Just purchased a Cape Dory 28

[DaveCD28]

Hi All,

After years of sailing a Catalina 25, I just took ownership of a 1978 Cape Dory 28. I did alot of research on the type of boat that I was looking for and the Cape Dory was among the top choices, so I am happy that I found one for sale relatively close that was in pretty good shape.

I am now trying to fit her out to sail her home. I will have to sail from St. Augustine to Port Canaveral, then in to the intracoastal and then down the intracoastal to Melbourne, Florida.

One thing that she is missing is a working Jib. She has a 135% Genoa, but I need to find a 100% jib for when the wind pipes up.

So my question is, does anyone here know the dimensions of a Cape Dory 28 100% working jib? (she does not have a club footed jib setup at this time)



Thanks,

David

[Neil Gordon]

Congrats, it's a great boat! I have zero regrets about owning a Cape Dory 28.

Ponder the cost of a furler vs. the cost of a working jib.

[DaveCD28]

Thanks, Neil.

I am probably going to put a furler on her, but right now I just need to get her back to my town so I don't have to drive 3 hours each way to get to her. So my plan is to buy a used jib for around $200.00 just to sail her down. Once she is home, I can take my time and fit her out to my liking.



-David

[Neil Gordon]

Got it.

You might save $200; see if you can borrow an appropriate sized working jib from one of the friendly local lurkers on this board.

[Stan W.]

There is a copy of the 1978 Owner's Manual elsewhere on this site. It says the working (club) jib has a 32' luff and a 10' 9" foot. That luff length leaves about 4 1/2' of the forestay unused, so I wouldn't go much shorter on that dimension. That foot length corresponds to a fairly high clew, so I wouldn't go much longer on that dimension. A sail with a luff of 32-33' and a foot of 10-11' should fit pretty well but where are you going to run the sheets? If you run them to the genoa blocks, the boat will not point very well. Good enough, perhaps, to get you home but not a long-term solution.

[DaveCD28]

Thanks, Stan...

Good enough to get me home is all I need right now. The iron wind is there for when the regular wind is against me.

-David

[sealark]

David,

Call Masthead Sailing Gear in St Pete - 727-327-5361.

I purchased a working jib (club foot) from them about 3 months ago for my 28. I think I paid about $235 for it - it was in very good condition - and they said it was off another CD 28. It fit PERFECTLY. Very pleased.

They have another working jib - about the same size - says it is off a CD 28 and they are asking $175. The stock # is 12149. It is still listed as available on their website.

When I purchased mine - they said that this other one was in comparable condition - just that it had some staining on it and I think it had been repaired once before.

Kevin

[SPIBob]

If you're going to go the roller-furler route when you get her home, the hank-on 135 might be all you need. I have a 135 on a roller and unless the wind goes above 20 kts or more, I usually don't roll it in. You have a much heavier displacement boat now and by moving the jib sheet lead block forward to spill wind and by letting out the sheet you can safely handle 20-25 kts wind conditions, IMHO.

She's a sweet sailing boat.

[DaveCD28]

Thanks for the tip, Kevin!

I contacted Masthead and that sail was still available. It appears to be designed for the club footed setup, but I ordered it anyways. It's a little small, but it was certainly priced right. It should do just fine. With the mainsail having two reef points, and headsails of 135%, working jib, and small heavy storm jib (already had it), I should have a good enough sail inventory to get me home.

SPIBob:

Thanks for the information. I hope to be able to use the 135 the whole time. I do forget that the Cape Dory is much heavier, but since she is stored currently in a part of the intracoastal that basically a 20-mile long canal, I haven't been able to experience her sailing characteristics yet. It's good to know that I will be able to use the 135 when I get the roller furler. A friend of mine has a furler that he wants to sell me, so once I get her home and everything sorted out that will be the next project.

[DaveCD28]

Oh yes, I just remembered.

Since she was a harbour queen she had no mainsheet (the bimini was too large to allow it to be connected). The previous owner said he never even put the sails up. (I put them up during the survey and they are in good shape)

Do you guys know what size the mainsheet and genoa sheet lines are? I am thinking 3/8" for the mainsheet and 7/16" for the genoa, but I would like to be sure.

What size sheets are you guys running?

Thanks,

-David Cruickshank

[sealark]

David,

I am using 7/16" for both.

When I purchased my 28 - I had no running rigging and the standing rigging was shot. I took the dimensions from the Owners Manual on the website. Definitely a good resource - valuable info.

I used American Rigging Supply for all of it - they are over your direction somewhere. They did a very good job. The guy I dealt with was Rob.

Kevin

[Stan W.]

I agree with Kevin, get 7/16 for both. Also, if it hasn't been done already, start thinking about replacing the triangulated mainsheet setup with a proper traveller. That is probably the single most effective modification you can make to improve the sailing qualities of an older CD 28.

[DaveCD28]

Thanks for the info guys.

Lucky for me a previous owner has already installed a traveller so I appear to be all set in that arena.