Throughout 2025, Groupe Beneteau will be celebrating 140 years of continuous boat building with events at boat shows and through their dealer networks around the world. These will be fun ways for owners and those hoping to become owners to get to know this remarkable company its people.
As part of the celebrations, Beneteau is introducing a new 30-footer that has basic cruising accommodations but is designed to plane. The original First 30 was introduced in 1977 and there have been several iteration since, including the incledibly popular 30.1.
Yann Massalot, chief of sales for the sailing division, made the announcement at the Cannes Festival of Boating in September and the new design will make its debut at BOOT Dusseldorf.
Beneteau, which has been a leader in the racer and racer-cruiser markets, acknowledged that both categories of sail are dwindling. They see the future of sailing in sportier boats that plane and can be handled by two people.
This concept lay behind the company’s purchase of the Slovenian sport-boat build Seascape six years and is now the guiding principle for the sailing division going forward. Planing boats are not new to Beneteau since they have been building high-tech, planning race boats for years and launched the planing First 36 a few years ago.
But the First 30, priced at around $100,000, is the first to be delivered for the purely recreational market. Beneteau said during the Cannes presentation, that their goal is to get people dreaming about sailing again, not just cruising, but enjoying the thrill of sailing fast in an exciting boat.
The new 30 has been built to be very light and to carry a large sailing rig. The team asserts that the boat will jump up onto a plane in about 14 knots of true wind and will accelerate significantly. Once on a plane, the 30 will handle like a sports car. Its twin rudders will give it a solid and sure feel on the helm that an autopilot will be able to handle. This is a real bonus for short-handed crews. Plus, the ride when planning may be bouncy but it will be very stable.
If the future of sailing is with younger sailors who aren’t cruising for long periods but want to enjoy a spirited afternoon or weekend on the water, the new First 30 will be the boat for them.
Read more about First models here.
https://www.beneteau.com/en-us/sailboats/first
