Cabo Rico 38 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used brokerage market for a Cabo Rico 38 means weighing a traditionally built offshore cutter whose production ran from 1977 into the late 1990s, with about 195 to 200 hulls afloat. The boat’s semi-custom history means no two interiors are identical, but the structural and rigging bones are consistent enough to frame a serious inspection.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two factory plans, A and B, differed mainly in saloon seating and V-berth detail, and later the Offshore version dropped the aft berth for a large storage bay under the starboard cockpit seat suited to gensets and watermakers. Late-production boats often moved the engine forward under the galley, opening cockpit space and easing service. Buyers will also find customizable end-of-run interiors and varying woods—teak, mahogany, maple, ash, or cherry—so the configured layout matters more than the nominal model year.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Most boats on the market carry AIS, radar, solar, a dodger, chartplotter, inverter, bimini, dinghy davits, spinnaker, teak decks, autopilot, and often a liferaft is a less common addition. For passage-making consequence, the common solar and inverter pairing supports house loads, while a watermaker and cockpit shower appear often enough to matter for liveaboard plans. Navigation is usually covered by AIS, radar, and chartplotter together, and davits plus a spinnaker speak to a cruising rig rather than a racer.
What to Inspect
Teak decks can be subject to leaks and long-standing water infiltration leads to deck delamination, so probe around the scuppers where owners have reported leaks. Earlier hulls have a plywood cockpit-sole layer that rots when wet, and pre-1990 boats built with polyester resin have drawn owner complaints of hull blisters; later vinylester layers reduce that risk. Poor-quality stainless supplied in the late 1980s and early 1990s weakened rudder posts, bow railings, and chainplates on affected boats. Check engine access: early models lack removable side panels, though later ones added a panel. A 1980 owner also noted insecure bulkhead tabbing and inaccessible stanchion bolts worth verifying.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats typically appear in the United States, Canada, and Greece. When viewing, check teak deck and scupper sealing, sound the cockpit sole for rot, survey hull gelcoat for pre-1990 blistering, test rudder post and chainplate integrity for suspect stainless, and confirm engine access matches the later improved layout.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Cabo Rico 38. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 12 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 1 | $60,000 | — |
| Apr 25 | 2 | $69,500 | +15.8% |
| Jun 25 | 4 | $77,450 | +11.4% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $73,750 | -4.8% |
| Nov 25 | 3 | $89,000 | +20.7% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $40,000 | -55.1% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $149,000 | +272.5% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $149,450 | +0.3% |
| May 26 | 6 | $69,900 | -53.2% |
| Jun 26 | 5 | $144,900 | +107.3% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $119,251 | -17.7% |
| Sep 26 | 4 | $128,727 | +7.9% |
Where they're listed
Cabo Rico 38 listings appear across 4 countries. United States has the most listings with 20 (74.1%), followed by Netherlands and Canada.
Country view
27 listings · 4 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $89,000 | 20 | 0 | 74.1% |
| Netherlands | $128,727 | 4 | 4 | 14.8% |
| Canada | $119,251 | 2 | 0 | 7.4% |
| Greece | $88,430 | 1 | 0 | 3.7% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
10 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Packet 38 | 38' | $ 99,000 | 58 | 12 |
| Sabre 38 | 37.83' | $ 49,999 | 48 | 21 |
| Hallberg-Rassy 38 | 37.96' | $ 94,191 | 29 | 6 |
| Cabo Rico 38You are here | — | $ 98,503 | 27 | 4 |
| Caliber 38 | 38' | $ 79,000 | 19 | 6 |
| Shannon 38 | 37.75' | $ 69,000 | 15 | 8 |
| Kadey-Krogen 38 | 38.16' | $ 74,900 | 9 | 1 |
| Morgan 38 | 37.67' | $ 69,000 | 5 | 1 |
| Cape George 38 | 38' | $ 137,162 | 4 | 2 |
| Endurance 38 | 37' | $ 83,953 | 3 | 0 |