Topic: boat buying advice wanted

Hi Sadie,
I can't help with your question about the 1978 models, but...  The deck mold was redesigned in 1983, hull numbers greater than 300 I think.  In addition to the midships hatch, these newer boats also have a built-in foredeck anchor locker, redesigned tankage, all opening ports and cast lead ballast instead of cast iron...  And a Contessa would be a fine boat for the Great Lakes!  The JJ Taylor Contessas were built in the Toronto area and that's still where you'll find the greatest concentration of them...  Good luck!

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Sadie
I can’t comment on the specific year, 1978, my family owns a 1979 CO26 and it has a couple of features, the small aft hatch and a sunken floor adding a couple of inches to the headroom. As to great lake sailing, I live in Kingston Ont and sail the boat in all types of weather, quite frankly the stronger the weather the better. The CO 26 is far from perfect but, from a great lakes heavy weather perspective, it is about as good a boat in its class as there is. With the right sail configuration and sailor expertise it can handle just about anything. She is a very forgiving boat when the weather gets rough, which when reading between the lines means that she is not the best in the light air. Due in large part to her narrow berth, length and full keel. I have been told that in many ways great lake sailing is every bit has tough/heavy as blue water sailing. I can certainly think of many 30-40 knot plus days on lake Ontario where I have been thankful it be on the CO26. I would suggest that you do not get too hung up on the year of boat but rather the overall condition. There is minor differences and improvements over the years but a solid boat build in 1972 is worth more than an abused CO 26 built in 1985.
One last point, there is a book available called ’20 small boats to take you anywhere’ or something to that effect, available at the nautical mind. It takes a dispassionate, critical look at 20 boats all under 35 feet in length. A must read for someone in your position, I would think. The CO26 is one of the 20.

Good luck in your search,

John vanZanten
Kingston Ont.

Re: boat buying advice wanted

As the others have indicated a good boat for Great Lake sailing.  For ten years our boat (1980)was on Lake Ontario and in the St. Lawrence Thousand Islands - it can be a bit cramped for four (two adults and two kids) but we managed fine.  The one thing to keep in mind is that the boat draws four feet and has a full keel so in some instances it can be a bit harder to sneak into secluded cove/bay etc...  Other than that, for the value the boat over the last 25 years has performed very well.

Ivan Ross

Ivan Ross "Morava" #266

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Thanks for the responses. As I research and read more in preparation for the purchase of my first boat, it seems I just keep coming back to the Contessa 26.  I do have some experience sailing, but I recognize that I am still very much a novice.  In all my sailing experience there has always been someone on board with more experience that I could defer to. This is the first time I'll be captain of my own ship.  I'm trying to decide between buying a little trailerable boat and spending my time gunk-holing around or buying something bigger that will allow me to do what I really want to do, and that is get out onto the bigger water. I like the idea of a boat that will take care of me if the wind picks up a bit -- hopefully being somewhat forgiving if I screw up and don't have my sails set quite right.  I hadn't picked up on that "between the lines" thing, about "not being the best in light air", so thanks for that. But I figure that's okay with me....I have no desire to go anywhere fast...just safely, and hopefully off the beaten track.  I hate crowds. So, I guess my next question is: just how forgiving do you Contessa folks think these boats are.  I'm fairly cautious by nature so I won't be tempting fate by heading out into a storm for fun or anything.  But if I happened to be caught out on the water when the winds pick up, just how safe, in your opinion, would I be in a Contessa 26?
Sadie. 
PS  This is so fun.  My family is very patient in listening to me ramble on about this sailboat thang but nice to have some like-minded folks to chat to.

Re: boat buying advice wanted

I would argue from my limited experience that the Co 26 is as safe a boat as you can get in her class. The full keel and narrow width aid greatly when the weather kicks in. Narrow boats tend to have an initial instability but once underway they are very solid under foot. Her size is such that handling the rigging is very doable for a single sailor and I have never felt overwelmed regardless of the conditions.
I have been told more than once that a sailboat will far outlast the captian when the weather gets heavy certainly in the case of the CO26 this is true. That is not to say that the boat is perfect it is not.


- Her size is her big weakness but this has less to do with safety   
  and more to do with comfort.
- The ferryman engine while reliable is under powered for a boat of
  this weight and keel type.
- I would also say that the main sheet configuration is less than
  ideal but manageable.
- The deck on many CO26’s suffers from spider cracks in the gel coat.
  A cosmetic flaw more than a safety concern
- As with any wood cored boat soft decks from rot can be a problem
- The deck stepped mast is not ideal but if the deck and supports are
  solid it is irrelevant, for great lake sail anyways.
- I stand corrected on this next point but I believe than many
  mainsails on the CO26 have only 2 reef points I would argue 3 is a
  requirement, along with at least one storm jib preferably 2 of
  different sizes.

