contessa 26 sailboat

• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Newsletters
• Sailboat Reviews
• Boating Safety
• Sailing Totem
• Charter Resources
• Destinations
• Galley Recipes
• Living Aboard
• Sails and Rigging
• Maintenance
• Best Marine Electronics & Technology

Contessa 26

• By Ryan Langley
• Updated: March 27, 2012

For a boat to become legendary, it doesn’t have to be particularly fast or of groundbreaking design. It only needs that special spark that captures the sailing world’s hearts and minds long enough for it to go down in history. A number of boats with that quality come quickly to my mind—the S&S 34, Flicka 20, Swan 38, Valiant 40—but none holds the same place in my memories as the Contessa 26.

I grew up reading of feats accomplished aboard Contessas by Tania Aebi, Brian Caldwell, and John Kretschmer, so when the Australian adventurer Jesse Martin asked if I’d like to deliver his Contessa 26 from Grand Bahama, in the Bahamas, to Panama and through the Canal, I jumped at the opportunity.

The Contessa 26 was drawn up in 1965 by Jeremy Rodgers, who’d built Folkboats for a number of years, and David Sadler, who had ideas on how to improve the design. They took the classic Folkboat, modified the keel, added more sail area forward for racing performance, changed the layout and deck structure, and built it of fiberglass instead of wood. Four decades later, the popular and widely loved vessel is still safely taking sailors to the far reaches of the globe.

Right away, the Contessa 26 proved itself a strong, seaworthy vessel. It performed well in the Round Britain and Ireland Race and the OSTAR solo transatlantic race, but the brave little boat really became famous when 18-year-old Tania Aebi chose the design for her solo circumnavigation in 1985 and her adventures in Varuna were published in Cruising World . In 1996, Brian Caldwell sailed a Contessa to become the first to circumnavigate under the age of 21.

The Contessa 26 is good-looking, with low freeboard and a narrow beam. For such a small boat, it has a large cockpit, which is nice for having guests aboard and daysailing but a potential danger when filled with water at sea. When sailing, the Contessa heels over quickly, but it soon steadies up and can carry full sail in up to 20 knots of wind.

It doesn’t take much wind to get the boat moving, and it can comfortably make 120-nautical-mile days on passages. After sailing the boat upwind for 300 miles through the Bahamas, I’ll admit that its upwind performance isn’t impressive, but it makes up for it with its ability to survive almost any storm.

The single-spreader sloop rig could easily be converted into a cutter with running backstays and an inner forestay for offshore performance and safety. On some boats, the halyards and reefing lines have been led aft to the cockpit for easy handling. For those who prefer to work forward at sea, the wide side decks and ample handholds permit safe passage to the foredeck.

Down below, the boat has a V-berth forward and a small head and hanging locker aft of that. A small galley and navigation table are positioned aft of the main bulkhead, and two sea berths complete the accommodations. There’s no standing headroom below, which can get old after a few days locked up in the cabin at sea, and the poor air circulation could benefit from added vents, but the boat has everything a singlehander really needs for long-distance voyaging.

Jeremy Rogers built about 350 Contessa 26s in the United Kingdom, and another 400 were built by J.J. Taylor in Canada. At listed prices from $10,000 to $15,000, used boats are an affordable option for sailors who want to safely head offshore on a budget.

CONTESSA 26 LOA 25′ 6″ (7.77m.) LWL 21′ 0″ (6.40m.) Beam 7′ 6″ (2.29m.) Draft 4′ 0″ (1.22m.) Sail Area (100%) 304 sq. ft. (28.2 sq. m.) Ballast 2,300 lb. (1,043 kg.) Displacement 5,400 lb. (2,449 kg.) Ballast/D .43 D/L 260 SA/D 15.8 Water 10 gal. (37 l.) Fuel 11 gal. (45 l.) Engine Various Designer David Sadler/Jeremy Rodgers

Ryan Langley is a 19-year-old adventurer, sailor, writer, and musician from Port Angeles, Washington.

