The Contessa 26 is a 7.77 meter (25.6 ft)

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 clo ...

monohull right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple logs, but these were generally unst ...

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 terminolo ...

, brought about when Jeremy Rogers, with a background in traditional wooden boatbuilding along with one of his Folkboat customers, David Sadler, created a modified version of the same boat in

glass reinforced plastic 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 clot ...

(GRP). Rigged as a masthead sloop, with a deep

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 ...

and a hull-mounted

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 ...

, the Contessa 26 was launched in 1966 and early boats proved to be very successful racers, including long-distance events. Jeremy Rogers Limited went on to produce the

Contessa 32 The Contessa 32 is a 9.75 metre (32 ft) fibreglass monohull sailing yacht, designed in 1970 by David Sadler in collaboration with yachtbuilder Jeremy Rogers, as a larger alternative to the Contessa 26. With over 750 hulls built, the yacht ...

Design evolution

The design characteristics of the Contessa 26 comes from the

Nordic Folkboat The Nordic Folkboat (Swedish: Nordisk Folkbåt) is a Swedish sailboat that was designed by and Tord Sundén as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1942. Even though Sundén drafted the plans with design ideas provided by Iversen, Sundén was ...

which was conceived by the Royal Gothenburg Sailing Club in 1939 as a new one design class for the masses which would provide more accommodation for the cruising family than the traditional Dragon Class. This idea effectively spawned a competition organised by the Swedish Sailing Association in 1940 that attracted 58 entries. Choosing one winner proved difficult so the final design was effectively decided by committee and Tord Sundén was commissioned to draw a boat based upon designs from Sweden's Jac Iversen and Denmark's Kned Olsen.''Sailing Today'' January 2007. Sometimes named the VW of the seas, the Folkboat concept was the same as Porsche's Volkswagen: to make a car/boat that was appealing across a wide section of society. In 1942 the Folkboat was as much a creation of the century of the common man as the bicycle. It's one of the most popular designs of all time and Loibner says there are more than 4,000 still around. With her graceful lines, acutely raked transom and easily handled rig, she proved almost as fast as a Dragon, and considerably more seaworthy.

Production history

The Contessa 26 was first manufactured by Jeremy Rogers in Lymington, England in 1966. The Rogers boat works built approximately 350 Contessa 26s from 1966 to 1977, after which the moulds were sold to Chris Carrington of Maclan Marine, Lymington, who produced a few more during 1977/8. Another set of moulds was shipped to Canada, where they were built until 1990 under licence by J. J. Taylor & Sons Ltd. of Toronto. J.J. Taylors built another 400 or so boats, originally being sold as Contessa 26s, but after 1984 being called J J Taylor 26s - some of these later boats had a slightly modified deck moulding with an enlarged 'hump' by the hatchway to give greater headroom, and a slightly revised interior layout, although the hull always remained the same.

Major race results

1970 Round Britain Mike McMullen with Martin Read as crew took ''Binkie'', the smallest entrant to 1st place in the Handicap Class in the Observer/Daily Express Round Britain Race after 27 days and 15 hours of racing. 1972 Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) Richard Clifford completed in ''Shamaal'', taking 38 days and 25th place out of 55 starters. 1974 Round Britain Richard Clifford with David Barrie as crew sailed ''Shamaal ll'' to 14th place out of 61 starters, after 25 days and 20 hours of racing. 1976 Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race (OSTAR) David Sutcliffe skippered ''St Anne of St Donat's'' to a 43rd-place finish in a time of 44 days and 3 hours.''Royal Western Yacht Club 1976 OSTAR Results'' . In the same race Richard Clifford sailed ''Shamaal II'', finishing in 33 days and 12 hours to take 18th place in the J Class, 30th Overall out of a starting field of 125 of which 73 finished.

Operational history

In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "The Contessa 26 ... is clearly robust and overbuilt, and it has to rate as one of the very best ocean-going production boats in its size category. For example, it has no sliding hatch over the main companionway, a feature which makes the cabin roof much stronger and better able to withstand a pounding in an offshore storm. Evidence of this boat's abilities as a bluewater cruiser can be found in the fact that it was chosen by both Tania Aebi and Brian Caldwell in their separate attempts to set the record as the youngest person to complete a single-handed circumnavigation. Because of the nature and origins of this design, the Contessa 26 has a narrow beam and limited elbow room down below." In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: Good sea boat, very good tracking ability (good for windvane steering), good pointing ability. She also looks pretty. Worst features: Low coach roof and narrow beam give the cabin a closed-in feeling. There's no space to stand up under a companionway hatch, since there is no hatch; instead, a “bubble” facilitates entry to the cabin. Low freeboard gives a wet ride in rough conditions. Some boats need

scuppers A scupper is an opening in the side walls of a vessel or an open-air structure, which allows water to drain instead of pooling within the bulwark or gunwales of a vessel, or within the curbing or walls of a building. There are two main kinds of s ...

relocated."Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 337. International Marine/

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. Peter Hancock tells of his travels in Kylie in Sailing out of Silence, Sailing into Sunshine, and Sailing Home. Several transoceanic voyages have been completed, including two circumnavigations: by

Tania Aebi Tania Aebi (born October 7, 1966) is an American sailor. She completed a solo circumnavigation of the globe in a 26-foot sailboat between the ages of 18 and 21, finishing it in 1987, making her the first American woman and the youngest person ( ...

in ''Varuna'', as described in her book Maiden Voyage, and by Brian Caldwell who in 1995 aged 19, began a journey of in ''Mai Miti Vavau'' to become, at the time, the youngest person to sail around the world alone. These latter two sailed in the J. J. Taylor built Canadian version of the 26. Australian Nick Jaffe sailed singlehanded in his Jeremy Rogers 1972 Contessa 26 named ''Constellation'', to Sydney, Australia. He set off from Monnikendam, the Netherlands on 17 September 2007 and arrived in Sydney in the early hours on 1 February 2010. Canadian Stéphane Tremblay, sailed singlehanded and engineless from Sandy Hook, New Jersey to Spain via the Azores and back against the trade wind, aboard his J.J. Taylor Contessa 26 ''Joshua III'' on 15 May 2008.''Stéphane Tremblay, S/V Joshua III'' http://www.peacefuljourney.ca

References

External links