The Capri 25 is an American trailerable

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by Frank Butler as a one design racer and first built in 1980.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 160-161. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 331.

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 McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes refere ...

, 2010. The design is sometimes confused with the

Catalina 25 The Catalina 25 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Frank Butler and first built in 1978.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 332. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. Production Th ...

, an unrelated 1978 design from the same manufacturer.

Production

The design was built by

Catalina Yachts Catalina Yachts is a U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from eight to 54 feet in length. It was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, California by Frank Butler . Catalina Yachts is one of the largest boat m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

between 1980 and 1986, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Capri 25 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig, a spooned

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

. It displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat is normally fitted with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

for docking and maneuvering. Accommodations consist of a bow "V"-berth, with two more settee berths in the main cabin. 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 u ...

consists of a sink and an

ice box An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

located under the companionway ladder. The

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 ...

is a chemical type and located under the "V"-berth in the bow. The cockpit is split, with the

mainsheet traveler A traveller is a part of the rigging of a boat or ship that provides a moving attachment point for a rope, sail or yard to a fixed part of the vessel. It may take the form of anything from a simple ring on a metal bar or a spar to, especially in a ...

just ahead of the tiller. There are two jib winches mounted on the cockpit sides and two further winches on the cabin top for the

halyard In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term ''halyard'' comes from the phrase "to haul yards". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging, were classically made of ...

s. A

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually ny ...

is used for racing. The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 171 and a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of .

Operational history

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "The Capri 25 (by Catalina) is nothing like a

... The Capri is five inches shorter on deck, three feet shorter on the waterline, and weighs almost 1,400 pounds less than the Catalina, so we suppose you could call her a Catalina "Lite," especially since her towing weight is over a ton less, so you can use a smaller, lighter towing vehicle on the highway. Besides her lower weight, she has slightly more sail area and a sleeker fin keel, so she is also faster—way faster. In fact, her average PHRF rating is 171, which is, amazingly, 3 seconds per mile less than the legendary

J/24 The J/24 is an international One-Design and Midget Ocean Racing Club trailerable keelboat class built by J/Boats and defined by World Sailing. The J/24 was created to fulfill the diverse needs of recreational sailors such as cruising, on ...

, and a whopping 54 seconds less than the Catalina 25. Needless to say, part of her weight loss is accomplished by the omission of cabin furniture and other niceties like the Catalina's on-deck anchor locker. Other weight saving is achieved by eliminating 600 pounds of ballast, and by using a then-new material, Coremat, to replace some of the hull and deck laminate. Best features: If you like round-the-buoys racing and/or socializing in a one-design fleet, this may be the boat for you. She has a bit more space below than a J/24, and six inches more headroom, but otherwise her character is in the same range. Worst features: Nothing significant noticed." Ben Towery, described buying and racing a Capri 25 in Utah for ''Sailing World'' in 2019, calling it "a sleek 1980s design, a decent interior and a wide deck".

References

{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Frank Butler Sailboat types built by Catalina Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References