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Old 01-01-2013, 16:35   #1
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Cabo Rico 38

Hi,
I have come across a Cabo Rico 38 in my search here in Florida. It has been one of the designs that was on my wishlist when i started looking and came across it just by asking around. It isn't listed with a broker yet and the owner has had her from new, 16 years and has lived aboard and seems very particular.

What I'm asking is of any particular areas of concern with these that i should look out for. I had some one mention to me that they had some problems with the bilges, I am about to start researching that now, but thought id ask if there were any other areas to keep an eye out for.

Thanks,
Josh
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Old 01-01-2013, 16:44   #2
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

I don't know anything about the Cabo Rico 38 except that it was on my shortlist when I was a monohull sailor. It looks like a great cruising yacht. It has a lot of character that appealed to me, and I even traveled to Florida years ago just to look at a new one.
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Old 01-01-2013, 19:21   #3
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

Been following a blog for quite some time by a couple who have been cruising for 5 years in their Cabo Rico 30. They are doing a cicumnavigation. Lots of information about their boat. I think you will find their site very interesting. Site URL below.

Dream Time - zeroXTE

Cheers
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Old 02-01-2013, 08:25   #4
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

We've had our CR-38 for a bit more than a year now. Ours is hull #115, 1987 model. I can say they are heavily built and of quality construction. Cabo Rico went through several revisions throughout their history. The original CR-38 was built from '77 through '82. You can recognize these as they have a different look / feel down below. Notably, the engine is covered with a large box at the base of the companionway. This made for good engine access. Then in 1983 or thereabouts, they redesigned things a bit. The newer boats had some or most of the issues of the older boats addressed. Not that there were any serious issues with the older boats. Really, they just improved things where they could. By the mid to late 80's, they had things pretty well figured out. Any boat model built over many years will evolve, and that's what happened at CR. In 1987 or 88 Frazer and Edy smith bought Cabo Rico. They continued to improve quality. The only serious issue I've ever heard is with respect to teak decks on older models when they still did that. But teak deck issues are certainly not unique to CR. I've never heard anything about problems with the bilge. Can you get more specifics about that as I'd be curious. Blisters are also not unheard of in older boats. Eclipse (our boat) had blisters in the past. We're having that addressed over the winter with a bottom peel and new vinyl-ester layup. The blisters were not deep and less than 1/8" needs to be peeled to solid dry material. My fiberglass guy says that the original resin used was high quality material and that the original layup is very solid. Any polyester bottom is susceptible to hydrolysis. We're planning extensive offshore cruising in the future, and the Cabo Rico is a great platform to start with. Not the Fastest boat, but certainly quicker than her D/L ratio and full keel would suggest. Verrry comfortable and an easy ride. Easy to sail. Easy to manage And in my opinion, one of the prettiest boats in any anchorage. Do you have any specific questions?
-Tom
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Old 03-01-2013, 07:39   #5
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

Tom,
Thanks so much for the reply. From everyone i have spoken to over the last little while the Cabos certainly get a good review and are on a lot of peoples wish list.

one thing I am not sure about, and it is more of a personal issue than boat, is the layout of the one ive come across. Its the plan b layout with the wrap around settee and seems to be a bit short of space inside. I am going to have another look though to see what it feels like.

Also what do you think of the refrigeration space? This has the icebox with a smaller freezer compartment, and would ideally like a bigger freezer section, again a personal thing. Not sure how yours is laid out. I am waiting to get the full spec sheet with the size of the compartment listed, cant remember it off hand.

These are certainly good boats and look beautiful, but what im trying to toss up is how well the interior layout works for me as opposed to something with a different layout or a bit bigger.

One of the big bonuses of this particular one though is buying it off an owner who knows his boat and is willing to do a proper hand over. I will have a look around to see what else is out there, but at the moment this one is at the top of the list.
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Old 03-01-2013, 08:53   #6
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

I purchased hull #50 in California in 1988 as the second owner. I lived aboard in the SF Bay until I left to go cruising to the Caribbean via Panama in the fall of 2000 and left her in April of 2009 in Flordia. I enjoyed the boat the entire time I owned her, sailing and boat handling was a delight and the performance in heavy weather was great. Tne Cabo Rico is not as beamy as most heavy displacement boats making the "L" shaped settee a little cramped IMO.

