With a displacement of nearly 11,000 pounds—and more when loaded for cruising—a full keel, and medium draft, the Bristol 32 was conceived as a cruising boat rather than a daysailer.
Design and Construction
Hood developed the 32-foot design while Dieter Empacher was his chief draftsman during the 1960s and 1970s. The hull is a solid, single-skin fiberglass laminate of mat and woven roving. It was hand laid-up without fillers and molded from high-impact reinforced polyester resin. This construction gives the hull a lower chance of delamination than other methods, and owners on internet forums describe the boats as robust and overbuilt.
At the hull-to-deck joint, the deck meets an inward-turning, 6- to 7-inch flange on the hull. The joint is sealed with a permanently elastic material and secured with through-bolts. Much of the interior furniture is tabbed directly to the hull, making the hull’s inner surfaces easy to inspect, although the cabin overhead has a molded liner.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The rig is typical of its period: a deck-stepped aluminum mast with single spreaders and forward and aft lower shrouds. Most boats were built as masthead sloops, with a few yawls. Two rig sizes were available: a standard rig with an I measurement of 38 feet and a tall rig measuring 40 feet.
The boats originally had hanked-on headsails, but most have since been retrofitted with roller furling. A few owners have also added inner forestays for greater offshore versatility. Early boats had tiller steering and primary winches bolted forward on the coaming. On wheel-steered versions, the winches sit on either side of the companionway.
Properly trimmed, a Bristol 32 will sail upwind almost indefinitely with only an occasional nudge of the helm. Sailors accept about 35 degrees apparent in flat water, with the angle widening in light air or chop. The common hull-speed formula gives 6.3 knots; speeds of 5 to 7 knots are routine, with surges to 8 knots in windy conditions.
Some owners report that the boat tends to hobbyhorse when underpowered in light winds or in a sloppy sea. Hood noted that she sails comfortably in a big sea but may be a little too soft for bluewater sailing.
Accommodations and Deck Layout
The interior came in two layouts typical of the period: a dinette to port with a settee to starboard, or twin settees opposite. Forward is a V-berth whose foot meets the bulkhead separating the cabin from the anchor-rode locker. Marketing material claimed berths for six, although summary statistics list five, with provision for pipe berths above the settee or dinette.
The head has six sliding drawers, providing useful organization. On the port side, an icebox with a flat top doubles as a chart table. To maximize interior volume, Hood made the cabin trunk as wide as possible. Combined with the boat’s narrow beam, this leaves narrow sidedecks, and the lower shrouds make movement on the windward side more awkward.
Period deck details include Dorade boxes molded into the cabintop on either side of the mast. The forward hatch over the forecabin can open either forward or aft, and a deck cowling is shaped to receive a spray dodger.
Machinery and Known Issues
Most of the original Atomic 4 gasoline auxiliaries have more than likely been replaced by a small diesel. Regardless of the power plant, access to the engine—and especially to the shaft log—is tight, a limitation repeatedly mentioned in owner forums. The fixed-blade propeller runs in a cutout in the rudder.
Gelcoat cracks and crazing can appear at stanchion bases and other stress points exposed to sun, flexing, and hardware loads. The companionway has a step-over sill rather than a bridge deck, although one owner who completed an Atlantic circle added a bridge deck.
Refits and Ownership
Some boats have had their original fiberglass hatches replaced with modern hinged hatches. A few owners have moved the mainsheet traveler to the cabintop, across the sea hood. A few owners extended the transom by a foot to meet the Newport-to-Bermuda minimum-length requirement.
The Verdict
The Bristol 32 is a serious small cruiser from the CCA era. She’s solidly built, forgiving on the wind, and offshore-proven, with a circumnavigation and an Atlantic circle to her name. Her narrow decks and tight mechanical access are the trade-offs for a voluminous, readily inspected interior and a tough, full-keel hull.
Pros
- Solid, hand-laid hull with a low risk of delamination and easy interior inspection
- Ability to hold an upwind course with little helm input, plus proven offshore passage-making
- Two interchangeable interior layouts and thoughtful storage in the head
Cons
- Narrow sidedecks and awkward movement on the windward side
- Tight access to the engine and shaft log
- Gelcoat crazing around hardware stress points
