Is a Contessa 32 basically a man cave for Boomers longing for the halcyon days of the 70s?

[Tranona]

Just not the case. Did you read the thread.

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Yes I have and they are not difficult to spot.

As it happens I tend to agree with the supporters of the boat, and their reasons. My only criticism in this debate is the concentration on comparisons with more modern boats which are aimed at a very different market. It is pointless exercise. Equally it is very difficult to make direct comparison with contemporaries as one of the reasons for its success is that it was so much better than the alternatives. Its fall out of favour in terms of sales of new boats was because other boats came on the market that suited buyers' requirements better or appealed to a wider market.

 

[Blue Seas]

Another plus point, even on a cheap CO32 requiring major refit, at least the surveyors first inclination will not be to check that all the underwater appendages are still attached.

 

[Supertramp]

Perhaps our relative locations explain it. I can see Jeremy Rogers’ shed from the harbour mouth with my best binos. The boats have a kind of religious following around here. I’d be nailed to a cross in the town square for speaking ill of them. A quick look at prices has confirmed that theory.

Didn't Ed Dubois live in or near Lymington? It would have been good to meet him and Rogers in a pub comparing their designs. Even more fun if Marc Lombard dropped in.

People buy old boats for one of two reasons.

1. They can't or won't pay the cost of a new boat.

2. The old boat offers design, construction or other features which are hard to find new.

They can become man caves due to the continuous repair and upgrade process getting out of control.

 

[doug748]

Yes I have and they are not difficult to spot.......

Little engagement or mud slinging in kind though, I think we have all seen it before.

It is interesting to note that if you look at other discussion groups you get the same rump who are more interested in equipment than the matter in hand. Photography, Motorhomes, Driving, Caravans, Diving, Motorcycling - they all seem to have a resident Tsar who wants to dictate the "best" equipment and dismiss the rest as rubbish.

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[Baggywrinkle]

I'm not sure I agree with your assessment entirely. The official report on the 79 fastnet race

https://keyassets.timeincuk.net/ins...ads/sites/21/2019/07/fastnet-race-inquiry.pdf


Singled out the contessa 32 from a stability point of view and compared it to that of other half tonners in the race (apparently they choose Grimalkin), and spent 2 pages discussing the implications in annex 3. From That point yachting monthly used the avs graph of the contessa 32 to compare yachts in their yacht tests too.

The Kerrs reported windspeeds and wave heights just as severe as other competitors with 110kmh winds being the maximum their wind speed indicator was able to measure.

... the report was written in the context of designs from the 70s, with the IOR rules being a major contributor to the problems seen in the fleet - so any comparisons were to what are currently outdated designs that we haven't been building for well over a half a century or more. Combine small size with "innovations" to meet IOR rules and it was a recipe for disaster. I don't claim that the Contessa isn't a stable boat, but over about 120° and it's serious trouble, no matter what the boat.

Page 17 in the report ...

HighB/CMDI and low L/B ratios are generally associated with the smaller boats; and boat size to wave size ratio is an important factor which will always make smaller boats more vulnerable. In classes 0-2 the percentage of severe knockdowns was 11% compared with 46% in classes 3-5.

So how does a boat get past 120° of heel? ... it's not wind, it's waves ....

Hence my assertion that bigger is better ... or alternatively, the smaller the boat, the more important the AVS, as smaller waves will capsize it, ergo the overall likelihood of a capsize is higher.

However, also from the report ....



Peter Bruce concluded that any yacht will capsize if hit beam-on by a wave higher than half her overall length - so in 15 ft waves, a 30 footer will start to get into trouble. because a capsize is imminently possible at that wave height. A 45 footer will need closer to 22,5 ft waves .... that's another 50% wave height over the 30 footer.

Obviously getting caught beam on is to be avoided, but if relying on AVS, it means the boat is capsized, and from the table above, the ability to right wasn't a concern to 97% of those who suffered a B2 Knockdown - IMO there is more to be gained by avoiding a capsize all together. No one wants to go beyond 130-140 degrees as the probability of serious injury / boat damage is extremely high and it's game-over if either the skipper or crew are seriously injured or the boat is badly damaged. Once a boat starts getting capsized, survival is in the lap of the gods IMO, and STIX, AVS values etc. become as relevant as an umbrella in a hurricane as so many other factors come in to play. I just have this mental image of someone sitting on the cabin floor in a foot of sea water with an open fracture wondering why the AVS or STIX value didn't save the day.