• More: 21 - 30 ft , before 2000 , Bluewater Cruising , keelboat , monohull , Sailboat Reviews , Sailboats , sailboats classic plastic
• More Sailboats

Meet the Bali 5.8

Celebrating a Classic

New to the Fleet: Italia Yachts 12.98

Leopard 40 Prelude Listed For Sale

The Moorings Expands in Croatia

C-Map Updates North America Charts

St. Vincent Court Orders Deportation For Hijacking Suspects

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Florida Travel + Life
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Cruising World may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site.

Copyright © 2024 Cruising World. A Bonnier LLC Company . All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

Discovering the classic Contessa 26 Thousand Knights III. VIDEO

My Classic Boat team is out on The Solent with Richard Pickance and crew on his 1978 classic Contessa 26, Thousand Knights III.

Filmed at the Cowes Classic Week, they’ve got on-board interviews and exclusive video of the race start.

If you like it, don’t forget to subscribe to My Classic Boat YouTube channel and you’ll get news of the latest videos from the world’s most watched vintage boat channel.

Copyright, Bob Aylott, myclassicboat.com music The Green Orbs.

About the Contessa 26

The Contessa 26 is a 7.77 meter (25.6 ft) fiberglass monohull sailboat, 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 GRP. Rigged as a masthead sloop, with a deep keel and a hull-mounted rudder, the sailboat 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 design characteristics of the Contessa 26 comes from the Nordic Folkboat 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.

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.

The countdown has begun for the new ICE 66 rs

Lagoon 60, freedom of space and panoramic views, setting sail with swan 51: a milestone in performance cruisers, sailing nandji ep 346 sailing plans preparing to cross oceans, live your passion, subscribe to our mailing list.

• Yachting World
• Digital Edition

Meow, a supercharged Contessa 26 with 3Di sails and seriously tweaked rig and gear

• August 21, 2015

The Contessa 26 has a good reputation for performing well overall in the big races and Meow’s owner Chris Charlesworth has gone further than most to optimise her chances. Rupert Holmes asks him how – and why – he did it

A long-standing tenet of big fleet handicap racing is that either a very fast boat, or a very slow one, is likely to have an advantage compared with those in middle rating bands. This is regularly borne out in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race , which has been won by fast boats, most notably in recent years TP52s, and by some of the very slowest in the IRC fleet. Over the years successful small boats have included quarter and mini-tonners, as well as H-Boats, Folkboats and Contessa 26s.

Although inspired by the Folkboat, the Contessa, which dates from 1965, is even heavier and more underpowered than the Scandinavian classic. This results in a rating that’s typically 20 points lower than that of a one-design Folkboat.

In 2002 and 2003 Jeremy Rogers, racing with his sons, won the Gold Roman Bowl sailing Rosina of Beaulieu , and followed this up with another win in 2006. Five years later, Rogers’s nephew Nick, a double Olympic Silver medallist, achieved the same result in 2011 in Jo Hutchinson’s Sundowner , following it up with a 2nd place in the next race, both of which were windy editions of the event.

After the 2012 race Sundowner was bought by former professional offshore powerboat racer Chris Charlesworth, who renamed her Meow . “I identified the boat as being one with a good pedigree and a lot of potential, so it would be worth spending time and effort to get it absolutely right,” he says.

He recognised at the outset that simply having a low-rated boat is not enough on its own to be assured of success in the Round the Island Race – it was clear to him that a boat that was as well prepared as the professionally maintained TP52s at the other end of the fleet would have an advantage.

“Although the boat had previously been successful, it had been used hard and thrashed in strong wind races,” Charlesworth says. “Everything had to be replaced – even the bulkheads and chainplates needed attention.”

Refitted to a higher standard

While Meow ’s age was clearly part of the reason for this remedial work being needed, a further problem was that when the boat was built the Dacron sails and polyester running rigging of the time were very stretchy, but with modern lines and sails, peak loads transmitted to the boat are very much higher.

Meow therefore needed to be refitted to a higher standard than the original specification. This necessitated moving the genoa tracks from the bulwarks, where they were screwed in place and always leaked, to an inboard position where they could be bolted through the deck.

