Visit our Popular Forums

sailingsam · 10-03-2011, 09:40

Hi,
I am in the final stages of purchasing a 1976 Cavalier 39.
It has been very difficult obtaining any technical information.
I have found the basics, however, it would be great to have some more details or solid first hand experience from someone who knows these boats.
Thanks,
Sam

dana-tenacity · 10-03-2011, 14:29

They are built like the proverbial brick shithouse, what do you want to know?
The factory went belly up not long after yours was built so you are not going to get a lot of help there, might try Salthouse Boatbuilders, his Dad was the designer

Marinheiro · 10-03-2011, 15:15

sending your request for info to Rocna anchors may yield a response. The yacht was designed by Bob Salthouse, originally 36' long later lengthened to 39'. There were some wooden versions built as well, a couple with centreboards and at least one with a centre cockpit.

Sabbatical II · 10-03-2011, 16:07

I know Bluewater Cruising Yachts in Newcastle Australia have the moulds for a Cavalier 395 (and therfore the specs) and they have built some. They are indeed a very good boat. If this is the same boat we're talking about then they are contactable at www.bluewatercruisingyachts.com

I hope this helps.
Greg

dana-tenacity · 10-03-2011, 16:16

Different boat, I think that's a Davidson.

sailingsam · 11-03-2011, 00:09

Thanks for the help.
I have spoken to the owner of another Cavalier 39 here in San Diego. There does appear to be a couple of models. Some of them have a little more freeboard, giving a couple more inches on the interior headroom. Apart from that, and viewing a few photos I have no more information.
Cheers,
Sam

Surfdoggie · 29-01-2012, 08:46

Hey Sam

My wife an I have owned a 1984 Cavalier 39, Island Bird, for two years now. Our previous boat was a S&S Yankee 30 that we sailed to South America and pacific isl.

The Cav is a much heavier boat and as everyone says she is a solid. I find her to be a bit tender. We have a note from the designer who said that some folks added more lead to the keel. I am not sure that it is necessary. We are still learning about how to sail her to her potential. We are in Pillar Point Harbor near San Francisco. We are very happy with Isl. Bird thus far. We have sailed her to weather in 30+ knots coming up the coast from San Diego and were relatively comfortable. So far we have not had any problems.

The only complaint thus far is that the water tanks are not baffled and they make an awful racket when the boat is moving. We replaced the cutlass bearing which required removal of the rudder, not the best thing. A very nice thing on our Cav is that the grease fittings for the rudder post and cutlass bearing are connected by tubing accessible from the front of the engine compartment so it is easy to keep them lubricated. I know of two more in SF and spoke with the owner of one. They were very happy with the boat.

I would be happy to hear from other Cav owners. One last thing ours was built by Export Yachts. Checkout the Wikipedia site fo a bit of info.

Surfdoggie

sailingsam · 29-01-2012, 22:16

Hi Surfdoggie,
Thanks for the reply, I have just headed South from San Diego and presently we are at anchor in Turtle Bay. The Old Girl, Miramar, is doing great. I did a huge amount of work on her last year and everything is working well. We are just hanging out waiting for some more wind before heading down to the Sea of Cortez for a few weeks before heading out to the South Pacific and back to Australia.
I am finding her very forgiving and very easy to handle. I have a Monitor wind vane and it is working sublimely on all points of sail, swell and wind conditions.
I have managed to track down quite a bit of the history on the boats, however, not much on the technical side.
The Cavalier brand has a great reputation as well made, seaworthy yachts in Australia and New Zealand.
I have the same grease fitting that you mention for the rudder post and shaft gland. It is quite an unusual set up, but very effective. I had the rudder out last year and repacked both. Barely a drop of water out of each and the stern gland is operating at about 27 Celcius whilst motoring.
I spoke with one other owner of a Cav 39 in San Diego, his yacht was called Kiwi. It was in fantastic condition. I believe he sold it recently as I saw it on the market late last year.
I have a Facebook site for the boat, it is called Miramar Pacific Dreaming, check it out if your bored.
And yes Surfdoggie, the surfboard is onboard
Cheers,
Sam Tyrrell

Lutra · 30-03-2014, 02:56

Sailingsam and Surfdoggie, are you still here? I'm thinking of buying a Cavalier 39 and would like to ask you some questions about her sailing performance. Thanks!!

Surfdoggie · 30-03-2014, 09:12

Hey Lutra

I would be happy to answer any questions. We have been sailing and upgrading the Cavalier 39, Island Bird (Jolly Mon, Ciao Bella) since we bought her.

Surfdoggie

Lutra · 30-03-2014, 10:00

Surfdoggie! Thanks so much! The Cav39 looks to be very similar to the Rival 36, another of my top picks for a bluewater boat that sails great and is really attractive to dinghy away from. Can you tell me something about how she sails? In particular:

1. How close does she point?
2. How does she track downwind?
3. How's her motion in a big sea?
4. How easy is she to singlehand?
5. What else do you want to tell me about how she sails and feels at sea?

Also, how's engine access, stuffing box access, steering quadrant access? Does yours have that beautiful headliner that looks like a major pain to deal with if you want to add deck hardware? If so, is it a major pain?

If it's easier or preferable, you're welcome to email me at svlutra <insert that symbol> gmail.com. Thanks so much for anything you can tell me!

Best,

Patti, S/V Lutra

Surfdoggie · 03-04-2014, 22:34

Here are my thoughts on the Cavalier 39. First, to give you some perspective, we have owned several boats from Yankee30 to Tartan41 and sailed them a lot.

The Cav is not a slow boat and she is not a racer. The compromise is she has an easy motion at sea and is easy to sail. She doesn't go up wind like the Tartan or the Yankee, but she points we'll enough.

The interior is awesome. And yes you have to deal with it if your in need of getting to the underside of the deck.

The only significant things I don't like are the glassed in Lower chain plates and the location of the fuel tank, high on the port side of the engine compartment.

All in all we are very happy with her.
Surfdoggie

bruceinOz · 06-04-2014, 17:05

Hi all. I have a Cav 32. All the Cavs are great sea boats, nice motion, easy to sail. They have a great reputation here in Australia. Enjoy.

Kitkat · 09-03-2015, 17:05

We are considering buying a Cavalier 39. Have read through a lot of the forum info posted and it has helped. We plan to spend a lot of time on our yacht and need it to be comfortable for two. It looks roomy enough but noise was mentioned with the tanks. Is this easily fixed? Any information would be helpful thanks.