Pacific Dolphin 28 / Yankee 28

[JoJo Maguwa]

Hey all,

I am going to be looking at a Pacific Dolphin 28 this week and was wondering if anyone out there has any info to share. I have looked online but I haven't found much at all in the way of reviews other than an old thread here on CF.

Cheers!

-JoJo



https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/yankee-28

[RobinG]

This is probably way too late for you, but I've owned one for about 2 years now. Mine was built in 1978, and like any boat this age is likely quite different from any other surviving one. This is my first boat, so take everything I say with a pinch of salt.

Despite having very worn out old sails, I'm still able to sail up closely into the wind and make good headway - even in the boisterous conditions often found in Monterey Bay. Sailing into waves and swell is not too exciting - she holds her course well and doesn't bounce around too much. Sailing with the wind and with swell coming from the aft quarters can be a bit too exciting for me - she really starts rolling around and needs a lot of work to keep on course. Going up to the mast to handle the main sail is very unpleasant in those conditions - you're going to want to clip on.

There have been plenty of leaks to deal with - mostly old portholes and some stanchions needing reseating. Forehatch leaks like a sieve around some custom glass work someone had installed in it, currently glassing over that. Main hatch rotted through and had termite damage, replacing that. Standing rigging was new in 2019 (before me) and the chain plates still appear solid. Deck to hull joint is unfortunately screwed on (not bolted and backed), with some water intrusion over the years - can't currently detect any.


My planned future projects to ease solo handling, in priority order:
- clean and lubricate the sail track so I don't have to pull the main down
- 2' shorter jib (I'm not racing just enjoying) for better visibility forward to avoid those crab pots
- lazy jacks
- setup single line reefing
- run lines back to cockpit through blocks and fairleads (going to need to get backing plates made up to spread the load better over the deck)

The forward V-berth is comfortable for 2 adults, though tricky to get in and out of. I think that's because the cabin sole was lowered with a custom mahogany job which gained headroom but reduced bilge space (this is a pain, as it means the bilge is too shallow for ANY electric bilge pump, and also makes it incredibly difficult to run any wiring or hosing.

The chart table lowers and folds out to turn the settee into another double berth, which works for my two young kids, or 1 adult. The quarter berth is currently sail storage, but am going to need to turn that back into a berth as the kids grow up.

[JoJo Maguwa]

Thank you so much for the reply. I ended up buying the boat and I've been working on it for nearly a year now. It has been quite the project but I have learned a lot. I hope to put her back in the water in the Sea of Cortez this summer and start long-term live aboard sailing.
Mine is hull number 5, built in 1977.

I'd love to exchange some more info with you about our boats. So far I've only found one other person with a sister boat, but his is a Yankee built boat, so a few differences.

[RobinG]

Where did you find the hull number?

I think I stumbled across your blog sometime ago on fixing up your boat, but I can't find it anymore. Would like to see lots more photos of all the bits while you were working. Might help me figure out what else I need to do

[JoJo Maguwa]

The hull number is part of the HIN. Mine is on the upper starboard corner of the transom.

PDM28 then the next 3 numbers are the hull number, so in my case,

PDM28005
The remaining numbers are the month and year


Yes, I started a blog but I've been too busy to update it.

I've been taking thousands of photos and writing notes regularly with the idea of writing the blog more in the future.

I'll try to PM you to exchange email addresses