On the positive side, while older raceboats are renowned for bending in the middle when backstay is applied, Meow ’s long keel ties the structure together, with the only movement possible in the overhangs. Nevertheless, the main bulkhead was removed and strengthened to take the compression loads from the deck-stepped mast.

The hull has also received a great deal of attention to get a perfectly fair finish. “There’s a lot of wetted surface area,” Charlesworth says, “so the finish has to be perfect.” He’s now happy with the result, having had the entire hull painstakingly faired and coated in Durepox by David Heritage Racing Yachts. As Meow is drysailed, antifouling is not needed and she looks superb in black and white.

Rig and sail plan

The most important changes beyond the structural work were to the rig and sail plan. “Sail area is a key issue for these boats and initially I optimised for a blow,” says Charlesworth. “This was partly because, as Sundowner , the boat had had 1st and 2nd places in the Round the Island in really windy years, but my first RTI was a very reachy one that the TP52s won. Other races that season indicated that more area in the mainsail and spinnakers was needed.”

After moving the boat to Cowes, where she is now drysailed from Shepards Wharf, Gerry Faram of Sailcare suggested working with North Sails might be worthwhile. This led to North’s Dave Lenz developing a trial suit of 3Di sails for the 26-footer, which at the time were the smallest the company had made.

To take advantage of the single furling headsail benefit IRC offers Meow and provide ample drive she has a 155 per cent genoa on a custom-made, low-profile, continuous line furling drum produced by Sailspar in Colchester. Although the furler lifts the tack of the sail off the deck, the genoa is cut to sweep the deck and take advantage of the end plate effect. Spinnakers include a Code 0 plus two symmetric sails, a reacher and a runner.

Optimising the deck gear

When he bought the boat Charlesworth asked Nick Rogers what he would recommend changing – he suggested moving the traveller to the coachroof, getting a new rig and replacing the tiller. Charlesworth appears to have little appetite for compromise, at least where raceboats are concerned, and has therefore put a huge amount of energy into getting the deck layout exactly how he wants it.

He says he spent a long time optimising systems, “especially the layout of controls and getting the purchases right and so on. After a lot of effort we think we’ve got it right now.”

Two examples of his meticulous attention to detail stand out. First, he spent a great deal of time sourcing a small-diameter foil for the furler, one with only provision for one luff track, to minimise wind resistance and weight aloft. Similarly, a great deal of research was needed to find the narrow-diameter, two-speed primary winches that fit on the same pedestal as the original single-speed models.

Once Charlesworth had assembled the deck gear, he got Cowes-based Brett Aarons to fit the new hardware. Aarons sailed on board before work started so that he could add his considerable experience. Lenz also had a critical look over the deck fittings and, among other things, suggested the cranked stanchions on the foredeck that enable both the genoa and the Code 0 to sheet inside the rail.

Meow on the water

“These are difficult boats to sail well,” says Charlesworth, “you can’t pinch and they take a very long time to accelerate.” Among other things, he has done lots of work on rudder angles. “It’s a big rudder, but doesn’t give a great deal of feel,” he explains, “so it’s really hard to feel the difference between five and ten degrees of helm.” That’s a sharp contrast with a Folkboat, which points much higher and gives more feedback on the helm.

“I don’t think there’s anything I’ve overlooked now in terms of rating,” says Charlesworth and Meow is down to minimum weight, tipping the scales at exactly the builder’s original figures, whereas most Co26s with endorsed IRC certificates are notably heavier. She is therefore quick compared with other Contessa 26s, especially in light airs – winning the Nationals in five-six knots last year, as well as taking 3rd overall in the very light-airs Round the Island Race. “We haven’t sailed her much in more than around 15 knots yet and are looking forward to our first Round the Island in a big wind.”

Of course, successful owners are always looking for incremental improvements and when we caught up with Meow at the beginning of the 2015 season Charlesworth was talking of experimenting with small tweaks to the furler height and mast rake as the next stage of refining his boat’s performance.

