Beneteau First 260 / 25S

07/18/2023

After SIX years, finally the 2nd part of the refrigeration post! Late but lots of learnings.

Six years on, and after a couple of people asked, I figured that it was time to do part #2 of the refrigeration story. A long time coming, b...

07/12/2023

A detailed write-up on the jib car pull-back system on BlueJ.

One nice 260 feature is the factory remote genoa car adjustment system. As non-overlapping headsails are very sensitive to car position, be...

05/31/2023

New mast instrumentation makes all the difference! Read more here.

http://rarerarebird.blogspot.com/2023/05/integrated-mast-electronics-and-racing.html

05/11/2022

New bowsprit and Code Zero! Read all about the selection, install and performance here: http://rarerarebird.blogspot.com/2022/05/of-sprits-anchors-and-code-zeros.html

10/12/2020

Thx to a group member, BlueJ is rocking a brand new set of seat cushions, including seat backs that were not an option in 96. Looks great!

08/13/2020

The good life.

08/12/2020

Who has a tiller-pilot installed?? I've ordered an ST2000 with a remote, but I cannot find a single picture of a First260 with one installed. I have questions around the best mounting, and how long a drop arm it requires. I'm assuming that it will look like this etap 24 install, but I'm looking to get educated. Who has details/pics to share??

07/06/2020

Racegeek D10 in true wind mode. What an amazing instrument for the First 260. Top line speed, middle line heading. Depth mode for cruising, lift/knock for upwind racing,or true wind downwind, the bottom line adjusts to your program.

06/18/2020

Hey all! Hope everyone is safe and sound in these crazy times. Hope this helps out some of you: Here is an amazingly simple solution to a problem that has vexed our boat for years. Cross sheeting. Until now, I've never figured a way to get the leeward jib sheet to the windward side; mostly because I've focused on getting to the CABINTOP (primary) windward winch for racing. While soloing yesterday, I noted that the active sheet (turned by the leeward winch) has an almost perfect run to the windward spinsheet block, where it therefore has a perfect run to the spin winch. This works perfectly for soling, and will work great for crewed races in puffy conditions, where a joint main/jib ease would better keep the boat flat. Before this required a crew member low; and it worked out better to just keep the weight high and drive through the puff. Now we get the best of both worlds. It does deflect a tiny amount on the seatback coaming, so I'll add a small SS strake there to prevent wear. FAST!

03/26/2019

Over the winter I have gotten several readers asking questions about the 2nd set of (spin) winches we have mounted on BlueJ's side decks. So in reply, I have created a detailed answer on the blog. https://rarerarebird.blogspot.com/2019/03/spinnaker-winches.html

01/31/2019

Two of the the electronic projects for BlueJ in the spring, currently on the test bed.... 1) is mounting the RaceGeek to the mast and wiring it in to the boats power and electronics network for data sharing. 2) is mounting the battery monitor on the 12v panel. More than just a voltmeter, it contains a shunt that lets it measure current draw. This is a bigger deal on BlueJ now that we have refrigeration, which can be big power draw. Once you program in your battery bank capacity, it will show you as a percentage your battery state, along with time remaining at current rate of power consumption. Cool (if you’re a geek)!!!

10/21/2018

Out for a solo sail when a local photographer snapped this shot under Asym.