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Contessa 32

4K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  hamiam 
#1 ·
I am interested in buying my first boat. I will be using it for coastal cruising ( weekends & vacations, etc. )in Nova Scotia. I would like something I could singlehand or be easily handled by two.
Listed are a few of my favourite boats ; C&C 30, Landfall 35, Aloha 32, Contessa 32, Douglas 32 and my all time favourite, Cabot 36 ( built in my hometown ).
I would appreciate any feedback on these boats or others that would suit my needs.
Thank you...
 
#2 ·
As a former C&C 30 owner, I can comment on that choice. Not sure what year you are looking at, however, mine was a 1984. (I think the models may differ quite a bit from year to year.) In any case, here are my impressions. We used the boat almost every summer weekend for about 5 years. This mainly consisted of day sailing on Narragansett Bay (Newport, RI) with occasional trips to Block Island, CT shore, the Elizabeth Islands, Martha''s Vineyard, and Nantucket. The boat is "small" for a 30 footer inside with a v-berth in the front followed by a head with sink. Further back there was a double to port and a single to starboard. There was no quarter berth(s). The galley ran athwartships and was basically intersected by the ladder coming into the cabin. I found that she handled quite well in most conditions including light air and the heavy stuff. She fell more into the performance end of the spectrum and we found ourselves outpacing cruising boats. Fin keel. Sizeable rudder. Ours was retrofitted with a wheel and had a Yanmar diesel engine. I believe the quality of build was good. Only drawback was the relatively small cabin considering the boat''s size. I would recommend it for the purposes that you have stated. I also looked at a Contessa 32. While I will leave it to JeffH and other experts to comment, it seemed to me that the Contessa was a SERIOUS cruising boat, very solidly built, and, while capable of handling many conditions, very heavy and slow for our non-serious cruising purposes. (Just my 2 cents.) Best of luck to you. Remember that every boat is a compromise and every boat owner loves his or her choice in boats. Having spent many years on this board, I would recommend that you pay close attention to what JeffH has to say as I believe that he has a breadth and depth of knowledge that is rare.
 
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