Race successes

1st overall , Contessa 26 Association Spring Regatta

1st in Class 6 , JOG Nab Tower Race

1st in Class 2 , Royal Southampton YC Double Handed inshore series

3rd in Class 2 , Spinlock IRC double-handed nationals

3rd overall , JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race

1st overall , Contessa 26 Nationals

See also our guide to the best routes to take in the Round the Island Race

The ultra-low profile furler that enables Meow to take advantage of the rating benefit IRC gives to 130 per cent furling genoas was supplied by Sailspar in Colchester

One of the first changes to the Contessa 26 was a new coachroof-mounted mainsheet traveller, on the recommendation of Nick Rogers, her former skipper

The original wooden tiller bent considerably under load – its carbon replacement is no lighter, but is considerably stiffer

Proper backstay chainplates replace the original U-bolts through the deck

This is an extract from the July 2015 issue of Yachting World

Contessa 26

The contessa 26 is a 25.5ft masthead sloop designed by david sadler and built in fiberglass by jeremy rogers ltd. between 1965 and 1990., 750 units have been built..

The Contessa 26 is a heavy sailboat which is under powered. It is very stable / stiff and has an excellent righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a coastal cruiser.

Contessa 26 for sale elsewhere on the web:

Main features

Login or register to personnalize this screen.

You will be able to pin external links of your choice.

See how Sailboatlab works in video

We help you build your own hydraulic steering system - Lecomble & Schmitt

Accommodations

Builder data, other photos.

Modal Title

The content of your modal.

Personalize your sailboat data sheet

CALL +44 (0)2088781707

< Boats for Sale

CONTESSA 26

Boat Description

1969 Contessa 26 Immaculate, fully restored Contessa 26 'Eva Luna' (by Jeremy Rogers Ltd. of Lymington) cruising sailing yacht is For Sale by Vivid Blue Marine. 'Eva Luna' has been painstakingly restored is now a cruiser / racer sailboat that is ready to sail away for use as a cruising boat, which can also be raced. 'Eva Luna' is a beautifully restored Contessa 26 sailing yacht that has received top-to-toe care. She is immaculate condition and is a superb example of a true classic offshore cruising/racing yacht by one of Britain's designers/builders. Her hull is painted in a lustrous deep Oxford Blue with lighter blue anti-foul below the waterline. Her interior has been extensively restored and is in tremendous condition. Her sails are in good order and all have been laundered, serviced and a new UV strip fitted to the genoa. 'Eva Luna' has been fitted with a brand new YANMAR 1 GM 10 diesel engine. The engine comes supported by a three-year warranty that takes effect at first launch. 'EVA LUNA' is an early (1969) Jeremy Rogers built boat hull no.97 and is in exceptionally good condition. She was completely refurbished in 2005 with new interior woodwork and over the past 12 months has undergone a major professional refit and overhaul to a very high standard. Brand new YANMAR 1 GM 10 Diesel engine Electrics rewired, two x new batteries Sails serviced and laundered Winches serviced Seacocks replaced and serviced Hull repainted Oxford blue Coachroof, side deck and stern deck non slip repainted Mast and boom resprayed silver New anti foul, new anodes 'Eva Luna' is set up for short handed cruising with all lines led aft.

• Forum Listing
• Marketplace
• Advanced Search
• About The Boat
• Boat Review Forum
• SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

Contessa 26 for a new sailor?

• Add to quote

I''m close to buying my first sailboat. I''m looking for something in the 22-26'' range for weekend cruising, between $6,000-8,000 US, to be sailed on Lake Ontario. I''ll be single handing 75% of the time, and want something manageable and relatively stable in different weather conditions (I have some experience on 28-33'' sloops, but I''m very rusty). I want this boat to help teach me the principles I''ll need to move up to something more ambitious in another 5 years. The Contessa 26 caught my eye recently -- it looks like it would satisfy all my criteria. Does anyone have experience with this boat, or know of any serious flaws I should be aware of? Have also been looking at Tanzer 7.5s, and Shark 24s. Much obliged, Fraser  

