Contessa 32 woe's

amuges said:
... if I go for a racy modern design it'll be a handful in a blow but probably nice and easy to manoeuvre in a marina (as long as it's not too light with too much wind-age)
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Tranona said:
You have just described extremes and in between there is a vast array of boats that are not extreme and make very satisfactory cruising boats.
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Ironically, the extremes of racy modern designs are pretty good in a blow. There's something to be said for having a huge lump of lead stuck on the end of the keel.

Anyway Amuges, best of luck in finding the boat you want. My final two pieces of advice are to encourage you to somehow get a sail on any design you're interested in, and when deciding which example of a particular design to buy go for the one in the best condition, even if it is 10% more expensive - it'll save you a fortune.
 
What are the things you will spend most time doing in your new boat? If you keep it in a marina, marina handling should be high up the priority list, if you're cruising thrashing upwind for hours on end wont be. I bought a cruising boat after 40 years of dinghy sailing, and thought I wanted something that performed exceptionally well. I was wrong. I wanted something that performed well enough to enjoy sailing it, and to cover the distances I would be doing well. I had also completely disregarded the importance of comfort when spending holidays aboard.
 
I'm not sure why thrashing for hours on end upwind requires a long keel boat. Sure they 'may' have a more comfortable motion going upwind. But that's partly down to the fact they'll be going a lot slower.

Long or full keel would be more of a requirement for someone who wants a very kindly motion, or is a traditionalist.

For genuine thrashing upwind i'd suggest a more racy design with plenty of weight in the keel and a good rig. The faster you get there, the less thrashing that needs to be done.
 
For pleasure most avoid bashing upwind in heavy weather. As a result the highest proportion of cruises are in more benign conditions when a boat that performs well in those lighter circumstance would perhaps provide more overall pleasure. A boat that can/will sail a reasonable passage speed in F3-4 say but still manage a bit of nasty if encountered will get more actual days ofsailing in than a heavy old tub that might well bash comfortably upwind in F8 but has to be motored in F2-3 or less. Most sensible folk avoid bad weather unless caught out but a more performance boat will still handle bad stuff, just less comfortably perhaps. offshore racers still race upwind in F8, the days of hiding up sheltered somewhere during an offshore race went half a century ago or more. For me an enjoyable passage is one made solely under sail in benign sunny conditions without recourse to motoring nor motorsailing or drifting at speeds sub 3-4kts. Of course if you really want to sail Southern Ocean in winter against the prevailing winds, the boat choice might be different, personally I'm quite happy these days to watch those antics on u-tube in the warm and dry.
 
I think there's too much rationality in this thread. We need more magic, imagination and romance...

For the last decade I've sailed a long-keeler with a cutaway forefoot and v-section forward. Complete rubbish really. Rolls like any other yacht in a quartering sea, tender initially but stiffens fast and never broached. Can't throw a decent party below decks, there's no flex or slapping - missing so much!

But in all manner of hairy tight marina berths with a heck of a tide up our chuff, I've never yet been unable to turn, manoeuvre as required or go astern - and I've never smacked anything.

This late 32ft version is very nice (despite the silliness - in my ignorant opinion - of in-mast furling):
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1990/Vancouver-32-2501755/United-Kingdom#.V3l_rCMrL-k

This one, also 32ft and also heaps more room below than a Contessa, has been around for ages, price well dropped over the last two years, good value and could probably get it for less still, but needs a good scrub (if they haven't done themselves yet):
http://www.yachtworld.co.uk/boats/1988/Vancouver-32-2748384/United-Kingdom#.V3mAXCMrL-k
 
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amuges said:
Guys, I've been sailing for over 40 years, racing, cruising, dinghy's and big boats - I'm not a complete novice but I do know that the man who thinks he knows everything is a fool! I'm open to any, and all advice and experience.

I am aware that my selection criteria might seem 'wide' but it's all about compromise - if I buy a long keel boat, it'll be great going upwind in a blow, less fun getting onto a finger pontoon in a tight marina, if I go for a racy modern design it'll be a handful in a blow but probably nice and easy to manoeuvre in a marina (as long as it's not too light with too much wind-age)

Anyway, as I said, I'm grateful to anybody for sharing advice, I'm not a novice so I'll probably understand the points you are making, my interest is in knowing peoples experience of boats similar to the ones I do know about :)
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Standard forum response by some is to doubt your skill and experience when you ask for advice - good grief man, how can you contemplate yacht ownership if you don't know what a gribblethumptwistle is - etc etc. Fortunately even though SWMBO and I knew next to nothing we didn't stop to read the books, we just jumped in and bought a boat and let it teach us, most people have done this. The only suggestion I would make is to buy cheap or buy very popular, the first route means that after a couple of years when you need to change after finding out what you really want you'll have lost little if you need to sell quickly, the second route means that you can sell quickly anyway! Just avoid an esoteric but well sorted design, you may be waiting a long time come sale time or loose a lot of money.

Co32's are not to many modern tastes, I know some people really love them but they're not going to get more popular, they come from an age where sea keeping in foul weather was deemed more important than accommodation or speed. These days the ease of reliable forecasting and the proliferation of safe havens has rendered that a largely obsolete criteria. Fortunately they are still really good looking yachts.
 
Since everyone has been kind enough to put forward various points of view, I would like to say thanks to everyone and let anyone who is interested know that the outcome of this is I've decided to try and buy a She I've found.

