Cal 39

[Jim D]

Boom, I agree its a good sailing spot, and it's the only home port I've ever had, although we sure don't enjoy pretty water. And it isn't that many actual miles to the bay - maybe 45-50 from home - but thats always over an hour in our traffic. I would like to be 10 minutes from the boat, but then I'd be doing that hour drive in a frantic traffic mess twice a day most days.

Don, after reading this thread I looked at several Mass. based C-39s on Yachtworld last night. Was one of those yours? There were several really nice ones, and I noticed what I thought was a surprisingly wide price range. I need to look again.

[sailorboy1]

[QUOTE=Jim
Don, after reading this thread I looked at several Mass. based C-39s on Yachtworld last night. Was one of those yours? There were several really nice ones, and I noticed what I thought was a surprisingly wide price range. I need to look again.[/QUOTE]


Not on Yatchworld. Only posted in the classified here on the Crusiers forum. I have a 1988 model which is different, last I looked were only 2 listed in ther world and 1 on those sold in 3 days. Could search on my names for threads started to find it. Other wise send me a personal message.

[neophytecruiser]

Seems everyone has an opinion about boats designs and their strengths and weaknesses. As anyone who has been sailing for even a short period of time realizes, the ideal boat does not exist. Owners usually develop a soft spot for the boats that have given them pleasure and fond memories over the years. We can try to systematize the merits of a boats design through the use of engineering design metrics, but even these do not capture the overall experience each design offers.

I've had the good fortune to sail and crew on a large variety of sailboats over the past 50 years. The boats covered the gamut from dingy, to one design, to large, sleek (and expensive) one-off ocean racers. I also happen to own a very well maintained 1982 Cal 39 MRK III. Is the Cal the most comfortable boat I've sailed? No. Is the Cal the fastest and best overall sailor I've been on? No. Is the Cal the best constructed boat I've experienced? No. But, it is still one of the best all around boats, given my requirements and finances, that I've had the pleasure to own.

My wife and I (the kids are all grown now) do most of our sailing off southern California. We spent a year living aboard sailing the Sea of Cortez and the west coast of Mexico. We're comfortable double handling the boat and find it manageable and quite comfortable for the two of us. Even when we had another couple aboard for a week of cruising in the Sea of Cortez, we never felt cramped or over crowded. The boat performs well in light air (which is more common than not in the lower latitudes) and behaved itself well bashing to weather from Cabo to San Diego in winds up to 30 knots with sloppy, cresting seas. Would a Nordhaven 65 performed better in the trip back up the coast? Absolutely. But we still love our Cal 39 and plan to take it back to Mexico this Fall.

[capt_douglas]

The Cal 39 (in some fashion) is on my very short list of next boat, so I've been intrigued and enlightened courtesy of the comments here. I'm still interested in a ~40' boat that will allow me to cruise is relative comfort, safety, and not skin the sailing kitty.

Thanks for the comments but as a singlehander/shorthander most of the time, I want a vessel that is strong, seaworthy, and simple.

Plans call for it to be sailed out of South Florida until it's ready, then through the Caribbean, west to Panama, and then into the Pacific.

At this stage, I've narrowed the list down to 3 boats; all post 1980; including a tall rig. If any owners have suggestions as to what to look hard at, things that their surveyors overlooked, or "wish I'd seen that before I bought it", I'd be very interested in your comments and observations.

[gaffer1008]

Hey Stede, did you ever get that Cal39? Call me silly, but I love mine and intend on cruising in any kind of weather anywhere in the world and feel safe and fast they take a licking and keep on kicking! And tough?? You better believe it!

Marty


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