Fraser, you probably already know that both Tania Abi (sp?) and Brian Caldwell did solo circumnavigations on Contessa 26 boats, so she is certainly built to take those Lake storms. You don''t mention crew so I''ll mention that she gets less effective at higher angles of heel (note the rudder location/angle/size), but generally she enjoys a good reputation as a sailor (something many boats actually don''t). Other boats in your size/price range are the Albin (Swedish-built) Vega 27'' and Ballad 29/30. These were carefully built and therefore relatively light, but wonderful boats to sail. A young man sailed a Vega to the So. Pacific from Washington State and then wrote a book about it (Log of the Mahina by John Neal). Ballads & Vegas have done many ocean crossings despite their sizes. The Ballad is probably above your price range by several $K but I have seen recent ads for the Vega in the $8K range (asking price). Jack  

The Contessa 26''s are nice little Folkboat derived sloops. Like most of the Folkboat derivatives they have a strong cult following. As a former Folkboat owner, there is a lot to be said for these boats in terms of seaworthiness and classic lines. The down side is that they are painfully slow when compared to more modern designs, don''t sail worth a darn in light winds, and are quite cramped down below. In my life I have owned five 25 footers, from a 1939 Stadel Cutter to a 1981 Kirby 25. Boats have changed a lot over the years. More modern designs really are more fun to sail in most conditions, are easier to sail well, and are more responsive providing a better learning experience. When you have learned to sail them, more modern designs can handle rough weather quite well, albeit perhaps not with the ease of a Contessa. Good luck Jeff  

Thanks Jack and Jeff The feedback here and on Usenet has validated my choice. I''m not looking for a racer, so I''m ok with a slower ride on a Contessa. Sounds like it will be a good boat to learn on, if my long-term goal is to move up to something larger for offshore cruising. Thanks again guys. Fraser  

Check out the contessa website. contessa26.net. i don''t own one or know anything about them but they are great looking boats.  

• ?            
• 173.7K members

Top Contributors this Month

Home > Find Your Sail > Search by Make and Model > Contessa > Contessa 26

Contessa 26

" * " indicates required fields

Step 1 of 3

Let's Get to Know Each Other

Let's connect, contessa 26 sailboat.

Contessa 26 was brought into life by boat builder, Jeremy Rogers and his Folkboat customer, David Sadler. It was launched in 1966, and it was known to be a successful racer even in long-distance events. Contessa 26 generally gathered positive reviews and was known as one of the favorites of many sailors. The Rogers boats by Jeremy Rogers produced 350 Contessa 26s between 1966 and 1967, and then the molds were sold.

A Racing Sloop With a Winning Streak

The design was taken from the Nordic Folkboat, which was also adopted from the Royal Gothenburg Sailing Club in 1939. It has a deep keel and a hull-mounted rudder, and it was rigged as a masthead sloop.

Contessa 26 has a mainsail area of 120 ft square, jib/genoa area of 184 ft square, spinnaker area of 440 ft square, and an upwind sail area of 304 ft square. Some of the later made boats were slightly modified deck molding. The hatchway’s enlarged hump to give more considerable headroom and interior layout is also revised somewhat.

However, the hull has always been the same in all designs of Contessa 26. It is one of the best choices for fans of racing, the Contessa 26 has a rich history of winning races even long distances. If you are a yacht racing fan, then this one’s for you.

Request a Contessa 26 Quote

Looking to buy a new headsail or mainsail for your Contessa 26? Request a free quote from Precision Sails for a new custom sail. Our team will work with you to design the perfect sail for you.

Great choice! Your favorites are temporarily saved for this session. Sign in to save them permanently, access them on any device, and receive relevant alerts.

• Sailboat Guide

1974 26' JJTaylor Contessa 26

• Description

Seller's Description

Sound hull, clean deck needs paint, reset chain plates, standing and running rigging in good shape, original sails worn but intact.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

From BlueWaterBoats.org :

Designed by David Sadler and Jeremy Rodgers in the 1960s, the classic little Contessa 26, like her popular sibling the Contessa 32 , is one of the better known and loved British productions yachts, with around 650 cruising the world today. She’s a pretty boat, built from fibreglass, and owes her looks to the Swedish Folkboat whose elegant and seaworthy design influenced so many cruisers of the era. Although not speedy by today’s standards the Contessa was a fast boat for her time and established a reputation as a one-design racer with an active class association.

