C&C Corvette 31 Buyer's Guide
The C&C Corvette 31 on the used market is a 1966–1971 Canadian centreboard sloop from Belleville Marine Yards, a 31-foot fiberglass cruiser-racer drawn to the old CCA rule with shoal-draft versatility and a documented race pedigree. With 167 vessels built and production ended by the closure of the Belleville operation, surviving boats are mostly original or lightly refitted, and the class’s active owners association makes background research easier than for many obscure 1960s designs.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Corvette shares the same centreboard-keel hull: 31 ft 2½ in overall, 22 ft 6 in waterline, 9 ft 1 in beam, 8,545 lb displacement, and a board-up draft of 3 ft 3 in that extends to 7 ft. Below you will find standing headroom, four berths, and capacity for five, with a spartan interior and an eight-foot cockpit served by a centreboard trunk that stays out of the living space. The moderate deckhouse and wide decks are consistent across the fleet, so layout differences between boats are mostly about upholstery, engine, and gear rather than footprint.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The standard auxiliary was the Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine with direct drive, but some boats have been repowered to diesel — a meaningful upgrade for buyers who want odor-free motoring and easier fuel handling. A smaller group of owners instead fitted a reduction gear and a larger propeller to the Atomic 4 for better thrust. Sail inventory is worth checking: one well-sailed example raced the southern circuit with Hood sails, so good membrane or woven sailcloth is a plus. Otherwise the boat is mechanically simple, and most upgrades cluster around drivetrain and canvas rather than complex systems.
What to Inspect
Deck-core condition is the first concern: some owners complain of rotting balsa core from inadequate backing pieces and sealing, though the unlined hull makes below-decks repair straightforward. The ferrous centreboard on many boats has reached the age where it must be pulled, cleaned, and given an anti-corrosion paint job, and the pins and pennant typically need replacement. On the water, watch the shallow rudder — when pushed hard in brisk winds on a broad reach it will lose control and broach, a handling trait to confirm in any sea trial broaches a common occurrence.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Buyers should treat availability as opportunistic through brokers and owners-association channels. For a shopper, the short checklist is: confirm board-up draft and centreboard freedom; survey the balsa deck for soft spots; budget for centreboard pin and rust service; verify engine type and any diesel conversion; and sail her on a reach to judge rudder authority. The Corvette rewards a careful inspector with a versatile, well-ballasted shoal-draft cruiser at modest complexity.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tartan 34 C | 34.42' | $ 19,900 | 18 | 6 |
| CAL 31 | 31.5' | $ 10,500 | 16 | 4 |
| Morgan Yachts 34 | 34' | $ 32,475 | 14 | 4 |
| Pearson 33 | 32.92' | $ 19,000 | 12 | 5 |