The Capri 26 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by

Frank W. Butler Frank Willis Butler (January 17, 1928 – November 15, 2020) was the founder of Catalina Yachts, one of the biggest boat designers and manufacturers in the world. The early Wesco years Born in California in 1928, Butler started his career ...

and Gerry Douglas as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several hu ...

- racer and first built in 1990.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 282.

International Marine S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

/ McGraw-Hill, 2010.

Production

The design was built by Catalina Yachts in the United States from 1990 to 1999, with 320 boats completed, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Capri 26 was designed in response to customer feedback from owners of smaller Capri series sailboats. Prospective buyers were looking for a slightly bigger boat with more "large boat" comforts and enough space for a family, while retaining the capability to be road transported by

boat trailer A boat trailer is designed to launch, retrieve, carry and sometimes store boats. Commercial boat trailers Commercial hydraulic boat trailers are used by marinas, boat yards, boat haulers, boat dealers and boat builders. Generally this type ...

. The Capri 26 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wooden trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a walk-through reverse transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel or optional shoal draft,

wing keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht ''Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of ''Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the winged ...

. The boat is fitted with a inboard two-cylinder diesel engine for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with two straight settees which can be joined over the lower-able

drop-leaf table A drop-leaf table is a table that has a fixed section in the center and a hinged section (leaf) on either side that can be folded down (dropped). If the leaf is supported by a bracket when folded up, the table is simply a drop-leaf table; if the ...

in the main cabin and an aft cabin with a large double berth under the cockpit. The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

is located on the starboard side just forward of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, commonly in ...

ladder. The galley is equipped with a two-burner recessed stove, an ice box and a sink with a pressurized water supply. The spacious

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

is located just aft of companionway on the port side. Cabin headroom is . Ventilation is provided by four opening main cabin ports, plus one in the cockpit that provides fresh air to the aft cabin beneath. The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 210 and a hull speed of .

Variants

;Capri 26 fin keel :Model with a fin keel and a draft of . It displaces and carries of ballast. ;Capri 26 wing keel :Model with a shoal draft wing keel and a draft of . It displaces and carries of ballast.

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "the Capri 26 (actually 23' 8" on deck because of her sharply raked transom) is full of big-boat features, which might make her desirable to the big-and-tall crowd. Headroom is over six feet, and the beam of almost ten feet allows a humungus double berth in the main cabin—good for a couple sailing without kids or guests, but maybe not so good for overnight parties of four or more. Best features: Cockpit seats are deep and comfortable ... Worst features: The aft berth can feel somewhat constricted to those with claustrophobia. Racing the boat is a good possibility for those of competitive spirit, with her HRFhandicap of 210 and max speed of 6.4 notsdue to her long waterline, but skippers should remember to stow all heavy gear ashore. Though the bow and stern areas might look tempting as stowage areas, for best boat speed they should be kept empty of any heavy gear—and there is no significant stowage area amidships, other than on the cabin sole under the table."

References

External links