YachtCodex
Beneteau

First 24

In production
Beneteau First 24 — photo 1

Beneteau

Design

Designer
Sito
Naval architect
Samuel Manuard

Summary

23.9 ftLOA6.6 ftDRAFT8.2 ftBEAM
Sailing MonohullSailCE C
Length overall
23.9 ft
Beam
8.2 ft
Draft
0.8–6.6 ft
Displacement
2,425 lb
Cabins
1
Berths
4

* A standard reference image, not the actual boat — shown to help visualise this model's published dimensions.

Best Suited For

Tags are derived from certified class, length, sail area, accommodation and tankage using the criteria described on the Sources page; an editor may add or remove one.

Sailing Ratios

Classic yacht-design ratios worked out from the builder's published figures, each shown against the bands designers read it by.

Sail area / displacement

How much sail the boat carries for its weight — its power in light air.

ModestCruiserPerformanceRacing162024
  • not published: sail area
How it is worked out

sail area (ft²) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅔

Displacement / length

How heavy the boat is for its waterline length. Lower is lighter and quicker; higher is steadier and roomier.

UltralightLightModerateHeavyVery heavy100180270350
  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

displacement (long tons) ÷ (0.01 × waterline length in ft)³

Ballast ratio

The share of the weight carried in the keel — a rough guide to stiffness, though how deep that weight sits matters as much.

LowModerateHigh3040
  • not published: ballast
How it is worked out

ballast ÷ displacement × 100

Comfort ratio

Ted Brewer's measure of how gently a boat moves in a seaway. Higher means a slower, easier motion.

LightCoastalModerate offshoreHeavy offshoreVery heavy20304050
  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

displacement (lb) ÷ (0.65 × (0.7 × LWL + 0.3 × LOA) × beam^1.333), lengths in ft

Capsize screening

A guide from the inquiry after the 1979 Fastnet race: below 2 was taken as suited to ocean passages. It ignores hull shape and where the ballast sits.

Below 22 and above2First 24: 2.44
  • 2.44· 2 and above
How it is worked out

beam (ft) ÷ (displacement as ft³ of seawater)^⅓

Hull speed

Roughly the speed a displacement hull reaches before it has to climb its own bow wave.

  • not published: waterline length
How it is worked out

1.34 × √(waterline length in ft), in knots

Most builders publish a light displacement. The ratios were defined on a loaded boat, so every boat here reads a little lighter than a surveyor's figure would — all alike, which keeps them comparable.

Design Category

Certified CE design category C (Inshore): the wind and waves the EU Recreational Craft Directive says this boat is designed to take.

  1. D

    Sheltered waters

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 4
    Waves
    up to 0.3 m
  2. CThis boat

    Inshore

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 6
    Waves
    up to 2 m
  3. B

    Offshore

    Wind
    up to Beaufort 8
    Waves
    up to 4 m
  4. A

    Ocean

    Wind
    above Beaufort 8
    Waves
    above 4 m

Design limits set by the EU Recreational Craft Directive (2013/53/EU), in significant wave height. A category covers the conditions of those below it. It is the limit the boat was designed to, not a promise that it is safe in any conditions within it — that judgement stays with the skipper.

A figure marked with a quote mark was read from the builder's page. Open it for the exact line, the page and the date.

Dimensions

LOA
23.9 ft (7.29 m)
Hull length
—
LWL
—
Beam
8.2 ft (2.5 m)
Draft (min)
0.8 ft (0.25 m)
Draft (max)
6.6 ft (2 m)
Air draft
—
Displacement
2,425 lb (1,100 kg)
Ballast
—
Cabins
1
Heads
—
Berths
4

Sail Plan

Main sail
—
Jib
—
Genoa
—
Sail area
—
Downwind sail area
—
Rig type
—

Engine and Tanks

Engine
—
Engine count
—
Engine manufacturer
—
Propulsion type
—
Fuel capacity
—
Fresh water capacity
—
Black water capacity
—

Construction

Mast material
—
Hull material
GRP
Deck material
—
Keel type
retractable/swinging keel
Rudder type
—
Steering wheels
—

Figures read fromthe builder's page

Layouts & Drawings

3 drawings from the builder's page: general arrangement, sail plan, profile.

About Beneteau

Volume production

French yacht builder founded in 1884, among the world's largest producers of sailing and motor yachts.

Benjamin Bénéteau, born at Saint-Gilles into a large family of little means and a ship's boy at twelve, created his boatyard on the Quai des Greniers in 1884 and in 1909 designed the region's first engine-powered fishing boat. After the Great War the yard restarted in 1928 under his son André, aged 21; it prospered again after the Second World War, and in 1963 André's children, André and Annette, built polyester dinghies for the sardine boats -- the material that changed everything. At their first Paris Boat Show in January 1965 three dealers signed up within hours, in 1972 the family built its first plant designed for semi-industrial production, exports followed in the 1970s with a subsidiary in Annapolis in 1976, and in 1985, besides the new factory at Challans, Beneteau opened its first production site abroad at Marion, South Carolina. The Oceanis range was born from the Idylle boats developed with The Moorings -- Philippe Briand's Oceanis 350 and 430 were an immediate success and the range now counts eight generations -- the First was revived with Philippe Starck's First 35 S5 of 1987, and in 1989 the Figaro one-design chosen for the Figaro race began the Figaro era.

Visit brand page

The Beneteau Range

Every model Beneteau publishes, by length — where this one sits in the range.

  1. Oceanis 34.135.3 ft
  2. Oceanis 30.131.3 ft
  3. First 3030.7 ft
  4. First 27 SE26.2 ft
  5. First 24· this model23.9 ft
  6. First 24 SE23.9 ft
  7. First 18 SE18.2 ft
  8. First 1414.1 ft
  9. First 14 SE14.1 ft

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