We are fortunate to live in Ontario where the CO26 is concerned, there are more here than anywhere else in Canada and can often be bought for a very reasonable price, as little as 8000-10,000 $ for one in need of a little work.

Last but not least she is a pretty boat, one that gets a second look when in harbour. A boat you can be proud to own.

John

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Thanks John. Well as I'm 5'1" (on a good day), and the rest of my potential crew is over 5'10", when/if i find my Contessa 26 I think I might re-name her "Sadie's revenge" (hehe). So I'm not too worried about inside comfort.  I'm a camper and the inside of a Contessa 26 looks pretty comfortable to me. 
So, next step, looking for a boat...
Any Contessa 26s looking for a god home...especially if they're in good shape and reasonably priced...please contact me.  <sadie@golden.net>

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Just a comment on Contessa 26. I got to sail on one in Mobile Bay last spring in  Small Craft warning condition and the boat did just great and I never felt as if the wind was going blow us all over the place.  The owner of this one stated that a Contessa loves these condition (small craft warning). This Contessa was a 1974 (I believe) and it good condition.  This is one reason I am looking for a Contessa 26 myself, though a post-1983.  I agree with the other John that I would like a 3rd reef sail from what conditions I have sailed in the past on a 22 foot in 25+ knot winds.
J.K.Lee

Re: boat buying advice wanted

The size and design is very suitable for a first boat because the boat has a very solid design and can be used for anything from daysailing to round the world voyages.  The full keel is a huge plus if you hit rocks because there are no keelbolt problems or any of that bad news that comes with fin keels.  If you hit the rocks with one of these beast probably the only repairs to be done is a bit of grinding/fiberglass repair.

I have a 1979 and I bought it as my first boat and I sail predominatly singlehanded and it is great.  Small boat= small sails= easy to handle.  It is so easy to handle under sail I don't have to winch until 25 knots.  The hardest part about dealing with these boats is docking but with a bit of practice (preferably with a crew on each side with a blader and a stick to fend off) it gets easy.

I have an original mainsail with 2 reef points and I have sailed in 45 knots with no problem.  The third reef is not nesscary unless you are planning to go offshore and even then it is more of a convenience rather than a nessecity.  By the time you need to use your third reef in coastal sailing you should be parked at the dock and offshore storm jib alone would probably be sufficent.

Also I sail with a 150% genoa on a furler and in 8-10 knots of wind under full sail I am fully powered up and going to windward I can get the most speed at this wind speed so in my opinion it is a pretty good light air boat.  You have to remeber it is a 26 foot boat(21 LWL) so you are not goin to find a boat this small that will be a rocketship and be suitable for any sort of cruising.

Re: boat buying advice wanted

I wouldn't be afraid to sail the C26 anywhere in the world between 50N and 50S. Obviously the demands on both boat and crew increase exponentially as you approach the high latitudes.
You need reliable thru-hulls, a solid dodger, lots of sails from storm to trysail, genoas of different sizes, working jibs, 3 reefs in the main, and the general offshore equipment (EPIRB, liferaft, flares, GPS, radar, etc.)
In retrospect, after last summer's voyage from Halifax to Bermuda and back, I think the shaft/flange attachment is a serious weakness. Then, I'd add a couple of gudgeon/pintles on the rudder, as there's serious stress on this part of the boat in big seas.
Also, the main hatch needs to be reinforced and watertight (as much as possible).
For an almost bulletproof boat, see the Cape Horn discussion on this forum. There's a great knowledge bank concentrated in a few pages under that subject.
The Great Lakes are great indeed. Plenty of space, adverse weather conditions, wind, no wind, choppy seas, shallows, they're huge test tanks where you can observe, experiment, widen your horizons and learn. When you get bored with that, well, that's when you should steer towards the open ocean, free that boat and yourself from the landlocked waters and head for the Waterworld.
Fortunately, 75% of the earth's surface is covered by water. Makes you wonder what the hell people are doing on land...

