The goal—a comfortable, speedy crossover—is the same, but Beneteau has taken its First Series in an entirely different direction. A boat review from our September 2010 issue

by Dave Reed
Sailing World
© Gilles Martin-Raget/Beneteau
Although promoted as a performance cruiser, the influences of Juan Kouyoumdjian and Michel Desjoyeaux are found throughout the boat. There are enough fine-tune controls to keep a small race crew busy when going around the buoys.

When you see the new Beneteau First 30 for the first time, don’t be surprised if you do a double take. With its beamy profile, hard chines, and double rudders, it’s a big diversion from the recent lineage of Farr-designed First models. And that’s because there’s one fundamental difference: for this next generation First model, Beneteau went elsewhere for its designer, tapping the avant-garde thinking of two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner Juan Kouyoumdjian. What the collaboration put forth for sea trials in June is intriguing: it certainly comes across as more race-worthy than cruise-worthy, but according to the First 30 project manager, Eric Ingouf, that’s not necessarily the case.   READ THE REVIEW
http://www.sailingworld.com/sailboats/the-beneteau-first-30-goes-modern

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