Hull Design and Dual Personality
The First 44's most striking quality is its deliberate ambiguity. From a distance the high topsides, wide stern and twin rudders suggest a high-volume cruiser, yet the details tell a different story. Biscontini avoided hard hull chines, instead giving the boat a narrow waterline and rounded canoe body to reduce wetted surface, along with a fine bow and pinched-in waterline stern. The result is a hull shape that slips through light air with uncommon ease for a 46-foot yacht.
The engineering was entrusted to Mer Forte, known for high-end blue-water race boats including the Figaro Beneteau 3. That pedigree shows in the options: the performance configuration swaps to a 1.6-metre taller carbon rig, a deep 2.6-metre keel and lithium batteries, shedding half a tonne of displacement versus the standard cruising build. The standard keel draws 2.15 metres with 3,300 kilograms of ballast; the deep keel carries a lead torpedo bulb on an iron fin and drops centre of gravity substantially. Biscontini also gave the design proportionately narrower waterline beam to promote light-air performance, describing the First 44 as conceptually a smaller First 53 — a boat well proven in heavy weather.
Rig, Sail Plan and Handling
The fractional nine-tenths two-spreader rig is managed by a dual-cylinder Harken hydraulic backstay, giving precise control over forestay tension and sail shape. In the cruising configuration all lines travel aft through covered conduits to banks of clutches, then drop into rope bags behind the cockpit seats. Two pairs of winches — optionally electric — sit just forward of the twin helm stations, making the boat genuinely shorthanded-friendly. The performance version adds a second pair of winches in the pit area with cross-winching capability and a longer carbon sprit.
The optional twin 80-gallon water ballast tanks, drawn from Beneteau's experience with the Figaro 2 ballast system, fill and empty individually from the helm stations via electric pumps. The system takes three to four minutes per side, so it is not designed for rapid tacking but works perfectly for long beats or sustained reaching in a building breeze — equivalent to four crew sitting on the rail. In practice the boat proved finger-light and responsive through the helm even in marginal conditions, with gradually loading weather helm telegraphing sail trim changes in a way twin-rudder boats do not always manage.
Under the standard aluminium rig the mainsail measures 53 square metres, with the option of a 207-square-metre asymmetric spinnaker on the bowsprit. The metre-long moulded bowsprit carries two tack points for a Code Zero or asymmetric, and a flat-deck furler handles the headsail on the cruising model while the performance version uses underdeck furling.
Under power a sole engine option — a 57hp Yanmar with saildrive transmission to a three-bladed folding prop — produced eight and a half to nine knots at 3,000 rpm in testing.
Cockpit and Deck Layout
The cruising deck layout concentrates winches forward of the helm wheels, which can feel congested when handling mainsail, genoa and spinnaker simultaneously with a full crew. That said, the ergonomics of the helm positions are well considered: outboard seats, lifting foot chocks, a recess below the aft cockpit coaming for leeward helming with a clear view of the jib, and instrument pods sized for MFD, compass, engine and thruster controls at each station. The midships cockpit table offers good bracing when heeled, and wide side decks with a well-placed grabrail make movement on deck safe.
The bathing platform lowers electrically to reveal a tender garage, and a forward forepeak locker is large enough for fenders and an offwind sail. Towable jib cars are set into the coachroof, while the boom is supported by a gas-strut vang with a four-to-one kicker purchase led back to the main winches.
Accommodations
Below, Lorenzo Argento's three-cabin, two-heads layout draws on the same concept as the First 53 while using the space more efficiently. The saloon is a wonderfully large and bright space occupying the full hull width, with excellent eye-level hull windows and a fore-and-aft dinette seating six. Moving the galley sink from the central worktop to aft of the oven and choosing a linear dinette over a C-shaped settee makes the layout feel noticeably different from production-boat convention.
The L-shaped galley has adequate worktop space, good fiddles and a large fridge. A dedicated chart table faces aft on the starboard side with space for paper charts and a 12-inch plotter above it. Forward and aft cabins all carry berths at least two metres long, and the saloon dinette converts to a double. All cabin surfaces are finished in white lacquered panels, moulded woods and indirect lighting, with veneered and varnished seat bases throughout.
Fit-out is noticeably lighter than some luxury performance cruisers — a deliberate weight-saving measure that also keeps the boat keenly priced. There are no overhead lockers, the single-bowl galley sink stops short of a two-bowl convenience, and some boxing-in that could have yielded extra stowage has been left plain.
Known Limitations
Several specific observations emerged from extended testing. Dyneema halyards were absent on the test boat, and rope stretch caused luff crinkles to creep back in under load — a notable issue on a boat designed for tight sail shape. The mainsheet, on a fixed centreline padeye as standard, benefits significantly from the optional traveller, which gives considerably more control over boom position and sail shape. The water strainer for the engine cannot be visually inspected in situ — the lid and basket must be removed to check it during routine engine inspections.
Ventilation in the two aft cabins is limited to two small opening ports, which will feel restrictive in warm anchorages without air conditioning. The liferaft is stowed under the forward cockpit section, meaning it must be manoeuvred past the table before it can be launched. Rope bags for halyards, while tidy, are of limited capacity given the two-to-one purchases involved.
The Verdict
The Beneteau First 44 is a serious sailing machine that happens to wear comfortable clothes. Biscontini's hull — engineered by the team behind professional offshore racers — delivers genuine light-air capability without sacrificing heavy-weather stability, and the dual-configuration approach means buyers can meaningfully tune the boat toward cruising comfort or racing performance. The interior is spacious and modern, the deck layout logical for shorthanded sailing, and the water ballast system clever enough to give a two-person crew the leverage of a full racing team on the rail. The honest caveat is that this boat asks buyers to choose a direction before signing the order — the two variants diverge enough in weight, rig and gear that the wrong choice will leave money on the table and potential unrealised.
Pros
- Biscontini hull balances light-air slipperiness with strong form stability and deep-keel options
- Genuine dual-purpose platform: performance and cruising versions share the same hull but differ substantially in capability
- Water ballast system adds meaningful righting moment for shorthanded crews
- Spacious, well-lit three-cabin interior with practical galley and retained chart table
- Responsive, well-balanced helm feel unusual in twin-rudder designs
Cons
- Standard halyards prone to stretch, degrading sail shape over the course of a sail
- No overhead lockers; stowage in aft cabins and forward cabin is tighter than the saloon suggests
- Aft cabin ventilation limited to two small opening ports
- Cockpit winch layout can feel congested with a mixed racing/cruising crew handling multiple controls simultaneously
- Fit-out intentionally basic in places — overhead lockers, wood edging and a second galley sink bowl all missing
