Contessa 26 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Contessa 26 means considering a 25-foot 6-inch fiberglass sloop designed by Jeremy Rogers and David Sadler and launched in 1966, with roughly 750 built in the UK and Canada. The boat’s narrow hull and long keel read as a Folkboat evolved for offshore work, and its brokerage presence spans three regions where these little cruisers have long circulated.
Layouts on the Used Market
Early boats carried the heads in the forecabin and a vestigial galley amidships; later models moved the galley and chart table to the companionway and gained a small enclosed heads compartment. Below you’ll find a V-berth forward, two saloon berths, and a quarterberth, with no standing headroom and a cramped, low saloon that suits a couple more than four or five. A large cockpit aids daysailing but is a flooding risk at sea, and poor air circulation is a recurring trait worth ventilating upgrades for.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Most boats on the market carry an autopilot and chartplotter as standard modern navigation aids. A short-handed setup is often seen, meaning led-back controls or cutter rigging that lets a solo owner manage sail changes safely. Less common owner additions include cabin heating, lithium batteries, a spinnaker, AIS, and an EPIRB — these appear as individual upgrades rather than factory fit, and a buyer should verify installation quality on any example so equipped.
What to Inspect
Any survey should check the mast support area for compression damage and examine the foot of the moulded keel for damage allowing water ingress. The large cockpit’s drainage behavior matters given its sea-going hazard when filled, and the single-spreader sloop rig’s conversion history (cutter with running backstays, aft-led lines) should be confirmed as properly engineered rather than improvised.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Contessa 26s typically appear in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm production-era layout (later enclosed heads is preferable for comfort), verify any short-handed or cutter refit is sound, test the mast step and keel foot for ingress, and budget for ventilation improvements. A well-found example offers a proven circumnavigation-capable singlehander in a remarkably small package.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Contessa 26. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 10 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $22,000 | — |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $19,500 | -11.4% |
| Sep 25 | 7 | $9,444 | -51.6% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $12,161 | +28.8% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $14,098 | +15.9% |
| Mar 26 | 3 | $10,123 | -28.2% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $11,142 | +10.1% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $11,550 | +3.7% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $5,367 | -53.5% |
| Aug 26 | 2 | $3,907 | -27.2% |
Where they're listed
Contessa 26 listings appear across 2 countries. United Kingdom has the most listings with 19 (90.5%), followed by Canada.
Country view
21 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | $10,531 | 19 | 4 | 90.5% |
| Canada | $7,309 | 2 | 0 | 9.5% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Rogers 26You are here | — | $ 10,123 | 21 | 4 |
| Marieholm 26 | 26.25' | $ 8,734 | 11 | 5 |
| Victoria 26 | 26' | $ 23,290 | 8 | 3 |