BoatsBeneteau First Class 8

Beneteau First Class 8

Fractional Sloop · Swing Keel · 1982–1994

A high-performance fractional sloop with a swing keel, designed for competitive one-design racing and trailerability

Designed by Jacques Fauroux & Jean-Marie Finot.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Swing Keel

See her sail

The Beneteau First Class 8, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Practical Sailor

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.49 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 1,406 kg of hull, so roughly 2,000 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Shoal draftDraws 0.69 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a moderate beam gives 13 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 13
CoastalBluewater

2.24 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.24
LightHeavy

136 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 136
EasygoingPowered-up

23.8 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 23.8
TenderStiff

37% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 37%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Draws more than ~80% of boats her size on file

Compared with 590 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Beneteau First Class 8, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Beneteau First Class 8 is a 7.8-meter fractional sloop designed by Jacques Fauroux and Jean-Marie Finot, built by Beneteau from 1982 to 1994. It features a swing keel and displaces 1406 kg. Aboard *A Son de Mar*, sailor Joaquín Morán acquired a Beneteau First Class 8 in 1986, making it the first of its model in Gijón.21:38 Morán sailed this boat to the 1990 European Championship in Santander.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
37.1%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
23.8
Displacement / length
136.0
Comfort ratio
12.8
Capsize screening
2.24
Hull speed
6.2 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
632
Hull
Hull type
Swing Keel
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
1982–1994
Units built
969
Designer
Jacques Fauroux, Jean-Marie Finot
Builder
Beneteau

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Macgregor 26X7.87 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA water-ballasted sail-power hybrid designed for versatile coastal cruising and easy trailering
Buying My Dream Boat (2001 MacGregor 26X)0:53from Adventureman Dan
Cal Boats 247.43 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterThe inaugural Jensen Marine Cal model, this fractional keel-centerboard sloop was built for shoal-water versatility
Aladino Sails The Pacific Alone.2:08from Sailing Magic Carpet
O'day 23-1 (Lift Top)7.01 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA popular C. Raymond Hunt-designed masthead sloop featuring a unique lift-top coach roof for added cabin headroom
Living on a Sailboat Doesn’t Have to Mean the End of Your Professional Life | #SAL #3583:10from Hashtag Sal
Tofinou 77.01 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA classic fractional sloop modeled after a 1939 prototype, designed for elegant daysailing with a retractable keel
A taste of testing in Kiel for EYOTY 251:33from SEILmagasinet
Hunter Marine 2407.34 mSame hull family0.4 m shorterA trailerable swing-keel cruiser featuring a B&R rig and water ballast, also marketed as the Hunter Legend 240
How We Left To Go Cruising at 30 & What We Left Behind (MJ Sailing - EP 7)2:06from MJ Sailing
Catalina Yachts 227.26 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterA swing-keel masthead sloop with 15,000 units sold, offering a highly versatile and trailerable coastal cruiser
New Sailor CRASHES and Needs Advice!0:49from Practical Sailor

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Beneteau First Class 7A lightweight fractional sloop with a swing keel, designed for high-performance racing in shallow watersBeneteau First Class 10A lightweight fractional sloop from Groupe Finot and Jacques Fauroux designed for high-performance racingBeneteau First Class 7.5A 2008-era fractional sloop with a high 30.49 sail area-to-displacement ratio for rapid accelerationBeneteau First 18A Jean-Marie Finot-designed fractional sloop built to the Micro Class rule for competitive, trailerable racingBeneteau First 24A 7.5-metre fractional sloop with a swing keel, built between 1982 and 1985 for performance in shoal water

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