 

[steveeasy]

can’t think of anything useful to add but not bad lines for an old tub

 

[Baggywrinkle]

can’t think of anything useful to add but not bad lines for an old tub

Yes, she's a pretty boat. ... is that Crinan Basin?

 

[steveeasy]

Yes, she's a pretty boat. ... is that Crinan Basin?

Yes, nice place to chill on a warm sunny day. Sod the sailing bit.
Steveeasy

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Great point about the back of second hand GRP boats in the 70s driving demand for new boats. Plus the fact that the first GRP designs tended to ve designs fir wood simply moulded in GRP, so when newer designs came in stream people wanted these.
The last of top 15 sellers has some interesting examples, but many are not "cruising yachts" - J24, J70, J80 "accommodation" might make a CO32 seem spacious!

From the the cockpit of our Albin Vega back in the 70s, a CO32 was luxury.

 

[Baggywrinkle]

Yes, nice place to chill on a warm sunny day. Sod the sailing bit.
Steveeasy

I've got a photo somewhere of me as a kid standing on the deck of our Vega in almost exactly the same spot. .... lovely cruising ground the West Coast, and even though my current boat is in the Adriatic, it has a connection to Luing and a formidable lady who used to live in Ardinamir Bay, Irene MacLachlan. My boat is named after her cat.

Irene MacLachlan

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12285045.irene-maclachlan/​

 

[steveeasy]

I've got a photo somewhere of me as a kid standing on the deck of our Vega in almost exactly the same spot. .... lovely cruising ground the West Coast, and even though my current boat is in the Adriatic, it has a connection to Luing and a formidable lady who used to live in Ardinamir Bay, Irene MacLachlan. My boat is named after her cat.

Irene MacLachlan

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12285045.irene-​

Nice. Named after her cat. How intriguing.
Steveeasy

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Nice. Named after her cat. How intriguing.
Steveeasy

Ours is also named after it’s 1st owners cat.

 

[steveeasy]

Ours is also named after it’s 1st owners cat.

Blimey that’s er nice. Quite like the idea actually. Nice way to remember a friend. Feel a new thread coming along soon.

Steveeasy

 

[lustyd]

Some very interesting reading here. I had a look at the layout and can’t seem to spot the owners cabin or shower so I don’t think my partner would approve. Although I guess without a decent shower it may be seen as a benefit to sleep separately?

 

[Egret]

Going back to #73 with the best sellers list, Interesting the Leisure 23 is at No 9 on this list. Lots of people must have liked it. Simple. does it's job, no fuss,

 

[steveeasy]

From an owners point of view ive so much storage space internally ive no idea what to use it all for.

For a 30 ft boat I find the main cabin and cockpit great. I’ll never master getting past the mast. Bit of a design hiccup having to have such a thing in the cabin!!

Steveeasy

 

[Lucky Duck]

Going back to #73 with the best sellers list, Interesting the Leisure 23 is at No 9 on this list. Lots of people must have liked it. Simple. does it's job, no fuss,

That number struck me as rather too high, lgoogle says around 900 were built

 

[doris]

Sure, it’s perfectly possible to spend more than your boat is worth of a refit. But Contessas are still changing hands down here for daft money. Or maybe they’re not, maybe they’re just sitting there. But here, 32k is the cheapest, and probably needs that 100k spent.

How on earth can you spend that amount on a 32ft boat, unless you just give Berthons a free hand ???????

 

[doris]

can’t think of anything useful to add but not bad lines for an old tub

Err, your words say it all.

 

[dunedin]

I haven’t sailed a CO32 but for me at that LOA size and price band the Fulmar would be massively higher up my list. Sails excellently, the 3/4 rig means easier to handle without the huge genoa (a design distortion on the CO 32 caused by IOR rule at the time), massively bigger and very practical interior, higher freeboard with much drier sail as a result.

The looks / “row away factor” is a very personal thing - and probably age related as well. Nobody would say the looks were the strongest point of the Fulmar, but it is a practical and honest look. There is nothing wrong with a decent CO32 either, but I don’t see it as particularly stunning - another plastic boat of its era.

The long overhangs and pinched sterns were again a quirk of the racing rules and the measurement points. Many would have argued back in the day that a “proper boat” had a plumb bow, bowsprit and probably a transom stern. The ”I didn't mean to go to sea” type boat! Which many modern boats are closer to nowadays !

There are some beautiful low freeboard long overhang boats, particularly in Sweden. But really needs to be properly long, narrow and wooden. (And owned by somebody else, as hopelessly impractical and a kings ransom to park in a marina.).