First 35
Production boat · Farr Yacht Design · Beneteau · since 2010
- Boats
- 15
- Results
- 31
- Wins
- 9
- Races
- 10
- Length
- 10.66m
- Beam
- 3.64m
- Draft
- 2.3m
- Weight
- 5.5t
- Sail area
- 72.47m²
Why sailors choose the First 35
The First 35 is a Farr performance cruiser, a smaller sister to the First 40, built for owners who want to club race and cruise in one boat. Testers found it forgiving yet rewarding, with a light, communicative helm and good upwind speed even in light air. Stowage is limited and the performance hull trims interior volume.
- Balanced compromise between racing pace and cruising comfort
- Good upwind speed and easy tacking with a non-overlapping jib
- Tracks well and accelerates briskly
- Bright, roomy saloon for its size
- Limited stowage; tight forward berth
Our note
Specifications
Production boat
- Designer
- Farr Yacht Design
- Builder
- Beneteau
- First built
- 2010
- Length
- 10.66m
- Waterline
- 9.33m
- Beam
- 3.64m
- Draft
- 2.3m
- Displacement
- 5,500kg
- Ballast
- 1,768kg
- Sail area upwind
- 72.47m²
- Keel
- fin
Figures for the 2010 Farr design, deep keel; an older Berret-designed First 35 (1979) shares the name.
Published figures for the design; individual boats are often modified. Sources: boat-specs.com
What sailors and testers say · in our words, from the linked pages
It tracked steadily and accelerated like a race boat, yet was far less twitchy than a pure racer, rewarding for cruising and racing.
Cruising World review by Bill Springer · Cruising World, 2010
Even in light, patchy air it went upwind beautifully; the tester called it a performance cruiser but marked it down for limited stowage throughout.
Yachting Monthly test by Chris Beeson · Yachting Monthly, 2021
Against its rivals
The First 35 against four designs like it, from published figures. Swap any of the four. Each spoke is scaled to the largest of the five; a figure that isn't published sits at the centre (— in the table).
| Design | Length | Beam | Draft | Weight | Sail area | Power (SA/D) | Boats racing | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 35 | 10.7 m | 3.64 m | 2.30 m | 5.5 t | 72 m² | 23.6 | 15 | 9 |
| First 36.7 | 10.7 m | 3.45 m | 2.20 m | 5.9 t | 77 m² | 24.2 | 13 | 11 |
| Oceanis 351 | 10.6 m | 3.79 m | 1.22 m | 5.3 t | 49 m² | 16.3 | 2 | 2 |
| Figaro 2 | 10.1 m | 3.43 m | 2.15 m | 3.0 t | 68 m² | 33.0 | 3 | 5 |
| Oceanis 350 | 10.1 m | 3.43 m | 1.56 m | 4.8 t | 56 m² | 20.1 | 2 | 0 |
| Boat | Sail no. | Skipper or owner | Years | Results | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Kensington | — | Massimo Licata D'Andrea | 2023–2025 | 6 | 3 |
| KEYFİM 3 BUÇUK | GBR 186N | SELİM YAZICI / BATU AKBAL | 2021 | 2 | 2 |
| Virgo | — | Jörg Schober | 2025–2026 | 4 | 1 |
| Scorpio | — | Karl Florian | 2022–2025 | 3 | 1 |
| Musuko | GRE-1451 | — | 2023 | 1 | 1 |
| Saggitarius | — | Peter Schicho | 2025 | 1 | 1 |
| Capricorn | — | Peter Fritsch | 2023–2026 | 3 | — |
| Libra | — | Johannes Rupitz | 2024–2026 | 3 | — |
| South Kensington Lauria | — | Massimo Licata D'Andrea | 2026 | 2 | — |
| Aquarius | — | Erich Monsberger | 2024 | 1 | — |
| Coco Loco | — | Nikola Zuber | 2021 | 1 | — |
| Extra Large | — | Oleg Tognon | 2021 | 1 | — |
| Lete | — | Codrut Cursaru | 2026 | 1 | — |
| Serena | — | Marko Domijan | 2023 | 1 | — |
| TAURUS | — | Matija Ketiš | 2023 | 1 | — |
| Race | Results of this design | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpe Adria Sailing Week | 11 | 3 | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Palermo–Montecarlo | 5 | 1 | 2025, 2026 |
| Round Long Island Race | 5 | — | 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
| Round Aeolian Race | 3 | 2 | 2023, 2025 |
| TAYK Navy Cup International Yacht Race | 2 | 2 | 2021 |
| Greek Revolution Race | 1 | 1 | 2023 |
| Splitova regata krstaša | 1 | — | 2021 |
| Istarska regata | 1 | — | 2021 |
| Bosphorus Cup | 1 | — | 2026 |
| Južnodalmatinska regata | 1 | — | 2023 |