Design and Construction
Farr’s hull is widely praised and follows a moderate overall design. The bow has minimal overhang and a fine entry, fairing quickly into U-shaped sections before rounding amidships and flattening slightly toward the stern. The hull carries considerable beam aft, which contributes to stability and supports the broad transom bearing the designer’s name. A high-aspect-ratio fin keel, with curved leading and trailing edges, is paired with a spade rudder set at the aft end of the design waterline. A reversed counter completes the profile.
Pininfarina’s influence dominates the deck. Its profile flows in an almost unbroken line from the short foredeck to the tip of the transom. Test sailors found that the smooth, sculpted lines indicated very low windage. One tester noted an amorphous quality to the deck shape that he found less personally appealing, despite the carefully drawn accent lines. The transom has no swim step.
Rig and Handling
True to Farr’s racing origins, the First 45 F5 carries a fractional sloop rig with a notably short 15-foot J dimension. The spreaders are swept aft, with no runners or checkstays drawn, simplifying the rig for shorthanded sailing.
Polar plots indicate strong reaching performance, while a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.59 provides enough power for swift cruising. The moderate displacement of about 23,100 pounds and a length-to-waterline ratio near 200 keep the boat lively without making it extreme.
The principal compromise is in the cockpit. The mainsail is sheeted at mid-boom, an arrangement one design reviewer considered convenient but inefficient. The reviewer attributed that choice to marketing rather than engineering.
Accommodations
Beneteau offered three interior layouts: two owner-cabin plans and a four-cabin arrangement. The owner-cabin options were divided into two-cabin and three-cabin versions. Each layout includes double berths, while the two- and three-owner layouts add a single berth beside the forward double.
All three share an oval dinette with centerline island seating. Pininfarina styled the interior in collaboration with Farr, carrying the deck’s design approach below. The result is a coherent design language that was rare among production cruisers of the period.
Known Issues
The First 45 F5’s known points are primarily design choices rather than failures. Mid-boom sheeting is convenient but inefficient, while the transom’s lack of a swim step reflects the styling. The unconventional, somewhat amorphous deck shape may also divide opinion. Neither the marketing-driven rig compromise nor the deck shaping affects seaworthiness.
Refits and Ownership
Around 240 First 45 F5s were built, and a reported 80 were sold at the Paris boat show on the model’s debut. Those figures gave it a meaningful presence for a semi-custom performance cruiser.
Because the boat was created by Beneteau, Farr, and Pininfarina, its original deck hardware, interior finishes, and rig components reflect a specific late-1980s-to-1990 design intent.
The Verdict
The First 45 F5 combines Farr’s proven hull engineering with Pininfarina’s smooth, low-windage styling. Built in modest numbers, it has a genuine offshore pedigree and a round-the-world success behind it. It best suits sailors who value clean deck aesthetics and strong reaching performance more than maximum mainsheet efficiency.
Pros
- Farr hull with moderate, well-balanced proportions
- Strong reaching performance
- Exceptionally smooth, low-windage Pininfarina deck lines
- Three flexible interior layouts with a generous oval dinette
- Around 240 built
- Round-the-world success
Cons
- Mid-boom mainsheet arrangement is convenient but inefficient
- Transom lacks a swim step
- Amorphous deck shape divided reviewers’ opinions
