Bristol 32

[Arclight]

I'm selling my beloved Bristol 32, Raven.

[Jim D]

Raven looks grand - nice, nice boat. I think its interesting that in this thread, which actually was started last year, people talk of picking these boats up for very low numbers: like $17k, $10k, and less than $6k.

If ever there was a buyers' market for boats in general, and for older classics in particular, it ought to be now. Yet it seems that really isn't true. Seems those price levels are not holding, and things have gone up as opposed to remaining soft.


~

[FloridaWriter]

Originally Posted by Arclight

I'm selling my beloved Bristol 32, Raven.

She's a lovely boat. Good luck with the sale.

[Arclight]

Thank you Jim and David. I did not realize that it was forbidden to post a commercial link and it was edited out by one of the moderators of the forum.

Raven has been an excellent sea boat for us. We had her in 14 ft storm surge the day after Hurricane Bill past through while cruising in Maine last summer and she handled it with aplomb. The previous owner had looked at 10 Bristol 32's prior to purchasing her and I had looked at at least 20 boats of various design before purchasing her ...obviously a pick of the litter.

Should anyone desire photographs and the complete listing, please feel free to PM me.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

But, WHY do Bristol 32's not sell quickly and when they do sell so cheap?
10,000 ish.
I think they are beautifull boats and occasionally consider purchasing one but don't understand.

Doesn't anyone want them?
Why?

Old post but thought i would answer for those who are looking at B32s nowadays. First is construction. Two half hulls glued together do not make a strong hull. You really need a hull that is constructed as one piece. Secondly the design is for yacht club racing and not open ocean cruising. Yes you can sail the world on a log but eventually reality will catch up to you. Finally balsa cored decks that are 40 years old are going to be big failure points and lots of money to fix, assuming you live to tell the tail of when the two hull halfs started to buckle and wobble independent of each other. Cheap yes, safe no.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by endoftheroad

But, WHY do Bristol 32's not sell quickly and when they do sell so cheap?

Maybe you are a millionaire.

A small old boat in an unknown condition at 17k cheap?

b.

[Don C L]

Sheesh, the B32 is not roomy? Compared to my Columbia 29 it's almost palacial! I'm not complaining though!

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Old post but thought i would answer for those who are looking at B32s nowadays. First is construction. Two half hulls glued together do not make a strong hull. You really need a hull that is constructed as one piece. Secondly the design is for yacht club racing and not open ocean cruising. Yes you can sail the world on a log but eventually reality will catch up to you. Finally balsa cored decks that are 40 years old are going to be big failure points and lots of money to fix, assuming you live to tell the tail of when the two hull halfs started to buckle and wobble independent of each other. Cheap yes, safe no.

Well, I've seen some nonsense on this forum, but this takes the biscuit.

The Bristol construction method allows for the strongest hull/deck joint in the business - that's why they went to all that trouble, to make the boat STRONGER. Also, I don't think that they just stuck the two halves together with a bit of bondo and called it good. The same construction method was used on many Bristols, right up to their closure - including some of the most highly regarded passagemaking yachts.

But I'm a reasonable person, and willing to change my opinion in the face of evidence. Perhaps you could cite an example or two of cases where the two halves "started to buckle and wobble independently of each other?"

[thomm225]

One of the reasons that maybe they don't sell well is because of their short 22' waterline. They are very beautiful boats though.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Maybe you are a millionaire.

A small old boat in an unknown condition at 17k cheap?

b.

And add in another 20k to fix up and your into the range of a westsail, pacific seacraft, allied, and atkins boats. The older Bristols did have problems with oilcanning of the hulls(wobbly hulls). Adding more stingers helped reduce this problem. Not easy boats to work on with their interior liners blocking hull access. Need to look at the total cost of bringing a boat up to cruising standards: safe and seaworthy standards.

[MarkSF]

Originally Posted by reed1v

And add in another 20k to fix up and your into the range of a westsail, pacific seacraft, allied, and atkins boats. The older Bristols did have problems with oilcanning of the hulls(wobbly hulls). Adding more stingers helped reduce this problem. Not easy boats to work on with their interior liners blocking hull access. Need to look at the total cost of bringing a boat up to cruising standards: safe and seaworthy standards.

Oilcanning has nothing to do with hull separation. You stated that there is an issue with the two halves off the hull separating. Either you should retract that comment, or produce some evidence.

Having said that, I don't even believe that oilcanning happened. It's extremely unlikely with the thick layup and that hull design.

Secondly, the 32 did not have an interior liner. It has wooden cabinetry, tabbed to the hull. There are no "stingers" (sic), as the cabinetry does that job.

What else don't you know?

[ColdEH]

Originally Posted by MarkSF

Well, I've seen some nonsense on this forum, but this takes the biscuit.

The Bristol construction method allows for the strongest hull/deck joint in the business - that's why they went to all that trouble, to make the boat STRONGER. Also, I don't think that they just stuck the two halves together with a bit of bondo and called it good. The same construction method was used on many Bristols, right up to their closure - including some of the most highly regarded passagemaking yachts.

