At just over 26 feet overall, the Capri 26 sits between a daysailer and a pocket cruiser while remaining road-trailerable. Catalina completed 320 hulls before the design went out of production.
Design and Construction
The Capri 26 is a recreational keelboat built predominantly of fiberglass, with wooden trim. Its beam of almost ten feet and walk-through reverse transom pack in volume usually reserved for larger yachts. The sharply raked transom reduces the working deck length to about 23 feet 8 inches, but period testers noted that the boat still reads as full of big-boat features because the beam carries so far aft.
Buyers could choose between a standard fin keel and a shoal-draft wing keel. Both versions have 1,900 pounds of lead ballast. An internally mounted spade rudder is controlled by a tiller, and the boat has a raked stem forward.
Catalina Yachts, founded by Frank Butler, built the boat throughout its production run under the design partnership of Butler and Gerry Douglas.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
A masthead sloop rig carries 295 square feet of sail. The Capri 26 has a displacement of 5,250 pounds, including 1,900 pounds of lead ballast. Its ballast-displacement ratio near 36 percent gives a settled, predictable motion.
The boat’s 6.4-knot maximum speed comes from its long 22.9-foot waterline rather than any claimed lightweight planing behavior. Its average PHRF racing handicap is 210, placing it fairly among cruiser-racers of its era.
The spade rudder and tiller provide direct, communicative steering in the confined quarters that a trailerable boat often encounters.
Accommodations
The Capri 26 sleeps four and offers more than six feet of headroom throughout. In the main cabin, two straight settees combine over a lowerable drop-leaf table to form a wide berth. The nearly ten-foot beam also allows for a humungus double berth in that forward saloon.
Aft, a separate cabin contains a large double berth beneath the cockpit. Period testers cautioned that this space could feel somewhat constricted to those with claustrophobia.
The galley is to starboard, just forward of the companionway ladder. It includes a recessed two-burner stove, an ice box, and a sink with pressurized water. Opposite, a spacious head sits on the port side, just aft of the companionway.
Four opening ports ventilate the main cabin, while another port in the cockpit serves the aft berth. Deep, comfortable cockpit seats extend the living space on deck.
Practical Limitations
Period testing identified two limits to habitability. In addition to the enclosed feel of the aft berth, reviewers found no significant amidships stowage apart from space on the cabin sole beneath the table—a constraint for extended cruising loads.
Neither issue is a structural defect. Both reflect the compromises involved in fitting family accommodations into a trailerable hull.
Verdict
The Capri 26 largely achieves what its designers intended: translating the Capri speed ethos into a family-capable cruiser-racer that can still be towed behind a car. It isn’t a dedicated racing boat or a bluewater voyager, but its combination of four berths, standing headroom, and a big-boat galley makes it a coherent used-market choice for coastal sailing.
Pros
- Road-trailerable, yet sleeps four with more than six feet of headroom
- Nearly ten-foot beam provides a roomy interior, with a forward double berth and an aft double beneath the cockpit
- Choice of lead-ballasted fin or wing keel
- Direct tiller steering through an internally mounted spade rudder
- Masthead sloop rig, average PHRF handicap of 210, and a 6.4-knot waterline-derived maximum speed
Cons
- Aft berth may feel constricted to claustrophobic sailors
- No significant amidships stowage apart from space on the cabin sole beneath the table
