The Boats We Sail

Cruising Club of America members have a wealth of experience in cruising boats. In "The Boats We Sail" we hope to share some of the challenges and solutions our members have tested, so that other members and non-members might learn and benefit.

The links below will take you to articles describing boats owned by CCA members. These articles are intended to illustrate the wide variety of boats suitable for cruising, and detail interesting or unique features of boats which have been used for this purpose. All files are in PDF format. You may download Adobe Acrobat Reader here.

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Athesa  Hallberg Rassy Monsun 31, popularly called the “Monsun” is a tough, blue water pocket cruiser. The boat has a respectable pedigree. She has been a boat to sail around the world by many owners, several times. An older sister ship of Athesa, the Bezzelbub II made it through a northernmost course and passed through the Northwest Passage in 2013.

Bolero

Bolero is a classic 'maxi' ocean racer, from an era which predates the use of this term. Designed and built by leading firms for a prominent Newport yachtsman, she was considered the ultimate example of an ocean racer in the 1950's.

Bluewater

Bluewater, a Nordhavn 47 trawler, is built to go to sea on extended passages and keep her crew safe and comfortable in the process, yet provide a comfortable platform for extended living aboard on the hook or alongside.

Catalyst

Catalyst is an Atlantic 42 catamaran featuring a waist-high sailing cockpit forward of the pilot house. Built in 2001 in Cape Town, South Africa, she was sailed to New England by her owner and his family, with stops in St. Helena, Brazil, the West Indies and Bermuda.

Cielita

Cielita is a customized J-46. She was built by TPI in Warren, RI in the summer and fall of 2002 in anticipation of a cruise the following summer to Greenland.

Comanche

Comanche was designed and built in Miami for Jack Price, a 1952 Olympic Medalist in the Star class. Comanche's designer Wirth Munroe, and also his father Ralph Munroe, were advocates of shoal-draft centerboard boats.

Eagle

Eagle was designed as a coastal cruising power yacht with several purposes in mind, including family recreation, coastal cruising for a couple, deep-sea fishing off the coast of Nova Scotia, and transportation back and forth to her island home. Additional design objectives were to provide a very energy efficient and quiet platform, and to require minimum upkeep.

Foxy Lady

Foxy Lady was built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1986, and used for commercial fishing in Cape Breton.  She was converted in 2005 for cruising in the Bahamas and tagging turtles.

Hawk

Hawk is a customized Van de Stadt Samoa 47, with an aluminum hull.  She was completed by her owners in 1997.  Since then they have cruised over 55,000 miles, including several long voyages in high latitudes.

Impala

In 1954, when the CCA rating rule, the Sparkman and Stephens design firm, and the Abeking and Rasmussen building yard were all in their ascendancy, they came together to create Impala.

Indigo

Indigo was designed by Dieter Empacher and built in Cape Town.  Her owners have lived aboard for 10 years, cruising from the Great Lakes to the Med.  Indigo has extensive systems to facilitate cruising and living aboard.

Katrina

Katrina was completed by her owners from the fiberglass hull and deck moldings of the Morgan 38 keelcenterboarder. This type of hull was popularized in the 1950's by Finisterre and subsequently by the Block Island 40, Bermuda 40, and many similar boats.

Malay

Malay is the second of two Concordia yawls with the same name, sail number, and owner. 103 Concordias were built between 1938 and 1966, all but the first four by A&R. There are 11 in the CCA Fleet, the largest number of boats of one class owned by CCA Members.

Man-O-War

Man-O-War was built in Queensland, Australia. The hull is a steel Adams 45. The present owner performed a major refit, in preparation for a two-year circumnavigation which was completed in 1998.

Meridian

Meridian was launched in 1990, and was the first boat of her type drawn by Chuck Paine. She has since been much copied in various sizes, and her design led to Paine's creation of a whole line of bluewater cruisers called his Bermuda Series.

Puritan

Puritan was designed by Ted Hood and Dieter Empacher. She was built in Taiwan and finished in Marblehead. She has participated in 5 Newport-Bermuda Races, winning the Lighthouse Trophy for all IMS yachts in 1986.

Rhubarb

The Block Island 40 yawls, designed by Bill Tripp, were launched in 1958 at Beetle Boat Company, East Greenwich, R.I. later called American Boatbuilding. Along with the Bountys they were the first production fiberglass cruising boats.

Sequel

Sequel was conceived to be a shoal-draft "gunkholer" that could cross oceans. She has taken her designer/builders/owners over 90,000 miles in safety and comfort, including four Atlantic crossings and a circumnavigation.

Westflight

Westflight, a 14 ton Gauntlet built by the Berthon Boat Company, Lymington, UK, has been extensively rebuilt by her present owner. Now 60 years old, she is still strong and seaworthy.

White Caps

White Caps is a customized Saberline 42, built for an experienced cruising couple who wanted a boat with "Down East" eye appeal, could take them at 20 knots or more on distance runs, yet proceed quietly and comfortably at 8-10 knots.

Whizzbang

Whizzbang is a contemporary motor sailer, designed and built for owners who had sailed their previous boat to Europe twice, and wished to do so again with greater comfort and ease of handling.