Why Cal ?

[daddle]

Originally Posted by nylajo

Cal 40 Old flat top in Swiftsure

Very cool pic. But a double reefed main with the (light) genoa still up? Hairy.

[SaltyMonkey]

Wow what a beautiful picture

[Adelie]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Say, this rings a memory bell... wasn't a Cal 40 the same hull as a Catalina 38 or some such nonsense?

Catalina 38 was developed after Catalina bought and somewhat modified the molds for the Yankee 38.

Edit: Opps, a number of people beat me to this tidbit.

[MarkSF]

I've sailed a 25 Mk 2 a lot, and it was a really great boat. Felt like a much bigger one.

[LifeIsAReach]

I always heard the Cals to get were the ones built in California, and that when they moved the factory to Florida build quality went to hello. Take this as scuttlebutt - I'm not personally aware of the dichotomy, but perhaps others on this forum heard the same thing.

[zeehag]

frank butler(catalina) and cal(lapworth, jensen and wenk) are different boats entirely. frank butler may have moved to fla but i believe the cals just died off. they were a lot sturdier than catalinas . frank butler got his start with hank mc kunes molds early on-- hank was yorktown, all american, victory thoroughbred, champion olympian, and a few others.
coronado also used hanks molds for their 30 and 34. mebbe the 25, but iamnot certain...some of the history is fuzzy because of the source--hank mc kune.

[SaltyMonkey]

Off topic - This whole Cal research got me back into thinking about racer/cruisers or ocean racer conversions. There are some nice bargains out there to consider.

A recent list I "borrowed" online and am going through now.

Dehler 38
Express 37
Farr 11.6 (Farr 38)
Frers 37
Frers F3 (Hinterhoeler)
IMX 38
J-37
J-39
Oyster Lightwave 395
Sabre 38
Sigma 38
Soverel 39 (Tartan)
Tripp 37
Tripp 38
Wiggers 37
X 402

[Rhapsody-NS27]

This is a good discussion. I didn't see much on Cal's while searching around the forum. There's a couple Cal31's I've been looking at, if I was able to buy I'd go take a look.

[LifeIsAReach]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Off topic - This whole Cal research got me back into thinking about racer/cruisers or ocean racer conversions. There are some nice bargains out there to consider.

A recent list I "borrowed" online and am going through now.

Dehler 38
Express 37
Farr 11.6 (Farr 38)
Frers 37
Frers F3 (Hinterhoeler)
IMX 38
J-37
J-39
Oyster Lightwave 395
Sabre 38
Sigma 38
Soverel 39 (Tartan)
Tripp 37
Tripp 38
Wiggers 37
X 402

I believe some of these would not make good cruisers because of the deep keels most of them have for performance, as well as the righting moment/stability curve on some of them is a bit too "touchy". The Sigma is a good example of this, unless it has some kind of shallow keel on it. Also some of them have thinner construction to save on weight.

On the other hand, Sabres are always considered to be good boats. Oysters are generally expensive good but expensive, and often cruised. The Dehler has a good rep, and I didn't even know they made performance models. There are cruising Tripps & racing Tripps; I don't know which ones you've looked at.

Take my advice with a grain of NaCl, I sold my last boat in 2006 and so my boat knowledge might be getting corroded.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by Dan_78

This is a good discussion. I didn't see much on Cal's while searching around the forum. There's a couple Cal31's I've been looking at, if I was able to buy I'd go take a look.

Yeha Dan. Exactly my sentiment. Not much discussion on Cals on the forum, and I know there are more than a few very dedicated owners here. There are some very nice boats on market as I peruse the listings!

[zeehag]

cal made a sturdy boat that sails well and is forgiving. good in deep water as well as in ponds, lakes, and such. pretty and fleet of foot

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by LifeIsAReach

I believe some of these would not make good cruisers because of the deep keels most of them have for performance, as well as the righting moment/stability curve on some of them is a bit too "touchy".

Yeha...they are plugged as "blue water ocean racers". But, I was surprised that the interiors are quite nice. Besides speed, I particularly like the layout of racing cockpits and decks - easier to move around in...oh and some of them have tillers.

Not sure about righting moment/stability curve, but a deep keel is of interest to me for blue water.

Just something to think about

[speakeasy]

Originally Posted by SaltyMonkey

Off topic - This whole Cal research got me back into thinking about racer/cruisers or ocean racer conversions. There are some nice bargains out there to consider.

A recent list I "borrowed" online and am going through now.

Dehler 38
Express 37
Farr 11.6 (Farr 38)
Frers 37
Frers F3 (Hinterhoeler)
IMX 38
J-37
J-39
Oyster Lightwave 395
Sabre 38
Sigma 38
Soverel 39 (Tartan)
Tripp 37
Tripp 38
Wiggers 37
X 402

Ooooweee! Glad to see you narrowing down the list and honing in to a target. Of course there are always those other paths to think about, the barcalounger with satellite TV in the Happy Acres retirement village. Sometimes it does take a village. But no worries, there's lots of time. See you downwind, if you find what makes the monkey dance.

[Adelie]

Going back to the original question, why Cal?

Because they are generally all-around decent boats that can be had a decent prices:

They were built well enough for offshore cruising (plenty have been RTW) without being so overbuilt as to be slugs, even by today's standards (many models are still doing well racing).
They were designed well enough to have to have few bad habits.
They were generally laid out pretty well accomodations wise, maybe not great for today's liveaboards, but just fine for most cruisers.

While most are not excellent at anything which means they don't get a lot of press anymore, they generally are good or very good in all areas which makes the owners happy and loyal.

[SaltyMonkey]

Originally Posted by speakeasy

Ooooweee! Glad to see you narrowing down the list and honing in to a target. Of course there are always those other paths to think about, the barcalounger with satellite TV in the Happy Acres retirement village. Sometimes it does take a village. But no worries, there's lots of time. See you downwind, if you find what makes the monkey dance.

I think the narrowing is all about price point. This fishing for manufacturers is opening up possibilities because my price point is so darn low!

Cals are appealing in so many ways