Design and Construction
The hull is hand-laid mat and roving over a solid fiberglass shell, with a relatively thick laminate that exceeded construction standards when introduced. A balsa core sits inside the hull above the waterline and within the deck, added for thermal and sound insulation rather than structural strength, while the hull itself is stiffened by U-channel fiberglass beams, floors, and stringers. The deck and hull meet at a raised bulwark, bedded with 3M 5200 and through-bolted on six-inch centers, then capped with a teak rail. Both skins are cored with end-grain balsa, and in hardware zones the deck core is removed so that stainless plates set in the laminate let one person bolt fittings topsides.
Early boats carried iron ballast in the keel cavity, later switched to lead for the final 60 or so hulls, with seven separate castings glassed over inside the molded keel. The deck and much of the interior wood is solid plantation teak from Costa Rica’s highlands, with no veneer used below. The hull-to-deck flange, bronze seacocks on every through-hull, and a fiberglass engine bed that resists deterioration all speak to a build meant for distance rather than the showroom.
Rig and Handling
The cutter rig carries a keel-stepped 50-foot mast and a self-tending club staysail, with oversize genoa winches and some models fitted with self-tending jib booms. A cutaway forefoot reduces wetted surface and improves handling without abandoning the traditional full keel and attached, keel-hung rudder. That long-keel arrangement gives the boat good directional stability and helps keep her on course, though it limits pointing ability compared with fin-keel rivals. Writing in Practical Sailor, test sailors found her well mannered with few vices, and the 20,000-pound displacement with 7,800 pounds of ballast keeps the hull upright in punchy seas and strong winds. Owners report the rudder does not stall into uncontrolled round-ups and that the cutter rig makes it easy to shorten sail; most agree she is average-to-sluggish in light air but fast once the wind builds.
Accommodations
Two saloon layouts, Plan A and Plan B, were offered with minor V-berth variants, and later the Offshore model appeared, dropping the aft berth for a massive storage bay under the starboard cockpit seat where cruisers could fit watermakers and gensets. Headroom runs at least six feet two and a half inches and berths generally six feet six. The U-shaped galley is airy and complete with stove, oven, sink, refrigerator, and icebox, while cedar-lined hanging lockers, a nav station, and a cozy dry cockpit seating four round out the liveaboard picture. At the end of the run the interior was customizable, with one late plan extending the aft double berth behind the companionway once the engine was moved forward under the galley.
Known Issues
Teak decks are exquisite but can leak, and long-standing infiltration leads to deck delamination; owners have also reported leaks around the scuppers. Earlier boats have a plywood layer in the cockpit sole that rots if water penetrates. Pre-1990 hulls used polyester resin and owners of those models have complained of hull blisters, while later hulls gained vinylester in the first four layers to prevent osmotic blistering. Cabo Rico also received poor-quality stainless in the late 1980s and early 1990s, weakening rudder posts, bow railings, and chainplates. Early engine access was poor due to missing side panels, improved on later models with an added access panel.
Refits and Ownership
The original Perkins 4:108 was later replaced on many boats by a Yanmar or other diesel, and the movable-engine late layout eased service. The semi-custom nature means interiors vary in wood species—teak, mahogany, maple, ash, cherry—so a buyer should assess joinery condition individually. The monocoque interior of plywood tabbed to the hull avoids pan-related failures but means any bulkhead tabbing deserves a close look, as one 1980 owner noted insecure tabs.
The Verdict
The Cabo Rico 38 is a handsome, heavily built passage-maker with a genuine go-anywhere character, strong sea-keeping, and a customizable cruising interior. She rewards an owner willing to stay ahead of teak-deck leaks and period stainless corrosion.
Pros
- Full-keel cutter with excellent directional stability and rudder that resists stall
- Insulated balsa-cored hull and deck over a solid, thick fiberglass shell
- Semi-custom interior with practical offshore storage and livable headroom
Cons
- Teak decks and scuppers prone to leaks that can delaminate the deck
- Pre-1990 hulls subject to blisters; some era stainless steel is suspect
- Early engine access hampered by fixed side panels
