Contessa 28?

KevO

KevO

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There is loads to read about Contessa 26s and 32s on the web... very little about the 28. I know the 28s are a different design to the others but have not been able to find out much else. There are a few for sale around the same price as Twisters... thoughts?
 
I may have a copy of the test when the Co 28 came out; as I recall Small Boat magazine ran a comparison test with it and the new ( then ) Dufour 2800.

The Contessa came out well as I recall, not going to set the world on fire and not a classic like the 32 & 26, but a good boat.

Depending where you are, a deep water mooring or marina berth can tend to be a similar price to a bigger deep keel boat, so not many around the Solent nowadays.

I'm slightly surprised by 'same price as a Twister', they're very different boats - I'd prefer the Co 28 for normal Solent / cross Channel stuff - the Twister is pretty pricey, dare I say over-rated...

- edit, had a quick look and can't find the mag with the review, must be around somewhere but after several moves etc..PM me if desperate and I'll try harder !

Don't recall any particular faults, seemed a good boat from the review.
 
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Examples of both are to be found on Apolloduck for around the 18k ish mark (a little more for some of the Twisters I suppose). The COs I've seen seem to be quite well appointed for the money.
 
The Co 28 was never a cheap boat, TBH I can't remember how the price compared but I'd think more than the Dufour !

I'd expect people buying them, especially when new, to be keen moderately well-off types, so finding them well equipped sounds about right.

I had a Carter 30 fin keeler, a lot of boat and quite fast, but most of the berths were stupidly small and I wasn't crazy about the build quality; I'd have been better off with a Co 28 though it's significantly smaller and a bit slower, then the Carter was an 'experience'.

The Co 28 would be a fair bit newer than the Ballads etc going now ?...

All I can say is I did get a good impression from the review, but don't think it will scorch past much, just a good reasonably fast competent boat.
 
Am not interested in racing Seajet although I don't wanna just trog along when making passage I admit. I'm hunting for summat around that size for cornish (and Scilly) cruising.. CO 26s look pretty but are quite cramped inside when I consider my teenagers. 32s are outside my size range (following the principle of buying as small as you need :) ). Also keeping an eye out for decent Shipmans, Varnes and Sadlers...
 
Many years ago, I used to crew on a Contessa 28 in club races. She was a good solid boat that sailed well. She was reasonably competitive but not tender so would make a good fast cruiser. We took her across the channel with 5 or 6 (I think) on board and she handled the Force 6/7 crossing well. Accommodation for that number didn't seem to cause a problem.

The only two things I wasn't keen on was the coachroof mounted mainsheet traveller and the long tiller which swept the cockpit. I don't know if all 28s have this set up.

A friend has a Varne 27. It's very solidly build and looks an excellent seaboat. His accommodation is not good as far as berths go. They are very small and tight and would present a problem on a cruise. The forepeak looks unusable except for very small children. Later versions may have a different internal layout.
 
co28

We had a co28 for a number of years. Its a nice boat with a bit more room than the 26. Its excellent in flat water, when it goes like a train, but it can slam somewhat in a chop due to its rather flatter underwater profile. They aint the same as a Twister.

There are a number of variants. Some (without the co symbol on the bow) are home finished, so the quality may be variable. The early ones (one of which we had) had an oversized rudder which can be heavy. About 130 were made.

There was reportedly an issue with some boats having cracking around the (encapsulated) keel if raced hard. This was supposedly due to some internal strengthening being missing, but we never had any problem with ours and I guess any that did have this issue will have been fixed by now.

Dont get one with the original engine. Most will have been redone by now with Yanmars or whatever.

I have the original reviews and some other material if you want them. Just PM me.

Ivan
 
Pandroid, PM sent with thanks.

Seajet, yes you can stop climbing around the attic now :D

I appreciate your help guys.
 
KevO,

another boat to consider, though it's a long shot as only about 16 were built before the builders - Anderson Rigden & Perkins, then Conyer Marine - went bust for unrelated reasons.

The Anderson 26 has a lift keel as standard - usually with an electric winch & manual backup - and was desiged as a direct result of the Fastnet 1979 inquiry, with foam buoyancy, bulwarks around the side decks etc; she is roomy for a 26, feels like a much larger boat and is very deceptively quick !

They have been known to cruise trips like the Azores etc, if available seem to go around the £16,000 mark.

A_26_1.jpg
 
You certainly win the prize for the biggest pic posted mate... lol.

No 2 Son keeps pointing out Varnes (and the Weston version) reminding me that the cheaper initial purchase price would still allow us to upgrade bits and bobs while still staying in budget and being able to pay for a marina berth until a Fal mooring could be sorted out. He's 6 foot so I wonder how comfortable he would find it below. They do look pretty though...
 
Sorry about the size of that image, that's just how it turned out !

Varnes always looked good to me but no experience with them; I know Maurice Huffey at Doncaster has the production moulds for some Varnes - forget which - in his large collection of such things, standing ready to assist alongside King Arthur and Excalibur if the land should ever again be in peril...:)
 
I've got one so this may be biased...

As stated they are not the same as a twister. Much more modern hull shape so better pace and vastly different handling characteristics.
Very similar to the Dufour 2800 (race on mate's) with minor differences down below and on deck. Hull shape more or less the same. Main difference is weight: 700kgs.

Don't know too much about Varnes so can't help there.

The boat is a good solid family cruiser with more than enough potential for club racing if the mood takes you. More than enough for south coast cruising without Thinking about it. Draft of 1.5 means good stability and pace but not too much for anchorages.
Very good turn of pace: mine gets 6-6.5 kts without thinking and this is with rubbish sails, fixed prop and a few months' growth.
Only thing I'm not too keen on is the IOR pinched stern: not an ish for normal sailing but may be a little too fun downwind with the kite up in big breeze and big waves - a Doug Peterson broach coach

Mine's in Falmouth at the mo so if you're in town and want a ride give us a bell.
 
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My friend has a Contessa 28 and it has a solid glass windscreen instead of the usual canvas sprayhood. Also has the centre mainsheet which he likes but I don't. When I had my Jaguar 27 about 10 yrs ago, I regularly went faster, even after he got new sails........ mind you he did insist on sailing it with the sidedeck well awash!
Oh, and his rudder fell off a couple of years ago - ruined our trip to Ostend!
 
PetiteFleur,

please don't get me wrong but I'm astonished your boat duffed up the Co28; then I'm equally bothered by someone fitting a solid glass screen on her !

May I take it you're not keen racing types ?
 
Seajet said:
PetiteFleur,

please don't get me wrong but I'm astonished your boat duffed up the Co28; then I'm equally bothered by someone fitting a solid glass screen on her !

May I take it you're not keen racing types ?
Click to expand...
I can assure you I regularly sailed faster, particularly going to windward in reasonable weather, my J27 did have a fully battened mainsail and genoa by Cranfields of West Mersea - a lovely set of sails. I must admit I did a lot of dinghy sailing in my youth and I'm sure that helped in sail trim etc. My J27 did have a keel which was not vertical and sailed better on one tack(but can't remember which one!) The glass windscreen was on the boat when he bought it.
 
The British Kiel Yacht Club had a fleet of Contessas in the early eighties, both 28s and 32s. I would guess maybe 8 to a dozen 28s from memory. If they retain their original names, they are all named after birds; Pochard, Grebe and Widgeon etc. I don’t recall any particular issues with them and they were worked and sailed hard.
 
My friends got a Contessa 28 - I'll let him know. Just for interest my previous boat was a Jaguar 27 and I was always faster than his Contessa 28, which always p***** him off - and we weren't even racing!
 
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