Design and Construction
Jensen Marine built the Cal 43 of painstakingly hand-laid fiberglass, and the hull itself is a solid fiberglass laminate requiring only minimal in-season maintenance according to period summaries. The keel is a lead fin carrying a 40-percent ballast ratio, which places her above 58 percent of comparable designs and gives her an above-average resistance to heeling. A ventral fin sits ahead of the spade rudder to aid tracking, and the short keel was explicitly intended to minimize wetted surface. With a displacement-length ratio of 260 she falls into the "moderate racer" band, and 46 percent of similar designs are heavier than she is.
Rig and Handling
The Cal 43 is a masthead sloop carrying a high-aspect single-spreader sail plan on aluminum spars with stainless steel and Dacron rigging. Her reference sail area of 832 square feet yields a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.1, rising to 21.5 with a 135-percent genoa, and that figure puts her ahead of 58 percent of similar boats in light wind while marking her as slightly overrigged for her class. The theoretical hull speed is 7.6 knots. The IOR-aware hull with the low-wetted-surface short keel and tracking fin produced a boat that proved fast on the racecourse, not merely on paper.
Accommodations
Below, the Cal 43 was laid out for three cruising couples with full privacy, a rare arrangement in a 43-foot hull of the era. There are three separate double cabins, two heads, and three hatches bringing light and air below, served by a full-size galley. The cabin plan clearly privileged private accommodation over open salon space, making the boat as much a passage vessel for three couples as a racer.
Engine and Equipment
The builder offered the Cal 43 with either Gray Marine or diesel power, and individual boats may carry an inboard Universal gasoline engine. The original spec left the choice of propulsion to the buyer, a flexibility that explains the mixed engine populations seen among the fourteen built.
The Verdict
The Cal 43 is a small-production Lapworth design that married IOR-aware race potential with an unusually private three-couple interior, built in hand-laid fiberglass with a lead fin and tracking ventral fin. Her numbers suggest a light-air performer slightly overrigged for her size, and her race record confirms real speed. The fourteen-boat run means any example is a scarce find, and the private-cabin layout distinguishes her from more open salon cruisers of the period.
Pros
- Proven race record (Stratford Shoals and Watch Hill firsts, Spring Off Soundings second)
- Three separate double cabins with two heads for full privacy of three couples
- Above-average ballast ratio and light-wind speed versus peer designs
- Hand-laid fiberglass hull with minimal maintenance needs
Cons
- Only fourteen built, limiting availability
- Slightly overrigged relative to similar sailboats
- Mixed original engine offerings (gasoline Gray Marine or Universal, or diesel) require individual inspection