She’s proven very capable, and despite her size and cramped 5′ 8″ of headroom, her blue water pedigree includes several circumnavigations and a score of Atlantic and Pacific crossings. The Contessa 26 association tells us that those who buy her are traditionalists and keen sailors who appreciate her easy-to-handle and dependable performance.

The Contessa 26 was conceived in 1965 in Lymington, England from a collaboration between Jeremy Rogers and David Sadler over many late night sessions around the Rogers family dinner table. Jeremy Rogers was traditionally a builder of wooden boats and of the classic Swedish Folkboat in particular. David Sadler, one of his Folkboat customers, had the idea of tweaking the Folkboat design to give it a horizontal base to the keel so that it could ‘dry out’ upright, as well as fitting a masthead rig and a large genoa to improve racing performance. Although the design was Sadlers, Rogers has stressed that the Contessa 26 would never have been produced without the financial backing of Vernon Sainsbury of the Sainsbury grocery family who was an avid yachtsman and took a leap of faith in providing the funding for the tooling.

Rogers decided to build his modified Folkboat out of GRP and the Contessa 26 saw his boatyard change over from wood to fibreglass production. Before this Rogers had only used fibreglass for dinghies. The first boat Contessa of Lymington was manufactured and released in 1966 and, along with the next few boats off the line, was an instant hit on the racing circuit. The Contessa’s boat show debut was a tremendous success and her winning formula of good looks, easy handling, seaworthiness and affordability brought the orders rolling in. It didn’t hurt her popularity that the first few boats clocked up a number of early racing successes in both short and long distance events including a Round Britain win by Binkie , the smallest entrant there, and a twenty-fifth placing in the 1972 OSTAR (Observer Single-handed Transatlantic Race) by  Shamal . As a nice touch, thanks to the hand they had played in her production, David Sadler and Vernon Sainsbury sailed away in hulls number five and six respectively.

In total the UK production was around 400 boats. Jeremy Rogers’ boatyard built 350 from 1966 until 1977 when the yard decided that these small boats were too labour intensive to be profitable and sold the moulds to Chris Carrington. A few more boats were built  by Carrington before the moulds went to Maclan Marine who produced only a few more in 1977 and 1978. The Roger’s boatyard had also sold a set of moulds in 1969 to J. J. Taylor in Toronto, Canada who produced the Contessa 26 under licence, also making the transition from wooden boats to fibreglass production. The Canadian Contessa 26 had an identical hull but a modified deck moulding with a larger cockpit area, short aft deck and no lazarette. There were also minor differences to the interior layout. Due to problems with the license these boats were renamed the Taylor 26 from 1984 onwards and around 400 boats were produced in total before J.J. Taylor ceased business in 1990.

The two recorded circumnavigations, by Tania Aebi in Varuna (described in her book “Maiden Voyage”) and Brian Caldwell in Mai Miti Vava’u , were both in the Canadian version of the boat and there has been some debate amongst owners over which is the better version, with both camps claiming the superior design but with no hands down winner.

Configuration and Layout

The Contessa is a masthead sloop with a deep keel cut away at the forward end and the horizontal base which allows her to be dried out easily. Like the Folkboat, she has graceful lines, low freeboard and an acutely raked transom with a distinctive rudder shaft mounted to the hull. Her other distinctive feature is the exaggerated ‘hump’ at the aft end of the coach roof and keyhole companionway which replaces the standard sliding companionway hatch. This is a feature more commonly seen on modern offshore racing boats as it makes for a stronger and more waterproof companionway, as well as reducing production costs. However, it means some stooping to get below and with no overhead hatch to let in light, the interior can be dark and a little oppressive. And with only 1.73 metres of headroom below, the stooping doesn’t end at the companionway. Her short waterline and narrow beam results in only four and a half square metres of living space inside, however the cabin feels secure and ‘cocooned’ from the elements which for some is no bad thing.

