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Review of First Class 12


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The First Class 12 is a large sailboat designed by the French maritime architect Jean-Marie Finot in the mid eighties. Less than 100 boats have been produced.

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Hull
The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Rig
The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel

The First Class 12 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.9 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for First Class 12 is about 268 kg/cm, alternatively 1504 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 268 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1504 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for First Class 12 is 3.15.

Slim Wide 66% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 66% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for First Class 12 is 44%.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 100% 0 50 100
The First Class 12 has more rig than 100% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is significantly overrigged.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 47m2 (505 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 38.3 m(125.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard38.3 m(125.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard38.3 m(125.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet 12.0 m(39.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet12.0 m(39.3 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet 29.9 m(98.2 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet26.3 m(86.4 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Cunningham5.6 m(18.4 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap11.2 m(36.7 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul11.2 m(36.7 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for First Class 12 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References