With a loaded displacement of just 2,750 pounds, the Hood 32 is light and easily trailerable. Its 1,336 pounds of lead ballast produce a 48 percent ballast-displacement ratio.
Design and Construction
The hull and deck are hand-laid and vacuum-bagged, using vinylester and orthophthalic resins with biaxial rovings and mat wrapped around a foam core. This construction produces a boat that displaces little more than a ton. A 1,336-pound lead bulb on a low-aspect keel keeps the center of gravity low, while a large spade rudder provides control.
The Hood 32 has a 20-foot waterline and a beam of 6 feet 10 inches. Its displacement-length ratio is 153, a figure consistent with the nimbleness described by both owners and the builder. In the builder’s words, the boat is light and nimble, with the ability to climb to windward with exceptional grace. A sail-area-displacement ratio of 22.8 supports that performance without making the boat a handful.
Rig and Handling
The Hood 32’s self-tacking jib, carbon-fiber tiller, and complete absence of winches make it particularly approachable. The builders devised a barber hauler that pulls the jib’s clew toward the centerline when sailing hard on the wind, helping the boat remain balanced without requiring the crew to grind winches.
The fractional sloop carries 285 square feet of sail. The boat is easy to single-hand but remains roomy enough for a crew.
Owners confirm the effectiveness of the design. Dr. Frank Morse describes the Hood 32 as everything he hoped for in both appearance and handling. Joshua Summers, who has sailed faster and roomier boats, says he has never experienced the combination of ease, performance, comfort, and beauty delivered by this 32-footer. He sums up the routine succinctly: easy to rig, easy to sail, easy to enjoy, and easy to put away.
Accommodations and Purpose
This is a true daysailer, not a cruiser designed around berths and interior volume. The builder states plainly that there is nothing aboard to distract from the boat’s purpose. Its comfort comes from the cockpit and the quality of its motion rather than cruising accommodations.
Summers calls the Hood 32 perfection as a daysailer. Morse, a lifelong racer returning to sailing after a hiatus, wanted a performance-oriented daysailer and found the boat a true home run.
The awards reflect that consensus. The Hood 32 won Sailing World’s Daysailor of the Year in its Boat of the Year Awards, as well as Sail Magazine’s Daysailor of the Year in its Best Boats Awards.
Verdict
The C.W. Hood 32 succeeds as a purpose-built daysailer that strips sailing back to its essentials without sacrificing performance. Its vacuum-bagged, foam-core construction keeps displacement low and makes the boat trailerable. The self-tacking jib and winchless deck simplify handling, particularly for a single-hander.
Judges and owners alike praise its windward grace and its unusual combination of ease, comfort, performance, and beauty in a 32-foot package.
Pros
- Light, trailerable construction with a loaded displacement of 2,750 pounds
- Self-tacking jib and barber hauler provide windward balance without winches
- Easy to single-hand, yet roomy enough for a crew
- Named Daysailor of the Year by both Sailing World and Sail Magazine
Cons
- Purpose-built as a daysailer, with no cruising accommodations to distract from that role
