The Beneteau Figaro, also called the Figaro I, the Figaro Solo and officially designated as the Figaro Beneteau, is a French

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by

Groupe Finot Group Finot is a French boat design company based in Jouy-en-Josas. Founded by Jean-Marie Finot, the company specializes in the design of fiberglass sailboats. The company also collaborates with designer Pascal Conq as ''Groupe Finot - Conq'' ...

and

Jean Berret Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

as a one design, single-handed, off-shore racer especially for the

Solitaire du Figaro The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...

race and first built in 1990. The boat and the race are both named for the sponsor of the race, the French newspaper

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

. The boat was the official design for the Solitaire du Figaro race from 1990 to 2002. It was replaced by the

Beneteau Figaro 2 Beneteau or Bénéteau () is a French sail and motor boat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, commanding a substantial worldwide market, with its holdi ...

in 2003.

Production

The design was built by

Beneteau Beneteau or Bénéteau () is a French sail and motor boat manufacturer, with production facilities in France and in the United States. The company is a large and recognized boat builder, commanding a substantial worldwide market, with its holdi ...

in France, from 1990 to 2002, with 140 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Figaro is a racing

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open wat ...

, built predominantly of solid

glassfibre Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

. It has a fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig with two sets of swept spreaders. The hull has a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

with a swept, weighted bulb. It displaces and carries of iron and water ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel. The boat is fitted with a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, Heavy equipment, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasu ...

1GM

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-call ...

for docking and manoeuvring. The fuel tank holds . The design has sleeping accommodation for six people in a minimalist interior. For sailing downwind it may be equipped with a symmetrical

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

of . The design has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-tro ...

of and a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

handicap of 99 to 105.

Operational history

As well as serving as the official design for the Solitaire du Figaro from 1990 to 2002, the boat was used for the first one-design transatlantic race, the double-handed

Transat AG2R The La Transat en Double formally known as the Transat AG2R is a two person transatlantic race which is held biannually in one design Beneteau Figaro boats. The present iteration being the Beneteau Figaro 3. Winners Editions 1992 1994 199 ...

from 1992 to 2002. Sailboat Lab notes, "the Figaro Solo Beneteau is a light sailboat which is a very high performer. It is stable / stiff and has a low righting capability if capsized." Reviewer Philippe Joubin noted in August 1990 in ''Seahorse International Yacht Racing'', that the adoption of the boat for the Solitaire du Figaro, making it a one design race, would transform the race and give it new credibility.

References

External links

* {{Beneteau Keelboats 1990s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts One-design sailing classes Sailboat type designs by Groupe Finot Sailboat type designs by Jean Berret Sailboat types built by Beneteau

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links