Beneteau First Yacht 53: Secrets and... Pictures

Benefiting from the “First” legacy of 40 years at sea, the new Beneteau First Yacht 53 has been revealed at the 2019 Cannes Yachting Festival. The First Yacht 53 is a high-end sailing yacht, making her comfortable and easy to move around. Two stars aligned for her creation: Roberto Biscontini of America’s Cup fame for the hull design and Lorenzo Argento for the interior and exterior design.

Biscontini on the hull

Roberto Biscontini’s thirty years of America’s Cup experience has given the First Yacht 53 a balanced hull under sail with extremely promising performance. Over twenty drawings and simulations were used to position the center of buoyancy accurately, to achieve the desired result.

Featuring a full plumb bow and a maximum beam further aft, the twin rudders give the correct feedback to control this highly responsive hull. The 2.5 m or 3 m draughts (with lead bulb), as well as an optional carbon mast, gives the First Yacht 53 the competitive advantage to clock up miles quickly.

“To achieve maximum thrills at the helm, we focused on balancing weight and balance under sail when we designed the boat. We worked hard to optimize the position of the center of buoyancy in relation to the center of effort, guaranteeing a lively yacht under sail, and responding quickly to the helm. We asked the best outfitters to provide their top-performing products: North Sails for the sails, Harken for the deck gear, Lorima for the mast, and Lemer for the keel. They were all involved in the recent design of the Figaro BENETEAU 3 with foils“, declared Roberto Biscontini.

Beneteau First Yacht 53: Sailing

Photos Gilles Martin-Raget

The deck plan

Deck circulation, from the helm station to the foredeck, has been improved considerably on the First Yacht 53, by Lorenzo Argento, one of the founders of “Modern Yachting”.

Winches nearby the steering stations can be easily be operated by crew members wishing to get involved in trimming the sails. Movement is wonderfully safe on this flush deck fitted with handrails and coamings. All these details make the First Yacht 53 a seaworthy boat at ease on the high seas and comfortable on a mooring. What is more, once the anchor is cast, two people can easily take out the 2.4 m (8’) tender stored longitudinally in a tender garage.

“There is no need to step over anything or to obstruct a crew member. Everything flows, with the cockpit divided into two distinct sections: the helm and maneuver, and a relaxation area. There is just one watchword for this First Yacht 53: “intuitive”, stresses Lorenzo Argento, who is a sailor himself.

Beneteau First Yacht 53: At Anchor

Photos Gilles Martin-Raget

The hull

The hull is built by the French yard using the infusion process for optimal control of the boat’s weight and for its excellent mechanical properties. The hull structural inner hull liner is infused, then bonded and laminated in areas subject to high e stress, such as the chainplates and the keel.

In addition to this technique, it makes use of a concept that is mainly used on superyachts up until now, and this is an aluminum sole to which interior fittings are fixed. The overall structure and the lowering and centering of weight have been considerably optimized to improve stiffness and performance.

Interior layout

“On a beautiful yacht such as this, few owners dine inside. Many of them prefer to lunch outside in the cockpit instead of sitting around a large saloon table indoors. We have changed the layout to meet their expectations, giving it a smaller table and relaxation area with a large sofa and a coffee table. I really love this sofa as I spent a lot of time working on it!” says Lorenzo Argento.

The interior of the First Yacht 53 comes with three cabins and two heads, including a forward-owner cabin. The other option is a layout with three cabins and three heads and a skipper’s cabin is also on offer.