Cape Cutter 19 Association Forum

Please welcome new forum member Malcolm. He's come along because he's interested in a boat to sail on the Shannon. He emailed Dylan Winter of Keep Turning Left fame to ask he if knew anything about the CC19 - and Dylan put him in touch we me, as Dylan reads my blog. That's how the Internet works!

Can anyone put him in touch with Oak for a test sail perhaps?

I just remembered, Malcolm probably can't reply due to the 'barrier to entry' being set too low.

Thank you Russell for your welcome. I will lurk here for a while and if I do decide to purchase a CC19, no doubt I will have plenty of questions for you all. Best regards,
Malcolm

I'm delighted to be described as a junior member, but as I will be 64 next birthday I'm wondering what age the rest of you are?
Malcolm

Mostly old enough to know better....
What are you looking for in a boat?

Malcolm Kindness wrote:I'm delighted to be described as a junior member, but as I will be 64 next birthday I'm wondering what age the rest of you are?
Malcolm

Hello Malcolm

I used to be 64

Welcome to the madhouse

What am I looking for in a boat? Well, that's a tricky one, in many ways I am quite happy. I have a Drascombe Dabber and it is a very manageable size and gets a fair bit of use on my local lake.
On the other hand, I sometimes fancy something bigger that I could sleep on for a few days and therefore travel further afield. I just happened to ask Dylan Wynter of "Keep turning left" if he had any opinion on the Cape Cutter19, as I had admired them previously in Honnor Marine. He put me in touch with Russell, so here I am. Another boat that I like the look of is the Oysterman 22, anyone have an opinion on this?
The problem is, the Dabber gives a very good return for a very small investment both in terms of money and effort, so I have to be very sure before I make a change.
Best regards,
Malcolm

Hello Malcolm

I too am mainly a lake sailer.

My introduction to sailing was (mainly) Drascombe based. I had a friend with a Lugger who trail sailed it, that was about 30 years ago. Fifteen years ago we aquired a new neighbour who had a Hunter Medina and took me sailing in it. He quickly changed that for a Drascombe Coaster, in which I frequently sailed and had the occasional weekend sleepover.

Needless to say I was hooked.

In 2001 I started to look for a boat of my own, I saw the original Capecutter at the Southampton Boat Show that year.
I bought a second hand Winkle Brig in Jan 2002. In many ways it was the ideal boat. Very pretty, gaff rigged, tan sails, excellent cabin space (no centereboard case due to twin lifting bilge keels). It sailed well for its size.

I sailed this boat for seven seasons and it gave a good insight into what I really wanted in a boat.

Basically I wanted a slight bigger Winkle Brig for better sailing performance.
I went to the 2008 Southampton Boat show, expecting to come away with a Cornish Shrimper.
I looked at the (new) Drascombe Drifter but was not impressed with the internal layout or the quality of finish.
I did not get a very good reception at the Cornish Crabbers stand (it turned out they had other things on their mind, they went into receivership during the following week).
Then I stumbled across the Capecutter 19 at the Honnor Marine stand.
I ended up buying that boat. (After the show).

I have sailed Mary Ann for four seasons now, and I cannot stop grinning. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made.
I (I mean the boat) get admiring glances (and comments) wherever I take her. But it is the sailing performance which really does it for me. I frequently outsail much larger yachts in our club, especially in light winds. When it is blowing I am often out enjoying it, whilst the bigger boats are tied up at the club marina.

I sail mainly single handed, the capecutter is ideal for this. The cutter rig gives lots of options as the wind strength varies, and it looks good too, especially if you opt for a yankee rather than a genoa (my boat came with both).

I have made many mods to the boat to suit my needs, but that for me is part of the pleasure of ownership. (Check out the various albums).

I cannot envisage me owning a different boat as long as I am able bodied.

Our route to the CC was quite different. A number of years ago I learned to sail and bought a dinghy (laser 2000) with the intention of it being a family activity (two young children). At the time the kids were a too young and also my wife and I had differences of opinion about the weather. Wherever it went , it blew f3, but I preferred the f3 where there were some white caps and my wife preferred the f3 where there was hardly a ripple. Consequently we had a certain amount of fun, but the best times were when we took it away and raced at class assoc events. It was at one of those that we met someone with a drascombe longboat, who took us for a sail in it. We were immediately struck by shallow draught, stability and large amount of space (especially compared to a dinghy!).

This set us thinking about the family adventures we could have. I did not think it was very sensible to hae a cabin on a boat less than 20 feet, so we were looking at open boats. However, looking round at the boat show 2011, we were struck by how the cabin would make quite a difference: we felt that after a season or two, we would feel limited by a day boat, whereas it would be great fun to make passage (I might add that we live in the midlands and wanted a trailer sailor, so that we would not be tied to one piece of coast). Russell had been raving about the CC ( he just bought his), and we were very impressed with the CC at the Honnor stand. The internal layout is very good, it's very pretty and it's quite a bit cheaper than a shrimper.

Almost a season after buying one (second hand on brokerage from Honnor), we are very pleased with it. We have made passage to the Isle of Wight, had numerous day sails and all four of us can sleep on it (though its snug!). More adventures planned this year and, like others, I have had great fun fitting it the interior with electrics.

I built a New Cormorant in epoxy on marine ply (for sale if anyone is interested), which is basically a 12ft Shrimper.
Having built and sailed the New Cormorant we decided we needed a bigger boat. The obvious choice was a Cornish Shrimper, living in the Falmouth area there are plenty about. I then came across the Cape Cutter. So it was Shrimper v's Cape Cutter
I wanted an outboard engine, being able to lift your engine out of the boat to service is so easy. After all it is a sail boat. The outboard in a Shrimper is offset compared to the Cape Cutter, where it is on the centre line. This is way better for manouvering.
The bowsprit on the CC lifts easily, not so on the Shrimper. This makes a big difference with marina fees. It also looks like a proper bowsprit.
The cabin of the CC is bigger. Although it says 4 berths, that would be a tight squeeze.
These were the main reasons for buying our Cape Cutter. After sailing it we have realised there are a lot more reasons.
I am not knocking the Shrimper, far from it. The Cape Cutter is a better design.
We just need some better weather to enjoy it.