The Cal 39 is an American sailboat that was designed by

C. William Lapworth Charles William Lapworth (12 December 1919 – 3 April 2006) was an American naval architect who designed a large number of sailboats, many of them for Cal Yachts. He was active as a designer from the early 1950s until the 1980s. Described as ...

as a racer-

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 ...

and first built in 1970. The boat was introduced just before the adoption of the

International Offshore Rule The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America (CCA) rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) rule. Rule context - past and present rating ...

(IOR) for racing and, as a consequence of not meeting that rule, saw low sales numbers. It was not in production long and was replaced by the Cal 39 Mark II.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 330-331. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

The design was built by Jensen Marine/Cal Yachts (

Bangor Punta Bangor Punta Corporation (traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE under the symbol BNK) was an American conglomerate and Fortune 500, ''Fortune'' 500 company in existence from 1964 to 1984. The corporation was a result of the merger of the Punta ...

) in the United States. The company built 29 examples of the type starting in 1970 and ending in 1971, but it is now out of production. Production of the design was cut short when first year sales did not match expectations, due to the boat not fitting the newly adopted IOR racing rules. It was replaced in the product line by the newly designed Cal 39 Mark II in 1978. The Mark II was later supplanted by the

Cal 39 Mark III The Cal 39 Mark II and Cal 39 Mark III are a series of American sailboats that were designed by C. William Lapworth as racer- cruisers to fit the International Offshore Rule and first built in 1978.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sai ...

in 1983 and then the

Cal 39 (Hunt/O'Day) The Cal 39 (Hunt/O'Day) is an American sailboat that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt and Associates as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1988. The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Cal 39, but is now usually referre ...

in 1988. All four designs were sold as "Cal 39s".

Design

The Cal 39 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a slightly raised counter reverse transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction wi ...

and a fixed fin keel. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. A tall rig was available, with a mast about higher. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional deep draft keel. The boat is fitted with a British

Perkins Engines Perkins Engines Company Limited, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc since 1998, is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including agricultural, construction, material handling, power generation, and industrial. It was establis ...

4108 diesel engine for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of .

References

{{Cal Yachts Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Bill Lapworth Sailboat types built by Cal Yachts

Production

Design

See also

References