The good news is that the berths are generous at between 6’3″ to 6’6″ depending on the interior layout so there is plenty of room for lying down. The Contessa 26 was originally offered with a choice of three layouts A, B or C. Layout A featured a twin v-berth with the head inbetween, the cooker and chart table opposite each other amidships and two large quarter berths aft. Layout B featured the galley to port by the companionway, two settee berths in the saloon, the head in its own compartment and a double berth forecabin. Layout C featured a two berth forecabin, the head in a separate compartment to starboard, a hanging locker opposite to port and a gimballed cooker amidships with the chart table opposite and two quarter berths aft.

On deck the 7′ 6″ beam creates some limitations with a small foredeck and narrow side decks, but a raised bulwark offers security when going forward in nasty conditions. There are also plenty of sturdy grabrails and lifelines. The cockpit is small and deep and protected by coamings but can get wet. It has been acknowledged that the cockpit in both versions is too large to be truly bluewater suitable, and in fact the Canadian boat has a larger cockpit than the British, but this fact does not not seem to have held back her owners.

The Canadian version of the 26 used the same British-made hull moulds but with a modified deck mould. In 1983 J.J. Taylor’s Gary Bannister redesigned the deck mould and interior further. Headroom was increased by extending the ‘hump’ above the companionway further into the cabin and a hatch was added amidships for improved light and ventilation. Canadian Boats prior to 1983 had no anchor locker at the bow, cast iron ballast instead of lead, no teak and holly sole, and different positioning of the water and waste tanks.

Construction

The Contessa was hand built from fibreglass and the British version has a solid fibreglass deck with no coring, an advantage for older boats as it avoids the risk of core rot commonly found in balsa cored decks of this age. The early J.J. Taylor boats appear to have been built with either a 3/8″ plywood or balsa core. Some flex is apparently noticeable in the foredeck but overall construction is robust. Her mast is stepped on deck and supported from below by a deck beam as well as a main structural bulkhead to prevent compression sagging, another issue common to older boats with deck stepped masts. The first three Contessa 26 built, and many others from the early years, are still going strong, testament to the quality of the fibreglass construction.

As reflected by her racing successes the Contessa’s windward performance is excellent and she is surprisingly fast for her size as well as being responsive and well balanced. Thanks to her small size and rig, the Contessa 26 is easy to handle in just about any conditions, making her popular with single-handers. Her large, transom mounted rudder is also particularly good for self-steering systems. Her narrow beam means that she is tender initially but with half her weight in her keel overall stability is good. ‘Reef early and reef often’ is advice that is given by some Contessa 26 owners although others maintain that this is only the case if using an original oversized (130%) headsail and that she performs admirably under a more modest 100-120% headsail with full main.

Buyer’s Notes

No major flaws have been identified. There are generally several Contessa 26s for sale on the used boat market somewhere in the world at any one time but popularity remains high and is reported to be increasing in the UK thanks to the extremely active class association and the Contessa’s ongoing success on the racing scene. Prices range from 5k-16k UK pounds or up to $18k USD for a used boat. Prospective owners are recommended to contact the Contessa 26 class association in either the US/Canada or the UK (see links below).

Links, References and Further Reading

» Sailing Today ‘What makes the Contessa so special? April 2007 by Peter Poland » Contessa 26: A tradition in fibreglass by Paul Howard » The Contessa 26 – A Brief History (Contessa 26 Class Association) by Peter de Jersey » The Contessa Corner: A site for owner’s, sailors and dreamers (USA and Canada Group Site) » Jeremy Roger’s Boatyard, UK Contessa 26: Introduction

This listing is presented by SailboatListings.com . Visit their website for more information or to contact the seller.

View on SailboatListings.com

Embed this page on your own website by copying and pasting this code.

Similar Sailboats For Sale

1978 Contessa 26

1979 JJ Taylor Contessa 26

• About Sailboat Guide

©2024 Sea Time Tech, LLC

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.