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.
they take a licking and keep on kicking! And tough?? You better believe it! 
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