Design and Construction
Colvic Craft built the Countess 28 in fiberglass, offering her with either a twin or single fixed keel; the bilge-keel configuration is the one most commonly described, with a draft of 1.17 meters light and up to 1.27 meters under load. That shallow twin-keel draft lets her into shallow marinas and drying berths alike. The hull is solid FG with a wetted surface of roughly 24 square meters. Sold either complete from Colvic or finished by other yards, the design reflects the builder's long practice of supplying hulls and decks to a range of completions — a point worth holding when judging any individual boat's interior execution.
Rig and Handling
The Countess 28 carries a masthead sloop rig. Her proportions — a length-to-beam ratio of 2.75 and an immersion rate near 859 lbs per inch — describe a boat that sits stably and sinks little under crew or stores. With a pounds-per-inch immersion around 881 she is no featherweight, and the 250-range DL-ratio confirms a hull that favors steadiness over acceleration. The capsize screening figure in the low 2.0s places her outside accepted ocean-race limits, but for coastal and estuary cruising that same number reads as a stable, forgiving profile.
Accommodations
The record is quiet on interior arrangement beyond the fact that Colvic offered the boat complete or as a bare hull for finishing elsewhere. What can be stated from the numbers is that 3.1 meters of beam and a 7.39-meter waterline give a roomy footprint for the length, and 76 liters of water tankage against 42 liters of fuel describe a boat provisioned for weekends and coastal passages rather than long self-sufficient voyaging. The owners association at countessowners.com is a standing point of contact for those researching fit-out variations across completed hulls.
Refits and Ownership
Because Colvic sold the Countess 28 complete or left her for other yards to finish, ownership history varies widely in how the interior, systems, and rigging were completed. An active owners association exists for the class, which is a practical asset when tracing a specific hull's provenance or comparing completion standards. The builder operated as a prolific British GRP yard, but the Countess 28 itself is anchored to the 1980 manufacturing year.
The Verdict
The Countess 28 is a straightforward, stable coastal cruiser whose twin-keel shallow draft and solid fiberglass hull make her a practical choice for tidal waters and drying harbors. Her moderate-displacement hull and masthead rig suit relaxed cruising more than performance sailing, and the active owners network is a genuine benefit. Buyers should weigh the variability introduced by Colvic's complete-or-finished-by-others sales model when assessing any one example.
Pros
- Shallow twin-keel draft (1.17–1.27 m) for marinas and drying berths
- Solid fiberglass hull with stable, forgiving sea-keeping numbers
- Active owners association for support and history
Cons
- Capsize screening bars ocean-race acceptance
- Completion-quality variance from multiple finish routes
- Modest tankage for extended off-grid cruising
