Cape Dory 30 versus Bristol 32 or Douglas 32

[Kurt]

The Bristol's rigging is heavier than the CD....although the standing rigging on the CD is certainly adequate

[John Vigor]

Since most of you chose the CD, and surely must have considered other boats, maybe you would share your reasons for the CD and that information may help me make a choice.

Gordon

Gordon, I’ve never quite understood the need to test boats and rank them in order of superiority. I choose my boats the way I choose my women—on looks. That’s Nature’s way. Why interfere with Nature? Nature knows best.

I mean, how would you rank a Stonehorse against a Freedom 33, for example? Like all auxiliary sailboats, they each have all the essentials—a keel a rudder, a sail or two, and a motor. So if they have everything they need, how do you rank them?

It’s the same with women. Most of the women I’d choose for a wife or girlfriend are equipped very similarly—two eyes, two ears, a nose, some legs, etc.

But you don’t rank your girlfriends. You choose the one that’s most appealing in a size that suits you. You don’t have a potential girlfriend inspected the way the Boat-of-the-Year judges inspect boats. You don’t investigate the quality of her interior furnishings—the performance of her liver or the integrity of her gall bladder. What’s the point? Even if her spleen is working 100 percent right now, there’s no guarantee it will last through the next sailing season. And if it doesn’t, you’re unlikely to have a spare on board, so why worry about it in the first place?

You don’t ask her what makes her motor rev. The most you can hope for is that it will keep on revving. If you’re any kind of gentleman, you don’t ask her if she’s used, or if she performs well. So why would you want to know these things about a boat?

If you’ve got any sense, you go purely on looks, as Nature intended, and you choose according to your individual needs. You choose a sleek shiny model for the social cocktail circuit, or a more practical, beamy model for the heavy long-distance work.

One woman, or one boat, is not better than the others. They’re just different. They cater to differing needs. And when you find a good-looker who suits your needs, she naturally becomes the love of your life. She’s always number one as far as you’re concerned, no matter what the silly judges may think. And who can say you’re wrong?

That's why I'm in love with a Cape Dory. At the moment, anyway.

John Vigor

[Oswego John]

John V,

That was pretty cool. I enjoyed that.

O J

[Paul D.]

Following on John Vigor's treatise, I go by smell. I love the way my wife smells, and, usually, I like the way our boat smells. Especially after Lemon oiling the cabin.

I say go by looks and smell.
Paul

[Gordonjohnmac]

I've compared the Bristol 27 to the CD27 and have observed that the standing rigging is heavier...very overbuilt

On which, the CD or the Bristol?

[Gordonjohnmac]

Sorry Kurt, I did not see the second part of your post before I replied. Thanks

Gordon

[Gordonjohnmac]

John V. I found your reply very entertaining and largely true, but I would not marry a girl until I got to know her fairly well (or at least thought I did) and would not just go on appearance.

If I really found three beautiful women who were ready to date me but each wanted an exclusive relationship I would have to make a choice (ok, in fantasy even that is possible). I guess I would have to get to know all three before I would make a choice.

So the application of my metaphore is that I will have to do some sailing on all three boats and not go just on first impressions. I have never sailed on any of the three.

I met someone in Halifax who has a Douglas 32 and will have to arrange a sail soon, but there are very few of these boats available in this area that are in decent shape. I found someone with a CD 28 who lives here in Halifax, which is as far as I know the only CD in the area. I will have to ask him to take me out sailing with him. I don't know of any Bristol 32's around here at all.

I guess, to return to the metaphore, I was trying to take a shortcut by asking persons who had dated the women what they were like. I guess that I will have to date them myself before I make a choice and get married.

I once owned a Alberg 29 that I loved very much and if you look at the profile it appears to be almost the same as the CD 30. It was that fact, that made me think of getting a CD.

Thanks for your reply

Gordon

[Tom in Cambria]

An old sailor told me this once, but I don't remember if he was quoting an even older sailor or it was original with him. Still it's a saying that has stuck with me over the years. He said you're going to spend 90% of your time on shore looking at and admiring your boat and 10% of your time actually sailing her, so you always want to choose a boat that looks beautiful to you.

I believe it was Jack London who said words to the effect that you want to find something that is really beautiful about your boat, so that when the problems come you can look at the beautiful part and put the other aside. In his case it was the shape of the bow. So when the engine quit or something broke he would say yeah that's all true, but just look at the shape of her bow!

