Beneteau produced 460 hulls from 1984 through 1988, the great majority of them in France. Berret had begun his long relationship with Beneteau through the First 35 in 1978 and formed his BRYD partnership in 1983. Practical Sailor classified the First 345 as a moderate-displacement racer/cruiser, while Bureau Veritas rated it for offshore work.
Design and Construction
Berret gave the First 345 a fine, flat entry and a long 29-foot 2-inch waterline. Its maximum beam, just shy of 11 feet 5 inches, is carried well aft.
The hand-laid solid-fiberglass hull uses alternating layers of chopped strand, omnidirectional mat, and woven roving saturated with polyester resin. The deck is balsa-cored, although some owners report plywood in high-stress areas such as beneath the winches.
At the hull-to-deck joint, an inward-facing flange is bonded with 3M 5200 and mechanically fastened with rivets through an aluminum toerail. The toerail runs the full length of the hull and is slotted to accept snatch blocks.
Firm bilges and a flat bottom lead down to an external iron keel. Beneteau offered a standard keel drawing 6 feet 2 inches and a shoal-draft version drawing 5 feet 2 inches. Steering is by a spade rudder with a stainless steel stock.
Listed displacement is 12,125 pounds, including 4,409 pounds of iron ballast. That gives a ballast ratio of about 36 percent. The comfort ratio is 23.23.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The keel-stepped Isomat mast has double spreaders. The boat is configured as a masthead sloop carrying a 431-square-foot genoa and a 258-square-foot mainsail. Running backstays supplement the permanent backstay, while the relatively short boom helps keep the aft cockpit clear.
Beneteau offered two configurations. The racing package paired a taller rig with tiller steering and a bridge-deck traveler. The cruising package used wheel steering and a cabintop mainsheet.
The First 345 earned a PHRF rating of 120 across major fleets. It rated 20 seconds per mile faster than the Tartan 34 and Pearson 34 and also outpaced the Cal 34 and Catalina 34. Listed hull speed is 7.24 knots, and the capsize screening value is 2.00.
Accommodations
The interior was available in two layouts. One had a pair of quarter cabins aft and a walk-through head. The other combined a private aft stateroom with a roomier forward owner’s berth.
Practical Sailor describes a Euro-style arrangement with an aft cabin, two saloon settees, and a double V-berth forward. It also describes a second layout with two tiny quarter cabins and the head forward of the main cabin.
The L-shaped galley is forward of the head and includes a three-burner propane Electrolux stove and an icebox for refrigeration. Headroom exceeds six feet. In the wet head, the shower drains into a sump that expels gray water overboard. A double overhead sliding hatch also serves as a spinnaker-launching hatch.
Known Issues
The balsa-cored decks call for a surveyor’s check for soft spots and delamination. On virtually all First 345s, the adhesive behind the vinyl headliner fails, allowing the liner to drop.
The external iron keel requires ongoing maintenance. Hull blistering is another concern: as with many mid-1980s production boats, Beneteau models from this period can be affected.
Verdict
The First 345 is a thoughtfully executed dual-purpose boat. It can race credibly while still providing a roomy, functional cruising interior. Its solid hull and Bureau Veritas offshore rating suit serious use, but buyers need to pay close attention to the iron keel and balsa-cored deck.
Pros
- Keel-stepped masthead rig, with separate racing and cruising packages
- Rated for offshore work by Bureau Veritas
- Competitive PHRF performance against comparable 34-foot cruisers
Cons
- Iron keel requires persistent maintenance
- Balsa-cored deck is prone to delamination
- Headliner adhesive fails on virtually all boats
