Wauquiez Hood 38

[Solitude]

Beautiful Boat !

[emagin]

I have a few questions that I have gaterhed about the 'weaknesses' of the Hood 38 design and thought some of you may help clarify:
(I am not criticizing this boat, just trying to find all the stuff to look for when inspecting one)

• LOA
  Is it really 38. I heard one owner say it's more like 40'

• Ballast
  Do the Mki and ii have different ballast? I have read encased iron, and encased lead. I hope it's lead?

• Bulkheads / Sole
  Is it true that there are blind areas that can fill with fresh water and the plywood was not always completely sealed.
  Is Plywood below the sole subject to rot
  
  
• Chainplates
  Are they easily servicable.
  Does water collect in the white "cones" bolted to bulkheads
  Do the bulkheads by the chainplates tend to get bowed out by forces
  
  
• Leaky Perkins
  I confirm oil leaking from the one boat I saw sofar. This is a concern since the bilge pump is right below the rear seal and if it it gets fouled, shallow bilge could result in swamping engine and transmission. Ways to deal with this? I see oil diaper a lot. How much oil are we talking about?
  
  
• Keel
  Forward part of the keel
  Under the centerboard pin, water can get into the keel there, and freeze, and cause delamination of the fiberglass.
  
  
• Deck
  Deformation of the deck around the aft lower shrouds
  
  
• Rollyness at Anchor
  I've heard that due to hull shape, tends to roll at anchor more
  Do you use centerboard? How bad does she rattle if down?
  
  
• Cutter Rig
  I see a baby stay on these boats, can't be used for much
  Do you rig as a cutter and is this useful?
  
  
• Centerboard
  Have you ever been in heavy weather / seas going to weather with CB down?
  How does she handle and do you fear for CB integrity in such conditions? Seems like when you most need it, you have 6' of board undergoing some serious pressure
  

[ma belle]

hello there,
just stumbled over this great forum in search of some answers myself. but first I can tell you some of my experiences so far (i had own this boat for one year now):
-yes, she rolls A LOT while at anchor, at least with the CB up. letting the board down slows down the changes but does not prevent them. I once used up to almost a hundred feet of 8mm chain, but she kept rolling. so now I use two anchors when expecting stronger winds.
-yes, the board makes noises at anchor that led me to the same worries that you mentioned. while under sail in strong winds the board is sort of fixed, no worries there. out on the water with some old swell from last nights storm and only a very soft breeze I pull the board up to avoid that banging sound.
-the original description sheet of my boat says it's an iron ballast.
- there is a slight deformation of the deck at the aft lower shrouds.
now here's my question: since I bought her right out of the harbour, so to speak, I never had her out of the water yet (when you fall in love with someone you normally don't think too much in how she actually might look in a bikini...) and I don't know if I can pull her out at a shipyard, standing on her own keel. the owner of the shipyard was concerned about her weight and that the hull could be damaged.
so I'd appreciate any kind of advice about the way to inspect her undies.
and why did I fall in love with her? I'm 6 feet 2...

[AYACHA]

Hi MY name is Enrico and I'm the owner of the number 7 HOOD 38 named AYACHA
I recently changed engine a new Lombardini 65 hp
I would like tu put on a new propeller like a 3 blade maxprop
Does anyone have some expirience with the size and other fundamental measure of this propeller so I can follow some suggestions in order to get best results from this experiment
Thanks

[AYACHA]

Originally Posted by John Drake

Hi Guys

I would be happy to reply, have to think about this a bit. Nothing obvious comes to mind, however, there are things that can be discussed. First and foremost, after cruising this boat full time for nearly three years, I still have to say she is outstanding. I have made many many upgrades over the past 3 yrs and access to all systems is excellent. I even found that the way Wauquiez puts the backstay together, it is already insulated at the top and fit to glass on the stern...so...saved me quite a bit of time and money when installing my SSB and using the backstay as the antenna. Worked great.

OK. Issues. Well...one known one is the shower 'pan' in the head. The entire head compartment sits above a bilge that is glassed in with joiney on all 4 sides. As far as I can tell the floor pan in this compartment was fit to the joiney with screws (?). Well...after 20 yrs...this let go and the pan went down a couple of inches into this void. I kept using it...had to...and so water fill up down there. I eventually cut a hole in the bottom of the pan and put the shower sump pump there. Works fine, but this really needs to be address. The entire bilge is glassed, so I am not concerned with rot. Still ...something needs to be done. I was able to cut lengths of PVC tubing to shore up the pan by sticking them underneath. That works fine. What I need to do is drain and dry that area, then fill it in with some West System.

