Contessa 32

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Contents 1 Brief description 2 Hull design 3 Cabin 4 Noteworthy voyages in the Contessa 32 5 Production history 6 Specifications 7 External links 8 References 9 Other works of interest

[edit] Brief description

The Contessa 32 is a 9.75 meter (32 foot) fiberglass monohull sailboat, designed in 1970 by David Sadler of Great Britain. Rigged as a masthead sloop, with a fin keel and a skeg-mounted rudder, the Contessa 32 is classified as a cruiser-racer. Boats in this category are seaworthy enough for offshore voyages in a variety of weather conditions, but also perform well in races. The trait most often associated with the Contessa 32 is her ability to endure harsh weather and rough seas.

[edit] Hull design

According to John Vigor,^[1] the hull of the Contessa 32 is a cross between older and newer designs: she has the well ballasted keel, low center of gravity, and narrow beam of traditional English cutters, but has a fin keel characteristic of newer, lighter racing yachts. (Because it is shorter than a full-length keel, a fin keel creates less drag.) The fin-keeled hull gives the Contessa more speed, and the narrow beam and substantial ballast provide a high degree of positive stability. If rolled over sideways or capsized, the Contessa readily rights herself.

[edit] Cabin

The furnishings of the Contessa 32 cabin are typical of boats of her size: there is a V-shaped berth in the bow, followed by a small head (toilet) and closet. The saloon (main cabin area) includes a folding table, with sofas that convert into berths. At the aft end of the saloon next to the companionway is a small galley (stove, sink, and counter) and navigator’s desk. Beneath the cockpit is an additional quarter berth. The inboard engine is also mounted beneath the cockpit.

Though small by the standards of newer boats with wider beams and higher, more spacious quarters, the compact cabin of the Contessa resulted from the low, narrow-beamed design that emphasized rough weather handling and seaworthiness at the expense of cabin space.

[edit] Noteworthy voyages in the Contessa 32

In 1984, in a Contessa 32 named Gigi, John Kretschmer and a crew member sailed from New York down to Cape Horn, rounding the Horn against the prevailing winds and currents, and sailed up to San Francisco.^[2] From 1979 to 1983, Declan Mackell sailed around the world alone in a Contessa 32 named Sean-Ois. In January 2003, Seb Clover, a 15-year-old from Great Britain, became the youngest person to sail across the Atlantic alone, in a Contessa 32 named Reflection.^[3] The most often mentioned exploit involving a Contessa 32, however, is the 1979 Fastnet race. A sudden storm of near hurricane strength brought death and destruction to the race, capsizing 25% of the 303 participating boats.^[4] Among the 58 boats in the smallest class (28 – 32 ft), only one managed to finish the race: a Contessa 32 named Assent, owned by Willy Ker.

[edit] Production history

The Contessa 32 was first manufactured by Jeremy Rogers in Lymington, England. The Rogers boat works built more than 700 Contessa 32s from 1971 until production stopped in 1982. Between 1973 and 1990, an additional 87 were built under license by J.J. Taylor of Canada. In 1996, Jeremy Rogers resumed production of the Contessa.

[edit] Specifications

LOA: 9.75 m (32 ft)

LWL: 7.31 m (24 f)t

Beam: 2.98 m (9 ft 6 in)

Draft: 1.65 m (5 ft 6 in)

Windward sail area: 52.2 sq m (562 sq ft)

Displacement: 4300 kg (9500 lb)

Lead ballast: 2045 kg (4500 lb)

[edit] External links

• Howard, Paul. “The Contessa Turns Thirty.” Boats.com. Trader Publishing Company. 31 Aug. 2006. article

• Kretschmer, John. “Used Boat Notebook: Contessa 32.” SAILING Magazine. October, 2003: pp 42-43. is a dead link; use the Internet Archive link instead

• Rogers, Fiona. The Origins of the Contessa 32 (Contessa 32 Class Association)

• Description of Contessa 32 (Jeremy Rogers Limited)

[edit] References

[edit] Other works of interest

• Coles, K. Adlard, Adlard Coles' Heavy Weather Sailing, Camden, Maine: International Marine Publishing (McGraw-Hill), 30th Anniversary ed., (1999). ISBN 0071353232