Acapulco 40

[bob perry]

Builder:
Yes I remember Gary and Bill. Hard to forget them. They enjoyed their Baba and that made me feel good.

Many thanks for the kind wiords about my work. I have tried hard over the years.
I am fine but I have beeen dealing with a weird thing called Costovertibral syndrome which is not life threatening but is painful. I'm still hard at work and quite busy right now.

I'm almost 65. I was 28 when I designed the Valiant 40. "Strange times Archie, strange times".

Christian:
That was a long time ago. Nathan Rothman and I had a booth at the Longbeach Boat Show, right accross from the women's restroom. We manned our both ten hours a day trying to capture the ear of anyone who even just slowed down as they walked by. I was preaching performnance for cruising boats and the audience at that time was small.

I had eat, drunk and slept boats for the last 14 years so I knew very well who Ted was and I knew his work and background. But I really have no vivid recollection of our talk although I recall waiting for him to overwhelm me with technical BS and critiscism and in fact he was vert friendly and kind of complimentary of my design.

It was a long time ago. I'm not that guy anymore.

[roadglide47]

Tarrto,
I owned a 1974 Acapulco ketch in the S.F. Bay area and then in Santa Cruz from '84 to '90. Her name was Jolie Baleine. I bought it as a fixer upper as it had extensive interior rot problems due to leaking bladder bags (stupid PO). We pretty much gutted her from the galley to the forward cabin making structural repairs and new bulkheads. When done she was a beauty. Funny thing was we berthed in Redwood City and there were two other Acapulcos in the neighboring marina, Pete's Harbor. We brought a lot of praising comments when the three of us rafted together at Angel Island over a Memorial Day weekend. I have extensive pictures if you're interested in the rebuild, finished and sailing. Had to sell her when the wife went to graduate school in '90. Would like to see your boat too.

Tom

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by roadglide47

. Would like to see your boat too.

Tom

Main reason I asked for pictures was because I have never seen an Acapulco 40 with a ketch rig. I would love to have pics, and to see where each mast is stepped vs. the Anacapa 42 (same hull, different deck). Anyone have a pic of an Acapulco ketch out there? Thanks for responding Mr Perry! I figured there wouldn't be much memorable in that quick discussion, but I had to ask. Very little is out the on Mr. Carpentier with the exception of his descriptions of how big a fruit loop Howard Hughes was in Hughes' biography...

[Christian Van H]

Here's a few more pics of one of the nicest Acapulcos ever launched. Garry was kind enough to share these with us, and you can see the love he built into the interior of this yacht. This boat was FIRST CLASS all the way. Look at the finish on that furniture!

[Yachtbuilder]

BEEVEK:

Regarding your post on your Islander built Acapulco 40 hull, I don't recall their H.I.N. codes but yours is not the 37th one produced. I was not aware that Islander had even pulled any parts from the tooling, except for the set they did for me, but obviously they had. The tooling was very dirty, looking unused for some time, and I had to wave a check under their nose before they agreed to lay up a set of parts for me. That vessel became the "Oriana" and was my prototype. They never owned the tooling, but it was in their yard for a while, prior to my acquiring it. My best guess is that the number may have referred to the 37th hull produced in their "Yachtcraft" line. Or perhaps the 37th hull produced in that size. (They also offered the (ugh) Islander 40 Motorsailer to owner/builders. I never liked that boat. It was a Hugh Angleman/Charlie Davies design as I recall, that somehow ended up being marketed with Robert Perry's name on it. I never understood that, as Mr. Perry's designs are so far superior to that one that I was surprised to see his name associated with it).

When I turned my little business over to a partner in 1980 we were up to hull number 32. I started with hull number 5, to allow for the few that were built prior to my involvement, mostly by San Pedro Boatworks. Their first Acapulco 40 was the "Footloose", built in 1966 and owned by the Crabtree family of Oxnard, Ca. Last I heard it was for sale up in Alaska.

You have a sweet vessel. I hope she provides much adventure! If you haven't read Ed Atkin's book covering their 20 year around the world adventure on "Oriana", titled One Wave at a Time, you will want to. It will make you feel good about your boat!

Garry

[GWB]

Originally Posted by Christian Van H

Here's a few more pics of one of the nicest Acapulcos ever launched. Garry was kind enough to share these with us, and you can see the love he built into the interior of this yacht. This boat was FIRST CLASS all the way. Look at the finish on that furniture!