As far as construction issues...I really do not see any. Honestly. The CB has worked well and been fine...no maintenance at all...the cable is perfectly fine. I did read that one boat re-fit the cable with dyneema or some other high modulous line, rather than wire rope and that this seems to be working well. I have found that there is not much need to use the CB much. The keel foil is very well designed and the boat can sail to 30*off the apparent wind. Fine by me.

I will think more about construction...but honestly....these boats are thought out and built so well...nothing comes to mind right now.

Design features:

Rounded bilges...can make for more rolling, I can see some advantage to newer designs that have the bean brought further after and have flatter bilges to the boat. However, these flatter sterns almost always exhibit hull slap at anchor..annoying...whereas the Hood is very gentle and very quiet.

Cockpit: is a bit more narrow than new boats and thus a little more effort to get around. However....she has LONG cockpit benches that are wide enough to make comfy berths to sleep on. An advantage. You could always fit a foldable steering wheel at the helm.

Afer cruising and living aboard a bit, a wish list:

A hard or semi-hard enclosure for the cockpit or hard dodger. Can be fit to the boat.

Swim platform would be nice, not sure this design is really amenable to one, but a small 18"x18" one can be fit to the stern...that might be good enough.

Roller furling mainsail or at least get a Strong mast track. I have had no issues getting the main up and down or reefing...but this would be nice. Very nice.

BIGGER PROP. Boat came with a 17x12 2 blade, I fit a 16x11 3blade sailor prop....now would just get a 17x12 3 blade Michigan wheel.

Bigger fuel tank...however I did just fit a second fuel tank in the starboard cockpit locker that works GREAT. I made a manifold at the primary fuel filter whereby I can turn on the flow from that tank, use it as a day day or fill the primary tank from it...or use it to run the engine without the need for a fuel lift pump (it sits higher than the engine). This along with fuel I carry in jugs in the forward bow locker gives me a total of 80gal now. That is all I want.

Would like to make a helm seat that sits higher up. I am sure it can be done, not sure how easily or cheaply. Perhaps a couple of those seats that fit to the pushpit..but they are $250 each. Most often...I just sit on 3 boat cushions.


Things I really like:

Second head in the aft quarter cabin...I never use it, but could. Great to have a back up head. Yes, would be very nice to have a second head compartment for guests, however, never has been an issue and I would not want to take away space from the boat for this.

Head room in the aft qtr cabin! I captained a new Hunter 49 for a couple weeks. Could not believe how poorly this boat was designed. The two aft cabins had generous sleeping berths, but they were coffin like with the overhead down at your nose practically. The overhead in those cabins was multi-level (since it is the deck of the cockpit) and so you ALWAYS were hitting your head maneuvering around in there.

The huge sleeping berth in the forward cabin. Huge.

Stowage on the boat. AMazing. Even compared with a new Hunter 49.

Good turn of speed. PHRF of 129, so this boat moves. It IS true...when cruising you motorsail A LOT....maybe even 80-90% of the time....however....the more power you can get from the sailplan, the less fuel you consume and the more distance you can cover faster. I always need to sail 65-70nm from Lake Worth to the bottom of Key Biscayne. That can be a long long day with a 5-8ft beam sea. The faster the better. And...in winter...you have 10 hrs of daylight, instead of the 12 or more you have in summer.

Just enough teak...any more teak than the handrails, coaming and companionway and it would be a bother.

Long flat decks. Whew. SO nice.

Rig....still like how many rigging options this rig gives you. I am still finding new ways to rig my sail handling lines. Two line slab reefing was simple to put in.

Great visibility.

Still like the way the nav station is arranged on this boat.


Well.....not sure how much I am contributing....so let me stop here and perhaps we can discuss this further.

After 3 yrs of living aboard full time, I still love this boat. Not sure what my plans are from here, not sure I can even keep her...depends on what I will be doing. But she is still very comfy to me and I am still living aboard...in Hobe Sound right now.

All the best and Merry Christmas to all.

John

Hi my name is Enrico and I own the Hood 38 # 7
I would like to put a new propeller
My engine now is a Lombardini 65 HP
I saw that you put on a 3 blades prop 17 x 12
How it works?
Thanks for you answer

[New Hampshire]

I am looking seriuosly at a Wauquiez 38 MII with the tall rig. The boat has teak decks and I am concerned if these decks will produce leaks. The decks have noticable repairs of new Thycol sealent, but screws that have been addded with teh heads above the surface. Also, there is water damage inside the galley shelves, that is probably due to cocking drying out on the inboard track. Any comments would be appreciated.

