Cabo Rico 38 is a 41′ 0″ / 12.5 m monohull sailboat designed by William Crealock and built by Cabo Rico starting in 1977.
- Designer
- William Crealock
- Builder
- Cabo Rico
- Association
- Cabo Rico
- # Built
- 200
- Hull
- Monohull
- Keel
- Long
- Rudder
- ?
- Construction
- FG
Dimensions
- Length Overall
- 41′ 0″ / 12.5 m
- Length On Deck
- 37′ 11″ / 11.6 m
- Waterline Length
- 29′ 3″ / 8.9 m
- Beam
- 11′ 6″ / 3.5 m
- Draft
- 4′ 11″ / 1.5 m
- Displacement
- 21,500 lb / 9,752 kg
- Ballast
- 7,000 lb / 3,175 kg
Rig and Sails
- Type
- Cutter
- Reported Sail Area
- 962′² / 89.4 m²
- Total Sail Area
- 692′² / 64.3 m²
Mainsail
- Sail Area
- 285′² / 26.5 m²
- P
- 38′ 9″ / 11.8 m
- E
- 14′ 8″ / 4.5 m
- Air Draft
- 50′ 0″ / 15.2 m
Foresail
- Sail Area
- 407′² / 37.8 m²
- I
- 43′ 11″ / 13.4 m
- J
- 18′ 6″ / 5.6 m
- Forestay Length
- 47′ 8″ / 14.6 m
Auxilary Power
- Make
- Perkins
- Model
- 4108
- HP
- ?
- Fuel Type
- Diesel
- Fuel Capacity
- 55 gal / 208 l
Accomodations
- Water Capacity
- 150 gal / 568 l
- Holding Tank Capacity
- ?
- Headroom
- ?
- Cabins
- ?
Calculations
- Hull Speed
-
7.0 kn
Classic: 7.25 kn
Hull Speed
The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.
Formula
Classic hull speed formula:
Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL
A more accurate formula devised by Dave Gerr in The Propeller Handbook replaces the Speed/Length ratio constant of 1.34 with a calculation based on the Displacement/Length ratio.
Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio.311
Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL
- Sail Area/Displacement
-
19.9
Sail Area / Displacement Ratio
A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.
Formula
SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64)2/3
- SA: Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
- D: Displacement in pounds.
- Ballast/Displacement
-
32.6
<40: less stiff, less powerful
Ballast / Displacement Ratio
A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.
Formula
Ballast / Displacement * 100
- Displacement/Length
-
382.9
>350: ultraheavy
Displacement / Length Ratio
A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.
Formula
D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
- LWL: Waterline length in feet
- Comfort Ratio
-
38.8
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat
Comfort Ratio
This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.
Formula
Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam1.33)
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
- LWL: Waterline length in feet
- LOA: Length overall in feet
- Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
- Capsize Screening
-
1.7
<2.0: better suited for ocean passages
Capsize Screening Formula
This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.
Formula
CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)
- Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
- D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
Notes
From BlueWaterBoats.org:
Cabo Rico started building their sturdy boats from a corner of British Leyland’s Rover assembly plant in Costa Rica. Among their success stories has been the Cabo Rico 38 which has won a reputation for legendary soft motion and stout offshore performance. The design came from Bill Crealock who had previously designed the Tiburon 36 for Cabo Rico. Not many 36s were built but the 38 on the other hand found popularity in a time when Taiwanese manufacturers were beginning to dominate the US market.
The lines of the Cabo Rico 38 are timeless with a full keeled underbody which follows the design lineage of Crealock’s Tiburon. She’s configured as a true cutter with a bowsprit mounted foresail. Her sheerline is sweet which swings low (as is often the case for older seaworthy designs), with traditional trailboards and teak trim.
The construction is a balsa cored deck paired with a thick skinned balsa sandwich hull. Ballast is internal and changed from iron to lead at around hull 40. The mast is keel stepped. The Costa Rican craftsmen take tremendous pride in the quality of work, and it shows with the spectacular honey colored teak interiors that define these yachts. In fact on older versions, it is hard to find a single spot of gelcoat down below. While on most engine access is through the companionway, the engine location was moved forward on recent models to underneath the centerline galley.
Costa Rican craftsmen hand laid the first hull in 1977, and from there Cabo Rico Custom Yachts has delivered hulls are a steady clip. In fact for a long time, Cabo Rico was a one-boat manufacturer pumping out the 38 with an incredible variety of configurations. You name it, and a 38 will have a layout to suit: two heads, single cabin, v-berth, and so forth. In 1990, they introduced a popular pilothouse version.
There have been over 200 boats built to date, the last hull was built in 2005. Cabo Rico is currently reorganizing according to legal fillings in the state of Florida, USA.
Buyers Notes
Teak decks were common on 1980’s and earlier models. As with any screwed down teak decks, these can be prone to leaking.
Links, References and Further Reading
» Cabo Rico 38, John Kretschmer, Used Boat Notebook
» Cabo Rico 38, Earl R Hinz, Seatrials
» Cabo Rico 38 Review, Richard Jordan, Waves