Some of the advice you've all given has been very useful, so thanks.
 
I've just bought a Contessa 32 (previously owning beneteaus, racing 28 foot trimaran and pogo 2).

I absolutely love it - just sailed from Lymington to Torquay. It never slams upwind (previously I used to wince everytime!). It takes more wind to get going but once it's blowing 12knots plus, I have pretty much the same pleasure i did sailing previous boats. And it's the best looking boat around- frequently get compliments from other sailors!

Paul
 
I do think Co32's are lovely looking boats however they do seem to command a premium.

I'm massively tempted with an Albin Ballad, I like the fact they seem bullet proof with minimal woes and from what I've been told very similar to the Co32 size and performance wise, and half the price.
 
Amuges

The advice given so far has been very good, however I would like to add another type of boat to your list - Westerly Fulmar. At 32 ft it is a slightly more modern design than a C0 32 with a slightly more volumous hull, but with a the same traditional interior layout with sensible berths, lots of storage, midship toilet compartment, etc. They sail brilliantly, having been raced and used by sailing schools in the past, and easy to handle with a ¾ rig. I might be slightly biased as I own one. Have a look at my thread on the Westerly Owners Forum and the link in the signature to lots of photographs. http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/woaforum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2748

The advice of buying the best available boat at a small premium is very sound. Do look at as many different boats to decide which suits your needs best, then look at all examples on the market before choosing the right one for you.
 
HI, I live in Brittany and was thinking of selling my Buchanan 27 sea spray and looking for a co32, Was the one you saw in the town centre marina in Vannes? Thanks in advance...
 
I have read all these posts and find I continually cringed at the comments mentioning "Thrashing around the buoys" or raced hard. I can only think that they are posts by people who have never done much racing. They seem to equate racing a sail boat to racing a speed boat or racing car. it is nothing like that.
A sail boat can not be thrashed. When racing you sail with the best amount of sail for the conditions. Just as one would do in any cruise. As for fatiguing the hull do cruisers only sail in flat water. I don't believe that any cruiser will sail in a different manner to a person racing.
Being a keen racer means caring for the boat much better and fixing problems immediately. My little boat has been raced about 25x 3hr races per year for 32 years. Apart from a worn out mainsail traveller track (from enthusiastic tightening of main sheet) I think all the failures have been due to passage of time. Certainly no sign of the hull being flexed overly and certainly never grounded excessively from racing as compared to cruising. She still spends 99% of her life waiting on a swing mooring just waiting to go. I would happily buy a hard raced boat any time. It certainly won't be left neglected by the ravages of time. olewill
 
Well maybe I'm unusual but I certainly cruise and race quite differently.
In cruising, you set the boat up to not be overpowered in the gusts. When racing, you want to be fully powered up in the lulls and prepared to spill wind in the gusts.

It's not my idea of a cruise to have someone constantly playing the sheet.

Whether the higher loads have any effect on the boat is difficult to ascertain, but I would guess that things like stretched sails and furler bearings will be symptoms of a boat that has spent a lot of time hard pressed.
 
Colvic Watson said:
I see your wine cellar and raise you a whisky cabinet, carpenters installed it in the aft cabin with shaped insets for the various shapes and sizes of Scotch whisky bottles. There's one curious shape like a flattened diamond that I've not been able to trace a bottle for.
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Grant's Standfast - better bottle than whiskey IMHO.
 
>There were issues IIRC on some with stress cracking caused from panels flexing over the bulkheads between main and forecabin.

If there is stress cracking in panels over bulkheads but the hull is not affected then there is no reason not to buy it. It would be the new owner's decision whether to replace the panels if they are unsightly and a good negotiation point. I would be amazed if there is a hull problem, some good friends of ours David and Sue, have sailed over 20,000nms in a Contessa 32 with no hull problems.
 
I think some are now reaching their twilight years without big money being spent. I went on one last week with very soft decks around the mast and varable thickness of hull laminate
 
KellysEye said:
>There were issues IIRC on some with stress cracking caused from panels flexing over the bulkheads between main and forecabin.

If there is stress cracking in panels over bulkheads but the hull is not affected then there is no reason not to buy it. It would be the new owner's decision whether to replace the panels if they are unsightly and a good negotiation point. I would be amazed if there is a hull problem, some good friends of ours David and Sue, have sailed over 20,000nms in a Contessa 32 with no hull problems.
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It's not removable panels that are being referred to but the skin of the underwater/waterline hull itself. Not unique to Contessas, happens on many boats including some quite heavy Westerlys. If it is found the fix is glassing in internal longitudinal stringers. Later Contessas were built with these stringers.

If anyone reading this quite old thread is looking for a not-that-big-a-project Contessa http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/classifieds.htm has contact details for one sitting ashore in Cornwall.

I've been aboard: structurally she seems fine, though she's VERY grubby and you have to fight through a few spiders webs to get below. We ( http://www.yachtsnet.co.uk/ ) were not prepared to list her on brokerage, so put up as a free classified ad. Engine is an old Sabb: probably will run beautifully with an amazingly slow tickover but you have to like antiques to love it. I have some more photos if anyone is seriously interested - pm me here.
 
Read all the posts hoping amudges had bought the boat of his choice.
Aparently not yet ;-(
Amudges could you let us know how your quest is proceeding.............
 
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