Beneteau First 44

Huge specification 2024 First 44 with furler boom, North NPL Tour sails, Garmin instrument package and almost every option ticked and presented in fantastic ready-to-go condition.

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

Lightly-used and presented for sale in fantastic condition, RIBELLE is a privately used example of the new-generation Biscontini Yacht Design / Lorenzo Argento Beneteau First 44 performance cruising yacht. Configured for effortless single or twin-handed sailing under sail, RIBELLE benefits almost all available equipment packages plus a substantial array of further options including:-
• Luxe Trim level
• Garmin Offshore instrument pack
• Self-tacking jib rigging package
• North Sails Aluminium Mast Sails Pack
• Downwind Pack
• Mooring pack

Her main specification highlights include:-
• 3-cabin, 2-heads interior layout finished in Alpi teak
• Converting saloon seating/table to create further occasional double berth
• Pearl grey topsides
• Low maintenance non-slip side decks, with teak deck cockpit sole and bathing platform
• 2.15m draft keel and twin rudders
• Yanmar 57hp engine with saildrive and 3-bladed folding propeller
• Retractable bow thruster
• Aluminium mast with Fuler Boom in-boom furling system
• Self-tacking jib track and longitudinal tracks
• Sub-deck genoa furler
• North Sails Tour NPL mainsail and genoa
• North Sails Code 0 with Facnor furler
• Upgraded Harken winch package with electric halyard winch and larger primary winches
• Harken deck gear
• Electrically operated bathing platform giving access to tender garage with 2.10m inflatable tender and electric outboard
• Garmin instrument package with 3x 12” chart plotters, mast-repeaters AIS transceiver, autopilot and all-round sonar transducer
• Starlink Mini antenna
• Upgraded 400Ah AGM service battery bank
• Victron inverter
• Reverse-cycle air-conditioning with 24,000 BTU output
• Dock water inlet
• Chain counter for anchor windlass
• Seanapps remote smartphone-connected system monitoring for battery charge, fuel and water tank levels, and maintenance scheduling

2025 UPGRADES:
• 3x Garmin GNX 10 mast foot instruments
• Victron Energy 1200W inverter with additional 230vDC outlet at chart table
• 3x EcoFlow 100Wp solar panels with Victron Energy solar charger
• Eurovinyl tender 210, fits fully inflated in garage
• ePropulsion SPIRIT 1.0 EVO electric outboard with 230V and 12V chargers
• Starlink Mini antenna with Teltonika WiFi router
• 65W USB A & C charger at chart table

Offered for sale exclusive of EU VAT, RIBELLE is a great option for non-EU and EU-based buyers alike. RIBELLE presently sails under a Jersey flag.


MANUFACTURER’S COMMENTS:

This lovely sailing yacht, with a remarkable design, is today the natural link between the First 36 and First 53. It combines performance, elegance and comfort thanks to the quality of its equipment, which offers unequalled sailing pleasure.

With the new First 44, BENETEAU draws to the noblest expression of the term “racer/cruiser”: an elegant and comfortable yacht that provides unequaled pleasure under sail. The generous sail plan allows the First 44 to be lively and efficient in all conditions.

EXTERIOR DESIGN

On board the First 44, the cockpit is very convivial with a lovely cockpit table as well as its fluidity with a level access to the large clear gangways. Four winches, a fixed centerline block for the mainsheet and a mast that is set further aft all maximize the potential of her modern sailplan, defined by a slender mainsail and generously sized foresails. Two 350-litre ballast tanks, which can be activated electrically from the helm consoles, make it possible to maintain the boat's full potential.

True to the scientific approach he inherited from the America's Cup, Roberto Biscontini has carried out numerous simulations and iterations to produce a powerful, well-balanced hull. Combined with a generous sail plan, this means that the First 44 is lively and efficient in all conditions.

INTERIOR DESIGN

The First 44 offers a streamlined interior layout that is modern and luminous, with a blend of white lacquered surfaces, moulded woods and tasteful upholsteries.

With three cabins and two heads, the interior is designed with quality finishes and materials to create a refined atmosphere.

In the saloon, the transverse table seats up to six people and faces the sofa and navigation station; its position in relation to the mast facilitates circulation between the galley and the owner's cabin, enhancing the feeling of space.

PRESS REVIEW:

With variants suited to racing as well as cruising, the Beneteau First 44 is a superbly competent boat of two halves…

I had admired the lines of the Beneteau First 44 earlier in the season when testing the Beneteau Oceanis 37.1, and had also seen the boat at her first public appearance, albeit out of the water, at Boot Düsseldorf, 18 months earlier. Any sailor, whether cruiser or racer, will be well aware of just how popular the ‘First’ range as been for Beneteau. The promise of modern design, sprightly performance and a sensible price tag have had an enduring and widespread appeal since Beneteau’s First 30 appeared in 1977…

The interesting thing about the Beneteau First 44 is that it is something of a chameleon. At first glance, it has the high topsides, wide stern and twin rudders that define the current crop of high volume cruisers.
But this belies the subtleties added by Biscontini that may be more easily missed: an absence of hard hull chines often used to supercharge internal volume; a narrow waterline and more rounded canoe body to reduce wetted surface; a fine bow and pinched-in stern at the waterline all make for slippery light-air sailing as well as top end speed of a performance machine. But the real trick is just how differently this boat can be configured for either racing or cruising…

Going below, this boat feels refreshingly modern. Good use has been made of the space, and while the layout is not unconventional, choices such as the fore and aft dinette in place of a C-shaped saloon seating to port, and moving the galley sink from central worktop to aft of the oven felt noticeably different.

VERDICT

This is a proper sailing boat with the potential for fast, exciting racing. It is also a refined cruising boat with the manners for quick but comfortable passage making... Quality overall is good and the finish is well executed…

Yachting Monthly – April 2025