Perry Design Review: Beneteau First 40.7

Let's take a look at what the French company Beneteau, with the help of the Bruce Farr office, can do with the same general racer-cruiser parameters. The Beneteau has 3 feet 2 inches of LOA on the X-Yacht, and that shows in the accommodations. Like the X-Yacht, this design is being marketed as a boat that lets you have the best of both worlds.

The Beneteau First 40.7 has also seen success on the race course in its first season. I'm sure that both X-Yachts' and Beneteau's European race successes have something to do with having near-professional (or "factory") race crews on board. But that's to be expected with competition being what it is today. Regardless, this is a fast boat and that's what we have come to expect from Bruce Farr.

The hull shape of the 40.7 features a moderate D/L of 162 and a wedgelike planform with lots of beam aft. The tip of the transom is close to the DWL. One photo shows the boat with a nice, big, frothy bone in its tail, and the bow cleanly slicing through the chop. Two keels are offered, drawing 7 feet 9 inches or 6 feet 2 inches. The shoal keel is iron while the deep fin is lead.

The rig shows swept spreaders, no runners and a tall fractional rig. The sweep angle is 15 degrees, precisely the same as that of the X-Yacht. The SA/D is 20.85. The softer outlines of the deck structures complement the strong radius at the sheer and the overall look of lower windage. This boat has the feel of a race boat.

The deck has been tooled so it can be fine-tuned for either racing or cruising. True, the traveler is once again in the middle of the cockpit, but that has to be a given if you are serious about racing. The seat lockers forward of the wheel are removable so that you can have more working space when racing. I think this cockpit is not what we have come to expect in cruising boats. I'm not saying that as a criticism. I only mean that the big-diameter wheel dominates and inhibits movement aft and the seats are too short for comfortable lounging? Okay, it is a criticism. I want at least one place in the cockpit where I can stretch out and lean against the back of the cabinhouse to read. While these cockpit seats, with locker modules installed, are long enough, the forward portion of the seat looks too narrow for my comfort. Of course, these detractions become benefits on the race course.

This interior has berths for three couples (or three men) to sleep in real comfort. The single head can be accessed either from the saloon or the forward stateroom. The nav station is spacious, but once again, the galley has been shrunk. The counter space is minimal and the refrigerator is small. The curved settees look sexy, but I have found that people like corners when they lounge. In fact, most people will seek a corner. Large radii are appealing to the eye, but not practical.

If the details of the interior design are not to my taste, I have to admit that the finish style and quality of this design are superb. The styling of the joinerwork is clean and the furniture is high-quality. Beneteau has always excelled in this area. The molded headliner is styled in accentuated panels that provide a contrasting high-tech look to the curvy joiner detailing. While the detailing is far from traditional, I find the overall look and feel to be similar to traditional themes and very easy on the eyes.

This Beneteau provides an interesting comparison to the X-362. It's hard to avoid wondering what would happen if they were to race each other. Wonder no longer. They have already met on the race course, and the X-Yacht won. This was in the SPI Quest regatta and included four races. Obviously a lot of factors come into play on the racecourse. I think this return to versatile racer-cruisers is a good sign and bodes well for future club-racing events.

Another winner from the team of Bruce Farr and Beneteau.

This story originally appeared in Sailing Magazine, and is republished here by permission. Subscribe to Sailing.