The Contessa 32 is a 9.75 metre (32 ft) fibreglass monohull sailing yacht, designed in 1970 by David Sadler in collaboration with yachtbuilder Jeremy Rogers, as a larger alternative to the Contessa 26. With over 750 hulls built, the yacht has become the most successful one-design cruiser-racer of all time. The yachts have a masthead sloop rig, with a fin keel and a skeg-mounted rudder, a cutting edge concept for the period which now represents a cross between newer and older designs.
The Contessa 32 is seaworthy enough for offshore voyages in extreme weather conditions, but also performs well in races, and as a one-design racing class is administered by an active Association. The trait most often associated with the Contessa 32 though is its ability to endure harsh weather and rough seas. A Contessa 32 was the only yacht in the small boat class to finish the disastrous 1979 Fastnet race, in which 15 people died. Production by the Jeremy Rogers boatyard ceased in 1982, then restarted in 1996 and still continues. The qualities and long production span of the Contessa have given the yacht a dedicated 'cult' following.
Production history
The Contessa 32 was designed by David Sadler in 1970, in response to demand for a larger version of his popular Contessa 26 which had been launched by the Jeremy Rogers boatyard five years earlier. The first two hulls were moulded by Jeremy Rogers in the same year. The yacht was exhibited at the London Boat Show in 1971, and was an immediate success, winning 'Boat of the Show' and securing numerous orders. Demand rapidly outstripped production, and until new facilities were built the waiting list ran to two years. In the next decade, the Rogers yard built 500 Contessa 32s, and when production stopped in 1983 over 700 had been built, and had been sold around the world. Between 1973 and 1990, an additional 87 were built under licence by J.J. Taylor of Canada after a hull and deck were shipped out and a set of moulds produced. These 'Canadian Contessas' have various production differences; the tiller was replaced with a wheel, the rig was made 3 feet taller, more GRP mouldings rather than wood were used in the interior, and a coremat cored deck replaced the solid deck. At least two other Contessa 32s were built by MacBar Marine in Poole in 1986, and about 15 more were built between 1988 and 1995 by Mike Slack. In 1996, after rebuilding his bankrupt business from scratch, Jeremy Rogers was able to buy the moulds back, and after their restoration was able to resume production of the Contessa 32 on a bespoke hand-crafted basis. The first of these 'new Contessas', Wild Call, was built in the same year. By 2010 another 20 had been built, of which the Rogers family boat, Calypso, was exhibited at the Southampton Boat Show that year.
Hull design
The hull of the Contessa 32 is generally seen as a cross between older and newer designs. She has the well ballasted keel, low centre of gravity, and narrow beam of traditional English cutters, but has a fin keel characteristic of newer, lighter racing yachts. The narrow beam and substantial ballast provide a high degree of positive stability, with an AVS of 155°, although due to her small size the STIX is only 33. If knocked down or capsized, the Contessa readily rights herself. Because it is shorter than a full-length keel, a fin keel creates less drag. The blending of the keel into the hull forward captures the lateral stability of a full keel, and with the cut away aft portion lends greater responsiveness to the helm. While the skeg bestows additional lateral resistance to the hull aft producing directional stability, its robust design also supports and protects the rudder.
The hull is of conventional glassfibre construction, with a strong layup conforming to Lloyd's standards. The two tonnes of lead ballast is encapsulated in the hull, obviating the need for keel bolts. The hull is joined to the deck by a large bulwark, topped with a teak caprail. Unusually, the deck has no balsa core, instead using solid glassfibre construction. Although this makes for greater longevity of the hull as there is no core to rot or delaminate, a slight 'flex' can sometimes be felt. The mast is keel stepped, and is supported by double lower shrouds for greater redundancy. The standing rigging terminates at U-bolts in the deck. Although this type of chainplate is sometimes criticised, there is no recorded instance of a dismasting, and Rogers claims reinforcing this system would have no impact on safety. It has the benefit of simplicity and low cost.