Practical Sailor did a basically favorable review of the 33 several years ago. You can buy it on their web page.
I almost bought a 33 myself over the summer but couldn''t agree on price with the owner. Funny part is, he later listed the boat with a broker with an asking price that would net him (after broker commission) less than I offered him initially, not even accounting for someone knocking off SOMETHING in their offer on the boat.
The 33 is a big, heavy, solid boat. Deck is cored with marine plywood and not balsa, which explains part of the added weight. The weight is spread out over a long water
line, but the design of the stern will make it dig in creating drag when underway, either by sail or power. The one I was looking at, the owner had painted part way up the stern with bottom
paint. Not a good sign for performance.
Boat has good ventilation, great storage, huge
anchor locker. Cockpit
seats are not very wide, so won''t be comfy to some for a long voyage.
An interesting thing I noticed is that Caliber-33 owners all seem to brag about how much their boats weigh. The displacement is listed at about 13,000 lbs and it''s common for owners to get in a contest that "my boat weighs more than yours." Their intent is to prove the comfort of the boat in a seaway, which may be true...... but it also leads to sluggish performance under sail or power. People do tend to load them down with every goodie out there.
The boats are tubby to my eye as well, but aesthetics are very personal.
Calibers have a loyal following. It''s all in what you''re after.
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