Bristol 32 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Hood’s 32-foot design, with Dieter Empacher as chief draftsman for Hood in the 1960s and 1970s, used a solid single-skin fiberglass laminate of mat and woven roving, hand laid-up with no fillers and molded from high-impact reinforced polyester resin. That approach gives the hull a smaller chance of delaminating than other construction methods, and owners on internet forums proclaim the boats robust and overbuilt. The hull-to-deck joint mates to an inward-turning 6- to 7-inch flange on the hull, sealed with a permanently elastic material and through-bolts. Much of the interior furniture is tabbed directly to the hull, allowing easy inspection of the hull’s innards, though the cabin overhead uses a molded liner.

Rig and Handling

The rig is typical of its day: a deck-stepped aluminum mast with single spreaders and forward and aft lowers, offered in masthead sloop form on most boats with a few yawls. Two rig sizes exist, a standard I of 38 feet and a tall rig of 40 feet. Originally delivered with hanked-on headstays, most have since been retrofitted with roller furling, and a few owners have added inner forestays for offshore versatility. Earlier boats carried tillers with primary winches bolted forward on the coaming; wheel-steered versions place the winches either side of the companionway. A properly trimmed Bristol 32 will sail upwind almost indefinitely with only an occasional helm nudge, and sailors accept about 35 degrees apparent in flat water, widening in light air or chop. The common hull-speed formula yields 6.3 knots, with 5 to 7 routine and surges to 8 in windy conditions. Some owners report a tendency to hobbyhorse when underpowered in light winds or a sloppy sea. Hood noted she sails comfortably in a big sea but may be a little too soft for bluewater sailing.

Accommodations

The interior came in two period-typical versions: a dinette to port with settee to starboard, or twin settees opposite. Forward lies a V-berth whose foot meets a bulkhead separating it from the anchor-rode locker. Marketers claimed sleeping six, though summary statistics cite five with provision for pipe berths above the settee or dinette. The head includes six sliding drawers for actual organization, and on the port side an icebox with a flat top doubles as a chart table. To maximize interior volume, Hood widened the cabin trunk as far as possible; coupled with the narrow beam, the sidedecks are narrow, with lower shrouds aggravating movement on the windward side.

Known Issues

Gelcoat cracks and crazes appear at stanchion bases and other stress points under sun, flexing, and hardware loads. Access to the engine and especially the shaft log is tight regardless of power plant, a detail repeatedly remarked in owner forums. The companionway uses a step-over sill rather than a bridge deck, though one Atlantic-circle owner added the latter.

Refits and Ownership

Most original Atomic 4 gas auxiliaries have more than likely been replaced by a small diesel. Some boats have had original fiberglass hatches swapped for modern hinged ones, and a few owners relocated the mainsheet traveler to the top of the cabin across the sea hood. A few extended the transom by a foot to meet the Newport-to-Bermuda minimum length. The fixed-blade propeller runs in a cutout in the rudder. Period detailing includes Dorade boxes molded into the cabintop each side of the mast, a forward hatch over the forecabin that opens fore or aft, and a deck cowling shaped to receive a spray dodger.

The Verdict

The Bristol 32 is a serious small cruiser from the CCA era: solidly built, offshore-proven with a circumnavigation and Atlantic circle to her name, and forgiving on the wind. Her narrow decks and tight mechanical access are the trade-offs for a voluminous, inspectable interior and a tough full-keel hull.

Pros