Which hull is this Christian? Oriana (#1) is berthed in the same marina where I keep my boat.

[Yachtbuilder]

Hi GWB,

I don't quite understand your question about "which hull is this". If you are asking about the one in the photos Chris had posted, it was hull number 29, the last one I had built for myself.

If that does not answer your question, please clarify and I will try to answer it for you. Thanks.

Yachtbuilder

[GWB]

Yachtbuilder - I was asking which hull was shown in the pictures posted by Christian. I had though it might have been Oriana.... but now I see the sheer stripe is a different color.
Oriana was for sale for a time, but Ed seems to have decided to keep the boat... but I'm not 100% sure of this either.

[Yachtbuilder]

GWB: Oriana was the first one I had produced. I take it you are in Brookings where Ed has Oriana? He did want to sell it for a while, but it would not have sold for the price he had on it. I think he will give it to his son. The one in the picture is the last one I built (for myself) and sailed to Hawaii in 1979. She was the "Mluhia" and is the finest example of them all (well, perhaps not any more). She is for sale over there and for a brief time I was tempted to buy her back (the owner keeps hounding me). If she were up in Anacortes, I probably would.

Yachtbuilder

[GWB]

Yes - we are in Brookings. I really like Oriana and if the price was right would consider buying her. But it has been some time since last major refit and a lot of work would be required now.

[Yachtbuilder]

GWB:

I'm sure you can buy my old boat (the one in the photos) at an excellent price, but she will likely need quite a bit of cosmetic work on the outside. I have not been aboard her in several years. When I sold her to the lady who still owns her, she was a "gold plater" inside and out. I suspect the inside still is. I built this one to reflect, at the minimum, Hinkley quality. The owner sent me a fairly recent survey, which I will be happy to email you, if you like. As I said, if the boat were in Anacortes instead of Honolulu, I would likely buy it back. At this point in my life, I don't want to sail her back, and there is really no place here in Oregon I would want to have a boat. She had the standing rigging replaced not too long ago, as I remember, and it has stay-lok terminals, not those swaged things. I think I used those on Oriana also.

Yachtbuilder

[GWB]

Yes, Oriana has Norseman fittings and oversize wire. Her mast is a single spreader, different and shorter than the other Acapulco 40 that is in Brookings..are you aware of the other A40 here? Wind Chime is the name I believe.
I would be very interested in the survey and any pictures you might have.
I'll contact you

[Yachtbuilder]

GWB: Yes, I know the "Wind Chime". It was built alongside mine in 1978 by my ex-partner, who sold it to the present owner (who lives in Grants Pass). I believe Wind Chime has the same rig as mine, a 50' double spreader rig with inboard shrouds (not certain about the inboard shroud part, my ex-partner had his own ideas about things). The ex-partner refused my advice on how to do the interior, so it is not what it could have been, but it is still a nice boat. I re-designed the rig and sail plan to improve the balance a little and enhance light air performance, on that boat and also mine. Those may have been the only two with the tall rig.

Yachtbuilder

[Yachtbuilder]

I may have mentioned before that my old Acapulco 40, the Maluhia (now called the Good Guys) is seriously for sale by the lady who bought her from me 25 years ago. The owner lives on the east coast and is at a point in her life where she no longer wants to deal with it.

I was in Honolulu last month and went aboard, for the first time in many years. I guess you could call it a bittersweet experience. The boat shows some neglect topsides and the sun over there has done a number on the deck gelcoat (crazing in some non-skid areas). The deck needs to be painted. Hull is fine. The rig looks excellent, as it was re-done just 4 years or so ago. All exterior teak and hardware is perfect, but needs to be cleaned and re-varnished. She still looks quite good below, but should have the cushions re-upholstered.

She is in a slip on the 400 row in the Ala Wai. This is the finest one ever built and should be brought back to her original glory. It is my belief she can be bought right, if there is anyone out there looking for one of these wonderful cruising boats. I will be happy to provide anyone interested with her phone number. This is the same boat shown in the photos Chris added to this page. I would love to see my old vessel in the hands of a new owner who will bring her back cosmetically to what she should be.

Any questions, contact me.

Yachtbuilder

[Flamingo1]

Very much enjoyed this entire thread. Amazing to read posts from Mr. Perry and Yachtbuilder - you can feel the passion in their words.