[New Hampshire]

You mentioned that the decks were raised slightly by the aft lower shrouds. I have also noticed this on a 38 that I am looking at buying. I do not see any distortion underneath on the cabin roof. Is this normal? or is this a sign of serious hull / deck distortion?

[cheepguy]

Originally Posted by AYACHA

Hi my name is Enrico and I own the Hood 38 # 7
I would like to put a new propeller
My engine now is a Lombardini 65 HP
I saw that you put on a 3 blades prop 17 x 12
How it works?
Thanks for you answer

I have a 3 blade 17" on a 50 HP engine. The performance is very good. I've only had her (Hood 38 1979) almost three mouths. Enjoy sailing her alot.

[John Drake]

Hello all and Merry Christmas again,

I looked at my deck, and do not see any deformation issues with the rigging.

Also, my CB never banged around or made noise of any kind. Seems very solid.

Ballast is definately encased lead.

As for LOA...she is 22,000 lbs displacement, this is as much as many 42's and so you find that she is a lot of boat down below. Very spacious and comfy.

I have had no issues with water intrusion at any point. Love that. Love a dry boat. No chain plate issues...they have been recently inspected.

Bulkheads are solidly fit and glassed all around. Very solid, no issues.

Rolling at anchor....what sailboat doesn't? She does have more rounded hullsides and the beam is brought in aft...a very seakindly design. You can have a condo that is great at anchor, or a boat that sails well at sea. Hard to get both in that price range. I think the Hood 38 comes as close to the right combination of traits as any boat ever built.

Cutter rig....no...you would not wish to make these boats cutter rigged, they are sloops and designed to be sloops. Much better to make the boat Solent rigged....that would be EASY on these boats, and is a great rig for cruising. She has two jib halyards at the masthead. Nice.

Hope this helps

My best to all,

John
s/v Invictus

[New Hampshire]

John Thanks for the info that you see no signs of distortion on the deck at the aft shrouds.. I guess I will walk away from this Wauquiez and continue looking for a better one.

[Stephen Hicks]

Hi Nick,
I purchased a Hood 38 new in 1986 this was a Mark ll I have raced and cruised this boat extensively on the Great Lakes. I purchased it for retirement cruising in the Caribbean and will embark on that adventure in just a few years. I have sailed her in light conditions and severe 80 knots + and found this boat to be up to anything I have put her through. The centerboard is a great feature as the 10.8 foot draft gives you tremendous pointing ability and when off wind it becomes an adjustable trim board for added stability. We have raced many years using spinnakers and are now changing to Asymetrical spinnakers. To accommodate the Asyms I extended the anchor roller S/S fitting by 1.5 feet creating a tack point 1 foot from the headstay and moved the rollers 1.5 feet out from the headstay this also improves anchor retreval. The hull and top side were given a awlgrip paint job 3 years ago we also striped the gell off the bottom let the hull dry out and put an epoxy base coat on this improved her overall performance. I replaced all her deck hardware with Harkin gear (adjustable cars, traveler ) and replaced her rig with rod rigging. the standard wenches are inadequate and have been increased in size twice. There is much more that I can tell you about this model so feel free to contact me.
Stephen Hicks

[John Drake]

Stephen

Your rig for the asym is perfect for these boats. That is what I was referring to in my statement regarding "solent" rig.

In FL and the carib, there are many more light air days, then heavy ones. An asym, such as you have it, is perfect. You would then fit a smaller jib on the forestay. Perfect carib set up for the Hood 38. This would be better than a cutter rig, IMHO.

Maybe you can post a pic or two for us to salivate over?

Best

John

[Curmudgeon]

John, if it is not too much trouble, could you set out the differences between the Mark I and the Mark II? Why is the Mark II preferable? A friend of mine will be looking at a Mark I. My thanks in advance for your response.

[John Drake]

Hello

Well...I am not sure I know all the differences, I do not think there were many. The one BIG difference is the companionway. The Hood 38 MK I has a Baltic/Swan style companionway....essentially a sliding hatch atop the coachroof. For many, this is simply a non-starter and it has significantly impacted the selling price of these boats (in a good way for the buyer).

The MK II has a regular style, walk through from the cockpit companionway.

This alone accounts for the significant difference in price between the two models.

The MK II's, as far as I know, have double spreader rigs. Not sure if all the MK I's do.

Both models were offered with teak decks, or glass decks. Mine has the original glass deck, which is also valued.

The MK II's might have also dealt with some bilge issues. my bilge is glassed in and painted with resin all the way around.

Hope this helps

Best

John
s/v Invictus, 1985 Hood 38 MK II, #150

[Curmudgeon]

Thanks, John that is very helpful. Apparently he's also going to look at a Bristol 38.8.