Spotless Contessa 32 for those with deep pockets and a yearning for a bit of nostalgia ....
- Thread starter Baggywrinkle
- Start date
awol
Well-known member
Depends on the sea state - never slams (though I have dropped mine off a wave onto her side), tends to hobby-horse in some seas when the wind doesn't match the waves. Wet? - I've been on wetter and I wear good oilies. Heeling? - their form stability is, not surprisingly, not very great but they stiffen up tremendously as they heel. It means that gusts and rounding up tend not to be a problem. They don't shear around at anchor and, unlike some boats, they heave-to comfortably.
Please understand, I do not hold the Contessa 32 as the epitome of sailing perfection. There are other boats I lust over and would consider if I ever found a winning Eurolottery ticket, though as well I would probably "zero hour" the boat that has absorbed my time and money over the last umpteen years.
Very soon we will all go sailing again in what we have - enjoy!
Daydream believer
Well-known member
Rubbish.Doesn't that apply to all boats?
A yacht for many is something to be enjoyed. I enjoy every minute of mine.
It has nothing to do with money & sense. If one desires to buy a certain sort of boat & it pleases them to own it then what others think is entirely irrelevant. What matters & where the "sense" applies, is how the owner uses the yacht- or any item- for that matter. If they have it as a phalic symbol, then that may be something that makes them feel good. Just because others do not see it as such, is of no consequence. If one buys a yacht & it takes up all their resources in time & finance , but if they get the feeling of satisfaction at the end of it, who are we to critisize?
Tranona
Well-known member
You probably made the right decision, just as I did when faced with the same choice - choosing the Bavaria as meeting my needs better than the Hanse, despite costing over £10k more.
steveeasy
Well-known member
It’s not comfortable tied up in a marina but at a guess it won’t heel as much as a Hanse in a blow.
Really if I had the money I’d buy a new boat. Perhaps I’ll upgrade to a Hanse someday. Not a bad looking boat even if it’s slow
Steveeasy
Buck Turgidson
Well-known member
I really fancied a Vertue but my then girlfriend kept reminding me of mates that sank on the way back from the Azores. The same argument ruled out a wooden folkboat too. She definitely had her eye on something like the charter boats we’d been sailing for the last few years but I got a Twister in GRP which more than satisfied my classic tastes and she couldn’t argue that it might spring a plank 
I do like the look of a CO32 from the outside but if I were to move up to 32ft or more it would be to one of the JPK/Archambault/sun Fast 3200 type. Which are essentially modern iterations of the cruiser/racer. And all cheaper than a zero hours CO
I do like the look of a CO32 from the outside but if I were to move up to 32ft or more it would be to one of the JPK/Archambault/sun Fast 3200 type. Which are essentially modern iterations of the cruiser/racer. And all cheaper than a zero hours CO
Frogmogman
Well-known member
Frogmogman
Well-known member
Not a girl of easy Vertue then ?
Daydream believer
Well-known member
The RYA sailboat rating data is currently down until tomorrow. It would be interesting to look after the 16Th to see what the average rating difference is & how much faster the contessa is than a hanse 31. We might also compare it with the sadler 32 & 34 which some consider slightly more modern reincarnations of the Contessa design.It’s not comfortable tied up in a marina but at a guess it won’t heel as much as a Hanse in a blow.
Really if I had the money I’d buy a new boat. Perhaps I’ll upgrade to a Hanse someday. Not a bad looking boat even if it’s slow
Steveeasy
It's down
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Daydream believer
Well-known member
Dutch site gives an interesting polar comparison showing how much slower the Contessa is compared to the 311
Hanse 311
Contessa 32
I would point out that above 12 kts the Hanse would be able to point much better using its self tacking jib. Once reefing conditions apply the ST does not need to be reefed, so is much more efficient. The polar shown is for a genoa. I have spoken to other Hanse owners who state that the boat performs best with St & code zero once it comes off the wind. But in all fairness the Contessa should be allowed to use the optimum sails as well if comparing performance.
Hanse 311
Contessa 32
I would point out that above 12 kts the Hanse would be able to point much better using its self tacking jib. Once reefing conditions apply the ST does not need to be reefed, so is much more efficient. The polar shown is for a genoa. I have spoken to other Hanse owners who state that the boat performs best with St & code zero once it comes off the wind. But in all fairness the Contessa should be allowed to use the optimum sails as well if comparing performance.
