One of the best sites on the Bristol 32 I have seen is here:
http://www.kestrelboat.com/
The Bristol 32 lives up to the CCA standard in grand fashion, in that they like to sail on their ears. In other words, heeling angles of 20-25 degrees are welcome. At 25 degrees, the B32 has roughly 30 feet of waterline, which allows sailing above her theoretical hull speed which is based on her level 22ft waterline. Some lament her narrow stern quarters, but this also makes her less prone to rounding up like wider sterned boats (and it's a damned sexy look). She's not as roomy as even some of her own Bristol stablemates (particularly the 29.9), but there's always a trade-off between form and function in vehicles. No experience in the others you mentioned, but after spending some time recently on a 2002 Catalina 310, I love my "32" that much more. The 310 is roomier, has all the latest doo-dads and gizmos, and it just reeks "NEW!!!" However, between the burbling of the water-muffled
exhaust system when motoring (for some reason, I was the only one annoyed by this), the Yanmar jiggling the whole boat (frankly stunned that wasn't isolated better...great on a Harley, but out of place on a sailboat), and the twitchy tracking of the fin-keel, I gotta stick with the older-schooled boats. 15-degrees heel was awkward on the 310, and despite the wide stern, they somehow managed to put the
wheel right in the way between the two primary
winches. I mean, it is a nice boat, but still........I have to say though, that sucker can maneuver. It will literally turn a 360 in it's own length with that fin and rudder design. I was amazed at how nimble it felt in response to rudder inputs. That aside, I'll stick with older, somewhat less nimble designs. They tend to track straighter with their full, or modified/cut away full keels. A major plus in mine is the Bukh diesel engine. Smooth as silk, and that's sayin' a lot since it's rigidly mounted to the hull. Yanmar makes a fine engine, but I tell ya, that thing had the boat jiggling just this side of those coin-operated vibrating beds in hotels. That's the mental image that came to mind.
Some also bemoan how when sailed into the wind in short square seas, the B32 will grind to a halt. I submit that, as with any sailboat, sailing too high into the wind will cause this, even in calm water. The simple solution, as with any sailboat, is to simply bear off a few degrees. Problem solved. You wanna pinch up tight, get a racer like one of the Frer's-designed rockets. The Bristol is stout, so not much action is light winds, but that is also not a unique flaw. The 2002 Cat, at 10,000 lbs, fared no better til the winds were 10 knots or better.
I imagine, whichever you choose, you'll soon feel very happy with your decision. Embrace her attributes, be realistic about her flaws/weaknesses (maybe even add upgrades to address them), and enjoy.
Linear Mode
