Design and Construction
Yacht Constructors built the Cascade 29 with a thick, hand-laid solid fiberglass hull. The deck is also solid fiberglass, rather than the cored construction the builder used on other models.
The boat displaces 7,500 pounds and carries 2,380 pounds of iron ballast. That gives her a 32 percent ballast ratio, higher than only about 10 percent of similar designs. Her length-to-beam ratio is 3.26, making her slimmer than 69 percent of comparable sailboats, and the designer chose a slightly speedier hull form.
The bulb fin keel draws roughly 4.75 feet when loaded. With a spade rudder and a 24-foot waterline, the Cascade 29 has a theoretical hull speed of about 6.6 knots.
Rig and Handling
The Cascade 29 carries a modest, 417-square-foot cutter rig. She has more rig than only 4 percent of similar boats, meaning she is significantly underrigged.
The mainsail, jib, genoa, and spinnaker halyards are each about 30.8 feet long and 5/16 inch in diameter. Jib and genoa sheets are 29 feet, the mainsheet is 72.5 feet, and the spinnaker sheets are 63.8 feet.
A wetted surface of 247 square feet and an immersion rate of 744 pounds per inch describe a hull that responds to added load but settles deeply when provisioned.
Accommodations and Machinery
A significant number of Cascade sailboats left the factory as semi-complete kit hulls for their owners to finish. As a result, interiors, systems, and joinery can vary widely from one example to another.
The Cascade 29’s slender 8.17-foot beam also limits cabin breadth compared with later wide-body designs. Tankage consists of 33 gallons of gasoline and 43 gallons of water. Auxiliary power comes from a Universal-Atomic Atomic 4 gasoline engine of 30 horsepower.
Known Issues
The solid fiberglass deck avoids the balsa or plywood coring used elsewhere by the builder, eliminating a typical risk of deck saturation. The cabin-mounted gasoline Atomic 4 carries the ventilation and vapor-risk considerations inherent in any gasoline inboard.
Because many boats were sold as semi-complete kit hulls, individual examples may have non-standard systems and joinery. A survey should establish how thoroughly each particular boat was finished.
Ownership and Refit Considerations
Ownership of the marque changed in 1989, when Yacht Constructors became Cascade Yachts under Hans Geerling. Custodianship later passed to Chinook Composites in 2007 and then to Russell in 2008, who planned a limited resumption of production in Seaside, Oregon.
The significantly underrigged sail plan may invite an owner to consider recut sails or a taller rig as an upgrade.
The Verdict
The Cascade 29 is a slender, early-1960s Robert A. Smith design with a solid fiberglass hull, solid fiberglass deck, and bulb fin keel. Her shallow draft, straightforward construction, and 355-unit production run make her a straightforward, shallow-draft coastal cruiser. The main trade-offs are a low ballast ratio and a significantly underrigged sail plan, set against a narrow hull form shaped with speed in mind.
Pros
- Solid, coreless fiberglass hull and deck avoid common core-rot failure modes
- Slender 3.26 length-to-beam ratio reflects a quicker hull form than most peers
- Roughly 4.75-foot draft broadens access to anchorages and marinas
- Long builder custodianship preserves the history of the plans and molds
Cons
- The 32 percent ballast ratio is lower than that of roughly 90 percent of comparable designs
- Sail area exceeds that of only 4 percent of similar boats, leaving her significantly underrigged
- Kit-hull heritage can mean inconsistent owner-finished interiors, systems, and joinery
- The gasoline Atomic 4 inboard carries the usual gasoline-engine ventilation and vapor-risk considerations
