Design and Construction
The Barbican 33 measures 32 feet 8 inches overall, with a 26-foot 11-inch waterline and a beam of 9 feet 7 inches. Displacement is 12,619 pounds. Her full sections and broad bow taper to a fine stern, giving her a slender run aft.
A swing keel provides shoal-draught flexibility. The boat draws 4 feet with the board raised and 6 feet 4 inches when it’s lowered for sailing swing keel for shoal draught. This arrangement trades absolute draught for flexibility in shallow anchorages and rivers.
Construction is conventional fiberglass, with a solid hull and deck. The design traces directly to Griffiths’ earlier work, and the influence of the Golden Hind 31 is apparent in the Barbican’s proportions and cabin character.
Rig and Handling
The Barbican 33 has a larger rig than Griffiths originally designed, with 550 square feet of sail area in a masthead-sloop configuration. The extra sail power comes at a cost: it makes the boat rather tender, so she requires attentive reefing as the breeze strengthens.
Wheel steering was standard, an unusual choice for a boat of this size at the time, and it places the steering position centrally in the cockpit. Despite her tenderness, the Barbican 33 has good seakeeping and performs well in context. She is a comfortable coastal and moderate offshore cruiser rather than a racing-oriented design.
Accommodations
Below, the Barbican 33 has five berths divided between two cabins. The traditional layout is generally well put together and follows classic Griffiths cruising logic: practical, enclosed, and intended for livability both at anchor and at sea rather than modern open-plan spaciousness.
That traditional character isn’t a drawback so much as a deliberate continuation of the Golden Hind lineage. It gives owners a familiar, serviceable interior arrangement, though the full-sectioned hull and fine stern limit the sense of openness found in more modern interiors.
Verdict
The Barbican 33 is a thoughtful late-period Griffiths design that combines a traditional cruising pedigree with a slightly enlarged rig. She suits sailors who value a conventional layout and shoal-draught flexibility more than outright stiffness or contemporary interior styling.
Tenderness under the bigger rig is the main handling caveat. Balanced against that are good seakeeping, solid performance for her intended role, and wheel steering as standard—all of which make her worthy of consideration as a coastal or moderate offshore cruiser.
Pros
- Swing keel provides a 4-foot shoal draught, increasing to 6 feet 4 inches under sail
- Traditional, well-executed two-cabin interior with five berths
- Good seakeeping and solid performance in context
- Wheel steering as standard, uncommon for a boat of this size
Cons
- Enlarged rig makes her rather tender
- Full sections and a fine stern limit the openness of the interior compared with modern layouts