But I'm a reasonable person, and willing to change my opinion in the face of evidence. Perhaps you could cite an example or two of cases where the two halves "started to buckle and wobble independently of each other?"

I can attest to the hull and deck joint . It is not actually glued together , they use butyl tape on a large inward turned flange . Then through bolt every 3 inches or so. One bolt for the deck the next for the deck and teak toerail and so on . Absolutely bone dry , never a leak . The butyl tape is just as sticky as it was when installed . My decks are bone dry in the core as well , I have a moisture meter in my must have tools on board . I can vouch for there build quality . These are not lightly built boats , they are built for all the nasties you can throw at them .

Regards

[barnakiel]

If you pay that 17k, make sure it is a newer one and a very clean sample. I bet with over 300 built, there will be plenty of variation. I would always buy a better more expensive boat than a cheaper and beaten up one (again).

If you plan to go sailing, get a boat with minimum or "no" problems to fix. Such boats always exist when the selected design has been build in sufficient number of samples. And this is the case with B32.

PS If you want to max out volume for any given 'size' (meaning length) of a boat, look towards designs with less overhang(s) and not too narrow ends. Beam buys heaps of volume and B32 is not too narrow at all but the overhangs and the arrow ends do limit the interior.

PS If you go for max volume, in this size bracket, you may pay in performance for what you are trying to gain in volume. So think beforehand of which of the two features counts to your planned use of the boat.

b.

[roverhi]

Originally Posted by reed1v

Old post but thought i would answer for those who are looking at B32s nowadays. First is construction. Two half hulls glued together do not make a strong hull. You really need a hull that is constructed as one piece. Secondly the design is for yacht club racing and not open ocean cruising. Yes you can sail the world on a log but eventually reality will catch up to you. Finally balsa cored decks that are 40 years old are going to be big failure points and lots of money to fix, assuming you live to tell the tail of when the two hull halfs started to buckle and wobble independent of each other. Cheap yes, safe no.

This is about the most misinformed untrue comment that's come along in a while.

Molding boats in two halves and laminating them together is a common construction method and as strong or stronger than a one piece hull. The hull halves are not glued together but laminated together with a laminate schedule that is equal to or better than the hull laminations. Some very strong boats are built this way, Westsails for one. A number of Westsails have come to grief onshore and been reflected and continued sailing without any hull join problems. One tried to get into Oceanside Harbor in bad weather and mistakenly went on the wrong side of the Jetty at night. The boat pounded on the beach for several days. It had to be trucked off the beach because it had been driven so far inland. After cleaning the sand out of the interior and fixing the damage caused by getting it off the beach, not the grounding, the boat was relaunched. Satori of Perfect Storm fame not only survived the storm but ended up on a beach in New Jersey after being prematurely abandoned because of a mutinous crew. She was also reflected after a short refit and is out there sailing still. Our old boat has done three trips to SoPac and years of daily sails as a charter boat without any sign of hull weakness.

Granted the hull join has to be done right. If the mfg. skimps on the joining laminates, there could be strength consequences. Of course that would be near criminal bad construction. Reputation of the builder and a survey should cover any fear of poor construction.

Balsa Core does not make for mushy decks, poor bedding of hardware and some design problems do. In most instances if parts are properly installed with quality sealant, sillycone isn't one of them, water isn't going to get into the core. Some design issues are also involved. High torque loaded hardware like life line stanchion shouldn't be fastened through balsa core without special cautions. Fittings that will be subjected to torque caused leaks should have the balsa core routed out and filled with thickened epoxy and the fastening holes drilled through the epoxy. Current boat is approaching 50 years old with no deck core issues despite some PO's shoddy installation of hardware and no special care taken by the builder or anyone else.

As far as the B32, interior volume in relation to the overall length is a big factor. In areas like SoCal where slip fees are astronomical, paying for unused length is something that's given me pause in deciding what and whether I want a boat there. When I was looking for a classic plastic checked out the B32. Love the design aesthetics, they are just pretty boats, but the interior was too cramped for what I wanted. If the purpose was daysailing and/or interior volume and mooring costs were not an issue, it would be a good boat. I was looking for a long range cruiser and it felt too small. The CCA racing rule resulted in well rounded designs suitable for long distance, open ocean sailing with some performance issues. The longer overhangs, in relation to the new butt ugly designs, mean a shorter water line length in relation to overall length. This is not that big a factor in actually sailing conditions, however. As the boats heel, the water line length increases. Unless you are sailing exclusively DDW where the boat will be mostly level, the sailing water line will be longer than the design water line. FWIW, have sailed for relatively long periods of time with the boat exceeding theoretical water line boat speed on a beam reach by a 1/2 knot or more in my CCA designed boat. This was not downwind surfing conditions but steady state reaching speeds with a calibrated, accurate knot meter. The boat will never be a light air flyer with the wetted surface penalties in the design, but will still sail just fine and embarrass the newer boats when the wind pipes up except DDW.

Don't know if it is still up on the web but there was a well written blog on a B32 that was sailed to Ireland with a crew. Google search may turn it up.

[barnakiel]

Yep.

That legend about boats laminated in halves all falling apart - where does it come from?

Have you ever seen such a boat split?

I have not.

b.