA | 21.500 ft |
| LWL | 20.000 ft |
| Beam | 8.040 ft |
| Displacement | 1984 lb |
| Ballast | 661 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.920 ft |
| Min Draft | 2.130 ft |
| Year Built | 983 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 27.23 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8.53 ft |
| p | 27.19 ft |
| e | 9.84 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27.23 ft | 8.53 ft | 27.19 ft | 9.84 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Beneteau First Class 7 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 27.19 ft - (8288 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 9.84 ft - (2999 mm) |
| Leech | * 28.31 ft - (8629 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 87.99 ° |
| Diagonal | * 28.59 ft - (8714 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 137.24 ft² |
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Beneteau First Class 7 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 22.83 ft - (6959 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 11.26 ft - (3432 mm) |
| Leech | * 19.89 ft - (6062 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115.01 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.81 ft - (2990 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.01 ° |
| Area | * 111.98 ft² |
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Beneteau First Class 7 - GENOA
| Luff | 27.11 ft - (8263 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 13.75 ft - (4191 mm) |
| Leech | * 25.53 ft - (7782 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150.06 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.8 ft - (3901 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.02 ° |
| Area | * 173.51 ft² |
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Beneteau First Class 7 - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | * 27.11 ft - (8263 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.07 ft - (4289 mm) |
| Leech | * 24.94 ft - (7602 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 286 ft² |
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Beneteau First Class 7 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 27.11 ft - (8263 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 15.35 ft - (4679 mm) |
| Foot | * 15.35 ft - (4679 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 354 ft² |
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Beneteau First Class 7 - STORMJIB
| Luff | * 15.69 ft - (4782 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 6.36 ft - (1939 mm) |
| Leech | * 12.97 ft - (3953 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 60.02 % |
| Length Perp | * 5.12 ft - (1561 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 19 ° |
| Area | * 40.16 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator | |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.