Suffolk based CC19 owners?

[Jon Bloor]

Hi all

I'm not currently a CC19 owner, but we have a yacht based on the Orwell and I am considering downsizing - for various reasons, but primarily the usual issues around cost / work involved versus the amount and type of sailing we actually do.

The Cape Cutter is one of the boats on my (very) short list of possible alternatives along with the Swallow Yachts Bay Cruiser (although I suspect they are out of my price range).

I have seen there are a couple of Suffolk based Cape Cutters on this forum and I have also seen at least one in the Deben on a mooring previously, but I wondered if any local owners would be kind enough to let me have a look at their boat in the flesh (once the weather improves and people have actually launched their boats!) and perhaps give me some thoughts on how you have found them for East Coast cruising? We are Ipswich based to Orwell / Deben or anywhere else in the locality would be great.

In the past we have tended to do summer cruises to the Netherlands / Belgium, but currently it's generally much more local probably from the Ore and Alde down to the Crouch usually with an annual trip up the Thames. I'm working on the basis that for continental cruises we would be making the crossing on Stena Line with the boat on the trailer rather than sailing her so in reality it's more coastal cruising.

Many thanks in advance

Jon

[Malcolm Sadler]

Hello Jon

Many thanks for your post. I suspect it appeared in sailors’s dormant period so no immediate replies.

Pending responses from the East Coasters, I thought I’d start the ball rolling on the admittedly flimsy basis of having spent a few days sailing from Wolverstone Marina.

I live in Oxford and keep my boat (Rondo - sail no 123) in a barn just north of Banbury. I sail in Scotland, Solent, Cornwall, the Lakes, the Broads and East Coast. Hence I am as much of a trailer as a sailor. From this I can vouch for ease of towing and ease of launching. Other than at Association rallies, where there are masses of helping hands, I am nearly always solo so although launch and recovering can be done single handed, I have started treating myself to a tractor launch. £20/30 is worth the time and hassle saving, and it’s essential to have a someone on the vehicle if there’s no pontoon at the slipway (this applies at Woolverstone and Levington). The Bay Cruiser is lighter of course, but the same considerations apply as for our Cape Cutters when launching single handed.

The Cape Cutter, with its variety of sail configurations and ease of reefing, can make way against river tides in most winds and the hull shape takes the sea very well, so you’d be good for the coastal stretches between the rivers too.

Have you had a look at the film of the 2019 CA19 Association rally - https://youtu.be/49se3gnyzNQ ? That gives you a sense of a range of conditions, all very comfortable for the boat. And of course the tiny draft with plate up is very comforting in the upper reaches or in the Backwaters.

As to suitability for cruising, our rallies are normally 7-9 days long- staying at marinas or on moorings - and I don’t hear any complaints about the accommodation for this sort of duration (pace the usual preference of some skippers/crew for a proper head). Admittedly, we are a self selecting group who have all accepted the ‘headroom’ that is dictated by the beautiful lines of the boat.

Like you I thought very hard when choosing a boat in 2016. As soon as I had found the Cape Cutter I was pretty certain it would provide what I was looking for, and the joy I have had since then, not to mention the technical help and good fellowship from the members of the Association, have completely confirmed it was the right decision.

All the best

Malcolm

[Jon Bloor]

Thanks Malcolm - that's really helpful and thank you for the insight! I'm sure you are right it's probably not the best time of year to expect people to be focussing on sailing matters, but there is no major rush from my perspective so hopefully as spring comes around people will come out of hibernation.

I have looked at that video and a few of the other association videos and they do showcase the boat really nicely and give a good indication of how capable they are. It's also really impressive to have such a good turnout of boats.

I think the main area which is harder to evaluate from the videos is the interior / accommodation which is partly why I would like to have a look at one in reality. I am going to head down to the boat show in September as Honor Marine will be there, but a new boat isn't really within my budget unfortunately. Ultimately the CC19 is pretty much the opposite of our current boat which has stacks of accommodation, but very mediocre sailing performance, so I'm expecting the headroom restrictions, but it's something you can really only appreciate once you have been below decks I guess.

Anyway, thanks very much for your reply which has been very helpful!

Jon

[Nick Phillips]

Jon
Many apologies for this very later reply. I am one of the silent Suffolk based CC19 owners. I am based at Orwell Yacht Club in Ipswich, however I should say that I bought CC85 Minnie only last Autumn and have not yet sailed her on the East Coast. For many of the same reasons you, Minnie was a 'downsize' for me.

So, I cannot wax lyrical about the fantastic sailing performance of the CC19 from personal experience - but you will have seen from this forum, the many videos on YouTube and Facebook (if you sail in that river) that there are plenty of owners who can and do.
But I can offer you a view of Minnie and, once she is launched, a sail too if you would like. I live near Harleston in Norfolk and the boat is currently in my drive if you want to see her out of the water. I am hoping to be in the water around or shortly after Easter.

I can also share some of my own reasoning for choosing Minnie in case it is of interest. I was seeking to improve the balance of work & cost to sailing havings sailed classic wooden boats for many years. I started with an open mind on classes, except the had to be gaff rig and shoal draft and in the 19-22' range. After many months I whittled the list to two and the Cape Cutter won - large rig for light air performace, proper ballast, good reputation for seaworthiness, shallow draft and ability to take (East Coast) ground comfortatbly, well-positioned outboard well, four berths (grandkids), practical if 'stark' interior, good-looking, active owners association.

Minnie has already given me hours of pleasure - poring through this site, Youtube videos, planning my own trips and tidying her up. I am already enjoying the time saving in her being GRP! The headroom is limited but not uncomfortably so and I find the boat much more pleasant inside than the Shrimper. Very functional and practical. The 'downsize' is requiring a re-think on what gear I think I need on board but I am enoying that process too!

I'll stop rambling. Let me know if you want to see Minnie.

Cheers
Nick

[Jon Bloor]

Thanks Nick

That's very helpful and much appreciated. I drive past the Orwell Yacht Club several days a week so I know it well. Our boat is at RHYC at Woolverstone so not far away at all.

It would be fantastic to see Minnie when you have her down here - there is no immediate rush as my plan is to try and come to a final decision about downsizing at the end of this season. I will drop you a PM if I can work out how to do it!

Thank you for the thought process behind your decision to go with the CC19 as well which is also very useful, and a lot of the same factors I am considering. Just out of interest what was number 2 on your list?

All the best

Jon

[Nick Phillips]

Hi Jon.

Just found the PM and will respond.
The runner-up was a Golant Gaffer. Stunningly beautiful, fast, seaworthy. But too deep, inboard engine, more maintenance.

Cheers
Nick