Jim, I’m going to jump in and echo what others are saying: don’t get overly concerned about the downwind characteristics of the older IOR influenced hulls like C&C 38.
If you are planning on pressing on as much canvass as possible while going downwind then you may have your hands full. But that’s racing. Ease off a bit. I’ve raced on IOR One-tons and there is a vast difference between that “IOR” and the “IOR shape" of the earlier C&C’s. For that matter I would suggest that one of loveliest but biggest handfuls of a boat downwind was the Ted Hood designed Gulfstar Custom 40. I loved that boat and almost bought one but, Lord, downwind with the ‘chute up there wasn’t a wheel big enough with enough purchase to keep it under control. “Broaches R Us.” The C&C 38 is not even in that category or the old racing IOR boats for that matter. Personally, I think that our C&C 37 is the follow-on to the C&C 38 (yes, I know smaller but the specs put it at 37’ 9”...). A bit less radical in hull design and a bit better fins and rudder shape but essentially the same animal. We love our 37 although we are starting to think about moving up to a J/42 for other reasons. To echo what Martin’s wife says about the 36, my wife loves the 37 because it is the perfect blend of speed, comfort, sea-keeping, dryness and most importantly the ability to handle the loads and be able to manage around the docks by the two of us. The only bad thing I can say about the 38 is that the cockpit is bit pinched. So is ours. Eh... If you spring for it you won’t be unhappy. Really good looking and nice boat. What Martins says, it will do distance sailing comfortably. Cheers, Dave 1982 C&C 37 - Ronin Chesapeake Bay On Dec 31, 2013, at 4:45 PM, Martin DeYoung <mdeyo...@deyoungmfg.com> wrote: > Jim, > > Based on my experience with racing and cruising C&C designs offshore and in > the PNW, below is my “tail happy” rating of boats I have owned or sailed > extensively (listed most stable to most tail happy): > > 1970 C&C 43 (modified deep rudder); 1974 C&C 39 with deep rudder upgrade; > 1974 C&C 39 with original rudder; 1980 C&C 36. > > The most tail happy 1980 36 is still my wife’s favorite for PNW cruising. > She prefers the 36 over the 43 to the extent that she has recently stated “I > wish we had the 36 back, can you find one and trade?” Her preference is > based on ease of handling around fixed objects and when anchoring. The 43’s > powerful sail plan and extra 10,000 lbs of displacement are also a concern. > > For PNW cruising including around Vancouver Island the 1977 38 should be > excellent. I would downplay the concern about the IOR style handling issues > when powered up unless you plan to aggressively race. We have raced Calypso > in the local (PNW) Cruiser/Racer events mostly double-handed or with 4 to 6 > crew. Calypso does very well in a blow but suffers from poor light air > performance made worse by the cruising gear we added back when the plan was > to head for Mexico. > > In short, I would not hesitate to sail a 77 C&C 38 anywhere in the PNW, and > be comfortable in sailing it to Mexico or Hawaii. We keep Calypso at > Shilshole Bay Marinia. If you are in the Seattle area Saturday I will be on > board setting up for this winter’s projects. Drop me a line if you want to > meet and discuss old school C&C sailing. > > Martin > Calypso > 1970 C&C 43 > Seattle > > From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of > lynchja...@comcast.net > Sent: Monday, December 30, 2013 6:50 PM > To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com > Subject: Stus-List Scouting report on old C&C 38s > > Hello gang, > > I’m just about to close the deal on a 1977 C&C 38 Mark II. The boat is > updated and loaded for cruising. I love its lines and the way it sails—at > least on my sea trial. And I’ve had a crush on 1970s C&Cs since I was a > teenager. It surveyed well but I’m still wishing I could hear from more > people familiar with racing and cruising these old 38s. > > I enjoy racing but my primary intention with this boat is to cruise it in > Puget Sound and in and around Vancouver Island. For my tastes, It seems like > a nice roomy fast cruiser. From listening to a few racers, one potential > concern is it might broach too easily with the chute up in a breeze. While I > don’t intend to fly one often, I’d obviously hope it’s not too unstable > downwind. I know some IOR designs are notorious but I’m not always clear > whether to blame the design or the skipper. > > I saw where a 38 of this vintage, GADZOOKS, was first overall in a race from > Massachusetts to Bermuda in 2011. And I’ve seen where another old 38 > circumnavigated. Both of which should give me faith. But I’d still love to > hear from any of you who can give me a scouting report on how this boat sails > on different points of sail in different conditions as well as any other > insights you're willing to offer. > > Thanks in advance, and happy new year to you all. > > Jim Lynch > > Olympia, WA. > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com
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