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Hi Sadie!  Sounds like you are picking the Contessa 26 for the same reasons I did: she will take care of you when the weather gets nasty, and we get some quickly nasty weather on the Pacific West (Wet!) Coast.  Also, she has the capability to take you anywhere, but is perfectly happy to daysail around the bay...or do overnighters while you get used to her.  Plus, I also am a new sailor, and I always single-hand her and I have found it very easy...I taught myself how to sail her! 
Yes, the later models lowered the sole (As J&J metioned it was in 1979, so likely why the 1978 is cheaper) and they added hatches and built a few more lockers around the chainplates and for the anchor...but you can always do those things yourself...and the headroom doesn't matter in your case! ;-)
John Vigor's book "20 Small Boats to Take you Anywhere" did it for me when I was looking for a safe, capable boat for me...I mean, my first time out, it took me two hours to carefully put the sails up, and I forgot to tighten the outhaul etc!!  Yet she was happily sailing along, obediently tacking, and barely needed a finger on the tiller, even when a "gust" (in my newbie view) of 10k came along and she would heel over and I would release the mainsheet in a panic!!   Now, I realize after she's had her lee rail in the water for awhile, and when   my carefully stowed continers start falling to the floor, I know it's time to shorten sail!  And, she will always make her way through chop and contrary current, as her full keel and good sized rig, coupled with her narrow beam and fine entry will keep her gliding through the waves instead of bashing into them...my teacher who helped me bring her home after I bought her was so amazed at her ability to go through 4' standing waves at a notorious pass in my area that he was pretty well hollering "yahoo!"   Plus, if you need to claw off a lee shore, she will respond, and will also glide gently along even in 1k puffs of wind...so yes, go for it, and you will fall in love with your boat when you realize how capable she is, and yes, everyone you know will think you are crazy!

“You get a boat for only one reason, because you want one.  If you’re worried about being practical, forget boats.”

Re: boat buying advice wanted

And Chris and Mark have had some great adventures on their boats, so they know firsthand how tough these boats are....
Mark's right about the full keel advantage when going aground, my old owner took her full speed into a rock and just had a fist-sized fibreglass repair.
Chris is right about the compainionway hatch needing watertightness, as it slants in more than other boats, so water can get in a bit, plus the sill is lower than it should be because of no sliding top...so you have to remember to keep hatchboards in...(well, I do as I like my boat super clean and dry! ;-)

Yup, usually the Co26 will be the only boat out there, and doing fine, when the weather kicks up...

I did get a third reef put in so I wouldn't have to worry about a stormsail while sailing on the coast, but still want to be able to really shorten sail (to satisfy the inner coward, really!) plus, the boat is very headsail driven, so if you have decent enough headsail out, (hanked or furled...I've not yet had less than 60% or so) you can power along in anything with complete control.
Ok, I've rambled on enough!

“You get a boat for only one reason, because you want one.  If you’re worried about being practical, forget boats.”

Re: boat buying advice wanted

Oh, Thank-you ShannonRHIANNON for the posts...I had read your posts on this site before and I was hoping for some input from you as a woman who sails this boat single-handed.  I am most encouraged!  I picked up a copy of the John Vigor book and really liked everything he had to say about the Co26.  I've also spent quite a bit of time on the net reading everything I can and I've read the Tania Aebi book. I like the idea of buying a boat that I can "grow into", eventually taking on more challenging trips. Any critism that I've read about the Co26 (like it being small down below, etc) doesn't put me off at all.  And, as to everyone thinking I'm crazy, well, too late I'm afraid.  Most (all) of my friends/family think I'm crazy for wanting to do this, but they're all very supportive anyway...even my husband now says he'll come on board once in awhile "once he's sure I can sail the thing safely"! (hehe)  I have every intention of seeking some additional instruction, though.  I've signed up for a course down south this winter and then I'll be looking for someone in the Georgian Bay area who would be willing to give some private lessons on my own boat. Thanks again for all the input.  Come spring, if anyone hears of a Contessa 26 looking for a good home in the Ontario area, I'll be in the market.  Sadie.

Re: boat buying advice wanted

I am looking at a 1978 contessa 26 to buy.  After searching many past listing of Contessa 26s, the 1978 models seem to be selling for slightly less money than other years' models (just a perception -- nothing scientific here). Does anyone know of any reason that the 1978 model might have been sold for less than other models?  Is there a problem or critism of the 1978 model that I don't know about?  or just a coincidence?
Also, I read that later JJTs had an additional hatch placed over the galley.  Does anyone know which year that was added?
One last question...(might as well get all the free advice I can out of one post  :-)  I know the Contessa 26 has a good blue water reputation, but any thoughts on the suitability of this vessel for sailing in the great lakes? I will be sailing mostly in southern Georgian Bay in the 30,000 islands area (so lots of nasty rocks and stuff to watch out for). This will be my first sailboat and I hope to feel comfortable enough to singlehand on occasion.  Any advice/encouragement/insight would be most welcome.
Sadie