Design and Construction
The Cal 28 is a 28-foot monohull with a solid-fiberglass hull, fixed fin keel, and internally mounted spade-type rudder. It measures 28.00 feet overall, 22.50 feet on the waterline, and 9.00 feet in beam—proportions that place it firmly in the small recreational keelboat class.
Displacement is 6,000 pounds, including 2,200 pounds of lead ballast. That ballast-to-displacement character suits settled coastal sailing rather than offshore expedition work. Standard draft is 4.50 feet, which gives the boat access to shallow harbor approaches while retaining the lateral grip of a fin-keel profile.
Cal Yachts produced the 28 as a contemporary of the marque’s other early fiberglass racer-cruisers. The company was then building under the Jensen Marine lineage, with which Bill Lapworth had partnered since the late 1950s.
Rig, Sail Plan, and Performance
The Cal 28 carries a masthead sloop rig. Its foretriangle measures 33.00 feet high on an 11.40-foot base, while the mainsail has a 28.00-foot luff and an 11.70-foot foot.
Total sail area is 351.90 square feet, divided between a 163.80-square-foot mainsail and a 188.10-square-foot jib or genoa. On a 6,000-pound hull, that gives the Cal 28 a lively sail-area-to-displacement character for its size.
Its PHRF racing average handicap is 183, with a recorded high of 186 and a low of 180. That places it among the moderate performers of its length in club racing. The theoretical hull speed is 6.36 knots, marking the upper bound of its displacement-driven pace.
Tankage and Auxiliary Power
Factory planning provided 28 U.S. gallons of fresh water and 18 U.S. gallons of fuel, supporting short coastal cruises without frequent reprovisioning.
A Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine with a “V” drive was offered as a factory option rather than standard equipment. It reflected the period norm of gasoline auxiliary power in boats of this size and provided propulsion for owners who specified the boat beyond sail alone.
Verdict
The Cal 28 is a clean example of Lapworth’s early-1960s fiberglass design language: a lead-ballasted, fin-keel sloop built in a modest run of 347 boats. It balanced relevance under club-racing handicaps with practical tankage for coastal cruising.
The Canadian licence-built run broadens the used fleet slightly. Its documented dimensions and straightforward rig also make it an intelligible entry point for sailors seeking a small, established monohull without the ambiguity of a long production span.
Pros
- Designed by C. William Lapworth and built by Cal Yachts during a defined 1963–1969 production run of 347 boats
- Solid-fiberglass hull with lead ballast and a fixed fin keel
- Masthead sloop rig with nearly 352 square feet of sail on a 6,000-pound hull
- Fresh water capacity of 28 U.S. gallons and fuel capacity of 18 U.S. gallons for coastal cruising
Cons
- Gasoline auxiliary power was available only as a factory option, not as standard equipment
- Modest 4.50-foot draft limits offshore versatility
- A PHRF average of 183 places it mid-pack among racers of similar length
