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

[doug748]

We are told that the boats are "slow" which is an absolute. If someone said these boat are slow - compared with an Elan 333 or the flying Dragonfly or a motorbike and sidecar, nobody would raise an eyebrow. That's probably true.

Slow is pretty damming. The original poster is one who says the Contessa is a slow coach, he may have a Bavaria - either way he should put his cap into the ring so we can check some actual on the water results.

I must tell him that the first 7 Contessa's in the race mentioned beat every single boat in the Bavaria class of sixty boats, regardless of size.

.

 

[johnalison]

We are told that the boats are "slow" which is an absolute. If someone said these boat are slow - compared with an Elan 333 or the flying Dragonfly or a motorbike and sidecar, nobody would raise an eyebrow. That's probably true.

Slow is pretty damming. The original poster is one who says the Contessa is a slow coach, he may have a Bavaria - either way he should put his cap into the ring so we can check some actual on the water results.

I must tell him that the first 7 Contessa's in the race mentioned beat every single boat in the Bavaria class of sixty boats, regardless of size.

.

I’ve not sailed a Contessa, but my impression from those that I have seen sailing is that they do what you would expect. They have a short waterline and ‘60s/70s lines, and a large wetted surface, so speed off the wind and in light airs is going to be limited. Like boats of that period, they are optimised for upwind sailing, so, with a large ballast but hampered by a large genoa, they are going to perform well to windward but demand a lot of work from the crew. If the crew is up to it in anything of a blow they will be hard to beat round the buoys.

 

[Mark-1]

We are told that the boats are "slow" which is an absolute. If someone said these boat are slow - compared with an Elan 333 or the flying Dragonfly or a motorbike and sidecar, nobody would raise an eyebrow. That's probably true.

So we need to decide what we want to compare against.

Performance relative to other monohulls of the same length overall? Relative to other vessels of the same purchase price? Other vessels of the same LWL?

I think the obvious comparison would be with other monohulls of the same LOA.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

So we need to decide what we want to compare against.

Performance relative to other monohulls of the same length overall? Relative to other vessels of the same purchase price? Other vessels of the same LWL?

I think the obvious comparison would be with other monohulls of the same LOA.

Other boats for £580k? Perhaps that wouldn’t be quite fair. Same LOA without being stupidly expensive, I think.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Reading the spreadsheet it appeared to be the round the island race in 2017, a pretty good test and open to all

I’m curious as to why that particular year was chosen

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Here’s my pitch.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I’m curious as to why that particular year was chosen

Big breeze. The only time the C32 picks up it’s skirts.

 

[Lucky Duck]

Unlike 2024?

 

[benjenbav]

Other boats for £580k? Perhaps that wouldn’t be quite fair. Same LOA without being stupidly expensive, I think.

Casually looking in that price bracket I came up with a 12 y/o Amel 55 ketch.

In my dreams, I know where my fantasy money is going…

 

[Lucky Duck]

Don’t forget for that money you also get three fenders and two mooring warps

 

[wonkywinch]

Is an AWB basically for boomers who can't quite bring themselves to buy a motorhome?

Absolutely. I briefly considered a motorhome but remembered I dislike driving any distance or being in close proximity to the selfish twits that infest our roads.

The barrier to entry to motorhoming is low, most people have a driving licence and sites accept any old riff raff leading to the lower end of society using them for cheap holidays.

I often refer to our boat as a floating motorhome but encountering the chav element is much lower fortunately.

 

[Keith 66]

My Father in law had one for many years & loved it. It had spongy decks like a trampoline & persistent leaks from the hull to deck join that took forever to not quite eradicate. Worst were the dents in the hull, Back in the 70's they were popping them out of the mould so quickly the GRP was still green, they were then sat in cradles some of which didnt fit & put big dents in the hull. The worst dent was stb bow & it was 3" deep, port side was 2", aft about 1.5" each side.
The builders had simply scribed the bulkheads over these dents & glassed them in.
Can you imagine any builder today getting away with a stroke like that?
Eventually i faired the dents in with glass & epoxy & it took gallons.
Pretty boat but out of date today.

 

[Keith 66]

Absolutely. I briefly considered a motorhome but remembered I dislike driving any distance or being in close proximity to the selfish twits that infest our roads.
The barrier to entry to motorhoming is low, most people have a driving licence and sites accept any old riff raff leading to the lower end of society using them for cheap holidays.
I often refer to our boat as a floating motorhome but encountering the chav element is much lower fortunately.

Trouble with motorhomes & vans is it will be hard to escape the all pervading stink of Skunk weed from the van lifers livng in them full time.

 

[lustyd]

Feel free to post better, it's all in the public domain.

If facts are not to your taste, we can hear from an experienced skipper:

I didn’t say there was better data, I’m not trying to prove an outdated design 32 footer will beat any and all modern designs of any size
I imagine there isn’t a good source for that since it’s quite clearly not the case.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Casually looking in that price bracket I came up with a 12 y/o Amel 55 ketch.

In my dreams, I know where my fantasy money is going…

The price bracket also includes some very tasty boats that are my kind of thing. Though I wouldn’t discount your beast. However, if we’re going to play like that, the boat ought to be new, as that’s the new price. Good secondhand, say £50k to £100k, that being the ‘ready to sail’ zone round here. That still leaves a lot of second hand scope. It’s the new price that is seriously anomalous though. You could have a chat with Spirit at that level, they’d build you something (a little clinker dinghy perhaps)

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Here’s my pitch.

BRilliant !
The dash for freedom and adventure that we all have.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

BRilliant !
The dash for freedom and adventure that we all have.

A modern cruiser racer. 50 years of sailing development.

 

[awol]

I did say there may be lots of valid reasons, and carefully didn’t mention any names
Passage racing around Floris is clearly not average - but neither is a single RT(E)IR

WHYW was sailed under YTC which gave surprisingly close results in our class except for the Fulmar. On the final day reaching drag race back to Oban she cruised past us and extended. Most of that race my CO32 was at hull speed and beyond!
I have no argument that the Fulmar is indeed a faster boat than a CO32 but which is easier to climb onto from a flubber for an arthritic, TKN'd old fart?

 

[Chiara’s slave]

WHYW was sailed under YTC which gave surprisingly close results in our class except for the Fulmar. On the final day reaching drag race back to Oban she cruised past us and extended. Most of that race my CO32 was at hull speed and beyond!
I have no argument that the Fulmar is indeed a faster boat than a CO32 but which is easier to climb onto from a flubber for an arthritic, TKN'd old fart?

Neither of them as easy as mine.

 

[awol]

Neither of them as easy as mine.

Ah, but mine doesn't shear around the anchorage so is easier to catch.