Design and Construction
The Cape Cod’s character comes from its combination of a classic silhouette and contemporary composite construction. The hull is solid fiberglass laid in polyester resin with a vinylester skin. The deck is cored with Airex foam and bonded to the hull with epoxy. The foam-cored deck keeps weight out of the topsides, while the epoxy bond line provides a clean, modern deck-to-hull joint.
Stability comes from a heavy cast-iron centerboard, supplemented by ballast low in the bilge. The builder uses this combination to keep the boat upright without resorting to a deep fixed keel. With the board raised, draft is just 1ft 6in. The high-aspect rudder is a simple plate that kicks up on impact, well suited to a boat intended to explore shallow anchorages.
The finish quality is superb, with plenty of fine wood trim to match the pilot-cutter influence of the hull.
Rig and Sail Handling
A black anodized Seldén aluminum rig comes standard, while a carbon rig is optional for sailors looking to reduce weight aloft.
The long, retractable bowsprit defines the boat’s offwind sail plan. It readily carries a modern gennaker or A-sail, while a high-cut yankee can be flown cutter-style alongside the roller-furling headsail tacked to the stem.
The working cockpit is aft, behind a pair of self-tailing Harken 35 winches positioned well inboard. From there, a solo helmsperson can handle both the lines and the tiller without assistance. This arrangement allows one person to make practical use of the boat’s range of sail plans.
Performance Under Sail
Writing in SAIL, test sailors found the Cape Cod remarkably closewinded in 4 to 6 knots of breeze. It could pinch as high as 30 degrees apparent before properly powering up at a 38-degree angle.
After bearing away to 60 degrees and unrolling the gennaker, the testers had no trouble sailing at windspeed or better. Throughout the test, the helm felt lively and responsive—a quality that matters more in a daysailer than outright speed.
The boat displaces 3,197lb and has a ballast ratio of 32. It’s light enough to feel quick, yet stable enough to inspire confidence.
Cockpit and Accommodation
At the forward end of the cockpit, a long U-shaped settee seats six. A folding teak table drops level with the low-slung engine box, which protects the small inboard. The settee-and-table arrangement gives six people a comfortable social space without intruding on the working cockpit aft.
Forward of the mast, a large deck hatch opens onto a low interior with two berths and a chemical toilet. That’s enough for an occasional overnight stay, but the accommodation is clearly secondary to the boat’s daysailing purpose.
A locker contains a swim ladder that hooks onto the gunwale, along with a telephone-style freshwater showerhead for rinsing off after a swim.
Equipment and Ownership
The Cape Cod 896 offers owners a straightforward set of choices rather than a list of problems to put right. The optional carbon rig is the principal factory upgrade. The standard bowsprit already supports gennaker and cutter-style yankee configurations without aftermarket modification.
A 14hp diesel sits beneath the low engine box. It’s a small inboard intended for harbor maneuvering and battery charging rather than long passages.
The Airex-cored deck and epoxy hull bond are modern construction features that call for normal fiberglass vigilance, not specialized systems.
The Verdict
The Cape Cod 896 succeeds by committing to its role as a daysailer. It combines a shallow-draft centerboard hull and responsive helm with a social cockpit, genuine wood trim, and the looks of a pilot cutter. It isn’t a cruiser with berths bolted on, but a true dayboat that can occasionally sleep two.
Pros
- Superb finish, with fine wood trim and classic pilot-cutter lines
- Shallow 1ft 6in board-up draft and a kick-up rudder for gunkholing
- Lively, responsive helm and straightforward solo handling from the inboard winches
- Versatile bowsprit rig for a gennaker, A-sail, or cutter-style yankee
Cons
- Low interior headroom and only a chemical toilet forward
- Small inboard and minimal ballast for anything beyond daysailing