[Gordonjohnmac]

"The perfection of a yacht's beauty is that nothing should be there for only beauty's sake." -John MacGregor

[Jim Davis]

It is time to say that a beautiful boat, reasonably handled, sails well. The same can not be said for an ugly boat.

Much of what is called beauty has to do with shapes that interact cleanly with wind and water resulting in what is inherently a sweet sailor that is also safe and comfortable. Much of what was designed prior to the merger of IOR and floating condominiums so often seen today can be classified as beautiful. The byproduct of the merger - the less said the better.

[Russell]

I mean, how would you rank a Stonehorse against a Freedom 33, for example? Like all auxiliary sailboats, they each have all the essentials—a keel a rudder, a sail or two, and a motor. So if they have everything they need, how do you rank them?

While I very much agree with everything you said, I cant help mention that you yourself wrote a book ranking 20 specific boats. Not trying to stir the pot here, just curious how your prior writing fits into this.

Personally I think there are very specific upsides and downsides to ocean going yachts. I have my own notion of what is right, but dont claim that my notion agrees with others. Likewise my own thoughts have changed over time and experience. Consider this, I have have been giving serious consideration to my next boat being an Alubat Ovni, you cant get much more drasticly different then a CD there, yet I will still be the first to sing the praises of a CD.

Russell

[Russell]

The Bristol's rigging is heavier than the CD....although the standing rigging on the CD is certainly adequate

An older boat most likely (or hopefully I should say) would not have the origonal rigging. What size it was replaced with is more important then what the factory installed. If for some reason the rigging is origonal it most certainly would need replacing by now, in which case you can put on whatever size you like and the question of size is then a moot point.

[John Vigor]

While I very much agree with everything you said, I cant help mention that you yourself wrote a book ranking 20 specific boats. Not trying to stir the pot here, just curious how your prior writing fits into this.

Russell

Ah, Russell, it doesn't. I've warned people before that they shouldn't ever take me too seriously. Sometimes I just sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits. And sometimes I loses me head completely and just runs off at the mouth.

You're right, I did rank those boats, but for seaworthiness, not for beauty. Beauty is a very personal thing. Ugly boats get bought, and ugly people get married, otherwise where would all the ugly babies come from?

I guess the message is that if a boat looks beautiful to you, it's beautiful, even if it's ugly to someone else. Luckily, some of us have a better-developed sense of beauty than others, which is why we chose Cape Dories. Wouldn't it be too, too awful if we thought a MacGregor 26 was beautiful?

You can rest easy, Russell. You have one of the best-looking boats afloat.

Cheers,

John Vigor

[seadog6532]

The bottom like is to have as much fun as you can with what ever boat you have. Most of us really have he the best prettiest boat we could get a good deal on. For my first boat that was a Catalina 25. I sailed that boat more than almost all other boats in my marina combined. Dollar for dollar I bet I had more fun than any boat on the Chesapeake bay while I had that boat.

[Russell]

You can rest easy, Russell. You have one of the best-looking boats afloat.

Actually, I disagree! Certainly however the looks of the CD36 is one of the things which attracted me to it, I looked a dozens of cruising boats before deciding on this one. Ultimately though much of my decision I have to admit came down to a love affrair with the looks of the CD.

However I dont think it one of the best looking boats afloat. Instead I see Cape Dorys as a wonderful compramise. Taking elements of sexy boats while incorperating slightly more modern approaches.

What? a CD modern? Well, maybe not compared to a J/Boat, but compared to the boats the generation before CD, yes its modern.

While the CD is a gorgous boat, I cant help but be seduced by the long overhangs of an early Hinckley, some of the early Alberg designs and of course the designs of Herreshoff. Now these boats are sexy! The Cape Dory gives us a compramise, a wider beam with more interior space, shorter overhangs for better performance (and more space). While still maintaining most of the grace of the generation before it. These days you have boats who try to mimmick traditional stylings married to modern interior space which downright fail, such as Island Packet, yuck! This is what Cape Dorys strength was and still is, they found the balance between modern and tranditional, still looking sexy while offering something a bit more. No other builder has done that.

I would never say the Cape Dorys are the most beautiful boat afloat, but I would certainly say they are the most beautiful yet practical boat afloat! An old friend of mine had an early 70s Hinckley B40 Yawl which I spent a lot of time sailing on, drop dead gorgous boat, but for living on and cruising I would not trade my CD36 for it.