44' Beneteau First 44 #16339 Racers and Cruisers

St. Petersburg, FL

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RACER-CRUISER ROYALTY

ââ?¬Å?FIRST was born forty-five years ago with the launch of the legendary FIRST 30, and we doubly celebrate the occasion this year with the announcement of the FIRST 36 in January and the arrival of the FIRST 44 today, finalizing the renewal of a standard-bearing range now entirely redrawn and completeââ?¬ï¿½, says Yann Masselot, BENETEAU General Manager. ââ?¬Å? The boat pencils itself in among such great 40ââ?¬â?¢ to 45ââ?¬â?¢ BENETEAU yachts as the FIRST 40.7, the 45f5, or more recently the FIRST 40 and 45ââ?¬ï¿½.

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Today, the FIRST 44 embodies a natural link between the FIRST 36 and FIRST 53, equally refining and redefining performance, elegance, and comfort - a new Biscontini/Argento creation that truly denies itself nothing. She�s a lovely sailing yacht with a remarkable design, offering through her architecture and build quality an experience underway that is simply second to none.

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NAVAL ARCHITECT: Roberto Biscontini

Design: Lorenzo Argento

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A DUAL DESIGN

With the new FIRST 44, BENETEAU draws to the noblest expression of the term ââ?¬Å?racer/cruiserââ?¬ï¿½: an elegant and comfortable yacht that provides unequaled pleasure under sail.Ã? In keeping with the scientific approach honed with his work on America Cup racers, Roberto Biscontini went through several revisions and improvements to finally deliver a powerful and well-balanced hull, which is coupled with an ample sail plan to deliver spend and vivacity in any conditions.

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The FIRST 44 was imagined with two deck layouts to satisfy a greater variety of wishes and needs.� The FIRST 44 version distinguishes itself with a convivial and comfortable cockpit, wherein wide side-decks converge towards a lovely cockpit table. Four winches, a fixed centerline block for the mainsheet, and a mast that is set further aft all maximize the potential of her modern sail plan, defined by a slender mainsail and generously sized foresails.

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With the intention of making the serious performance even more accessible, BENETEAU used the experience acquired with the Figaro 2 and ballast systems to deliver this technology to FIRST 44 owners; twin 80-gallon ballast tanks activated electronically from the helm stations, offer the possibility of reaching the boat�s full potential with a reduced crew.

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A SUPERIOR STANDARD OF ACCOMMODATIONS

The FIRST 44 is infused with Lorenzo Argento�s style, a distinctive blend of elegance and modernity. Her three-cabin, two-head layout is an assemblage of quality materials interwoven into a masterful finish. In the salon the six-seater transversal table lays opposite the couch and nav station; its positioning in relation to the mast eases the movement between galley and master stateroom, thereby accentuating the feeling of space.

This arrangement is enhanced by superb craftsmanship, a refined combination of white lacquered surfaces, molded woods, touches of indirect lighting, and a large selection of luxurious upholsteries.

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EXPERTISE AS A CORNERSTONE

Assembled in a specially dedicated workshop, the FIRST 44 takes full benefit of BENETEAU�s expertise and the knowledge of the industry�s sharpest minds. Subjected by their owners to the rigors of offshore racing, FIRSTs are always the result of a rigorous development and perfection process. Engineering for the FIRST 44 was entrusted to the Mer Forte firm, well known for its work on high-end blue-water race boats, including the celebrated Figaro BENETEAU 3.

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The result is a ââ?¬Å?full infusionââ?¬ï¿½ yacht on which the distribution of weight is a key factor. The FIRST 44 and its deck layout is the result of a multidisciplinary collaboration involving Roberto Biscontini, Lorenzo Argento, Hughes Destremau (North Sails), Michel Sacaze (Harken), William Thomas (Sparcraft) and the BENETEAU project team.

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Roberto Biscontini (naval architect)

ââ?¬Å?The objective with the entire FIRST 44 team was to refine the concept of Performance Cruiser, which isnââ?¬â?¢t an easy undertaking because the architecture of these boats rests on many contradictory requirements. We tried to find the correct balance between cruising comfort, performance, and safety, and we are quite satisfied with the final result. The new FIRST 44 shares the style and the elegance of the FIRST 53, and is similar in the organization of space and volumes; yet certain elements and characteristics of her design take her a step further in her quest for performance.ââ?¬ï¿½

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Lorenzo Argento (designer)

ââ?¬Å?I wish to sincerely congratulate Roberto for successfully creating this hull/mast/rigging combination, which gives us an extremely pleasant and performant yacht on the water. At our level, we tried to reproduce this fluidity and this spirit through the deck design and interior arrangements, by both maximizing the use of volumes and minimizing the impact of whatever restriction we encountered. For example, the position of the mast had a great influence on the way the interior is arranged, and we were able to draw up a practical and harmonious solution for the table-galley-sofa area.ââ?¬ï¿½