Saltyhog, your spot on in your comments. But I'd suggest to all owners that they check the bedding for the bolts holding the bowsprit to the deck, this area is prone to dryrot.
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Old 03-01-2013, 09:32   #7
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

Josh, I think you need to consider the purpose and intention you have for the boat. The Cabo Rico 38 and other similar designs are decidedly on the long distance cruiser side of things. Regarding the B layout: This is the layout we have on Eclipse. We like it for the reasons of offshore cruising. It makes the most of the available space while preserving storage. There's room for two to lounge comfortably. The wraparound settee allows good seating at anchor, but also is a great large working table surface. I think it works well for this size boat. On a larger boat, a different layout may be more comfortable, but a bigger boat is a bigger boat. There is a lot of storage under and behind the settees. Some of the things that were important to me were: The boat was not too big to be single handed by my wife if necessary, A separate stand-up shower, A good sea berth, Good tankage, Good deck plan and wide side decks, A workable galley for long passages, A reasonable space on the rear deck for grilling (very important , reasonable stern for adding davits/solar (not really practical on double enders). I think it's important to remember that the CR-38 is really an extended version of the original Tiburon, which was a 36. CR essentially added to the stern. This gave a bit more room below, but added a lot of storage. The rear deck behind the cockpit add a lot of utility and storage. If comparing the CR-38 to other 36 foot boats, it begins to make more sense. I started out with the assumption that I wanted the smallest cruising boat we could be happy with. It seems that boat bucks and maintenance time invested go up geometrically with LOA, a smaller boat makes my life simpler. On the other hand, if we were were planning for purely coastal and Carribean cruising, something less heavy and with more room for entertaining would be better. Regarding the fridge space, Eclipse has the standard 7 cubic foot box. In the rear of the box (port side) is the evaporator / freezer. The box is pretty big relative to the size of the boat. A bigger box will require more amp-hours to keep cool and on a long distance cruiser, counting amp-hours is important. Before I'm done, I'll likely rebuild the fridge box to give a larger freezer section with spillover to the fridge, all while dramatically increasing the insulation (likely with aero-gel type insulation). I won't change the cabinet space, just the insides. I like the boat for a cruising couple or possibly with a small child. We are a couple and a golden retriever, and it seems to be ok. I'd like more room to spread out when in the marina, but not at the expense of the other things I mentioned for off shore. I'd like more room in the cockpit, but not at the expense of storage space. I'd really like a dedicated workbench / work room, but not at the long-term expense such a boat would require. I'm in lust of the room and layout of a friend's Outbound 46, but it's out of my pay-grade. So you pay's your money and makes your choice. Any boat's a compromise, you just need to know yourself. And in the end, to be honest, we fell in love with the boat the first time aboard. I'm sure there will be times when the water will seem bluer on some other boat, but then I'll remind myself of all the reasons we chose Eclipse and hopefully reason will soon prevail. Hope this helps. -Tom
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Old 03-01-2013, 10:11   #8
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Re: Cabo Rico 38

Quote:
Originally Posted by John A View Post
But I'd suggest to all owners that they check the bedding for the bolts holding the bowsprit to the deck, this area is prone to dryrot.
John, I'll be checking this very soon. As I have the rig down while the bottom is being done, I'm replacing the standing rigging while I'm at it. It looks like access to the pulpit fasteners on deck is going to be a challenge. Once the pulpit is off, I'll remove the sprit and inspect. Do you have any recommendations for alterations / modifications for the bowsprit to prevent rot in the future? I had to replace the bowsprit on my Bayfield 32 for the same reasons. There, I just did the best job of sealing that I could. As the sprit is a component that gets "worked", sealants will fail. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. -Tom
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