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LittleSister
Well-known member
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steveeasy
Well-known member
And If its all getting a bit much rambling on about Contessa 32s and How uncomfortable and slow they are, Flick channels to
Contessa 32 - AZAB - The Highs and Lows
Contessa 32 - AZAB - The Highs and Lows
steveeasy
Well-known member
Oh no!!. Shall I just take your word for it. Still its much more fun out on the water even if the Hanse disappears over the horizon which I doubt very much. Your be paranoid now each time you have to wave a Contessa pass you by.
Steveeasy
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Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
The Contessas at our club don’t pass anyone by. Last Prince Consort race most of the XOD fleet beat them on the water, in about 12kn of wind. Admittedly if it was 25kn it might have been different. But all sail boats move ok at 25, its the lighter winds that separate them.Oh no!!. Shall I just take your word for it. Still its much more fun out on the water even if the Hanse disappears over the horizon which I doubt very much. Your be paranoid now each time you have to wave a Contessa pass you by.
Steveeasy
flaming
Well-known member
The last time I did the RORC easter regatta, there was a CO32. It was a light wind event and it became very funny at the end of every race, with the CO32 the only boat still racing and the committee wanting to start the next race, when the race committee would radio the Contessa and tempt them into retiring with ever increasing offers of easter eggs (the traditional prizes at that regatta). At the prize giving they collected the most eggs by quite a margin to the biggest cheer of the day.
steveeasy
Well-known member
doug748
Well-known member
I always thought Contessa's went ok in light conditions, not award winners but went ok, certainly for what they are.
I always thought multihulls struggled in light conditions, too light, wide beam, windage, high wetted area. When they stop difficult to get going.
Lets have a look. here are the results from a slow Round the Island:
"LIGHT BREEZE MAKES FOR SLOW SAILING IN 2018 ROUND THE ISLAND RACE
Extreme heat and little wind made this year’s Round the Island Race in association with Cloudy Bay one of the slowest on record, if not the slowest ever."
Ey-up. What's this:
Multihull MOCRA: Leading Dragonfly: 10h 40
*Contessa 32: First Boat: 10h 43
She overtook 2 Dragonfly's despite setting off 1hour 20 mins later.
* A standard one design Contessa, 50 years old, you may of heard of it, Assent. She once cruised Antarctica and the Arctic in the same year, did well in the 1979 Fastnet
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Daydream believer
Well-known member
No I do not "like" it & I am not gloating. I am just pointing out that the Contssa is an old design that has been superceded by far more modern AWBs.
I would further suggest that with the development in design chosing the right one for one's needs would actually prove the modern one to be every bit as seaworthy & considerably more comfortable. Of course I referrred to my Hanse- which is now a 20 year old design itself- because I have experience of that. But look at a Beneteau & you will find in the range a boat that will out perform the Contessa in comfort, sea keeping or whatever you want. You just choose your model to suit your sailing.
If you want a boat with real drop dead georgeous looks, then go & buy a Mystery 35. . However, no room inside & apart from being a Stephen Jones design, so bound to sail like a witch, it has nothing else going for it. Just like the Contessa.
Buck Turgidson
Well-known member
Yes it’s the obvious modern equivalent and nobody appears to buy them!No I do not "like" it & I am not gloating. I am just pointing out that the Contssa is an old design that has been superceded by far more modern AWBs.
I would further suggest that with the development in design chosing the right one for one's needs would actually prove the modern one to be every bit as seaworthy & considerably more comfortable. Of course I referrred to my Hanse- which is now a 20 year old design itself- because I have experience of that. But look at a Beneteau & you will find in the range a boat that will out perform the Contessa in comfort, sea keeping or whatever you want. You just choose your model to suit your sailing.
If you want a boat with real drop dead georgeous looks, then go & buy a Mystery 35. . However, no room inside & apart from being a Stephen Jones design, so bound to sail like a witch, it has nothing else going for it. Just like the Contessa.
steveeasy
Well-known member
Oh dear.No I do not "like" it & I am not gloating. I am just pointing out that the Contssa is an old design that has been superceded by far more modern AWBs.
I would further suggest that with the development in design chosing the right one for one's needs would actually prove the modern one to be every bit as seaworthy & considerably more comfortable. Of course I referrred to my Hanse- which is now a 20 year old design itself- because I have experience of that. But look at a Beneteau & you will find in the range a boat that will out perform the Contessa in comfort, sea keeping or whatever you want. You just choose your model to suit your sailing.
If you want a boat with real drop dead georgeous looks, then go & buy a Mystery 35. . However, no room inside & apart from being a Stephen Jones design, so bound to sail like a witch, it has nothing else going for it. Just like the Contessa.
I’m offended now
.See you out on the water then.
Steveeasy