Contessa 28 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Peterson, an American naval architect known for successful racing yachts, shaped the 28 with a sleek, elegant profile: low freeboard, a long bow overhang, and a reverse transom. The hull is solid fiberglass, hand-laid with woven rovings and a chopped strand mat, and reinforced with stringers and bulkheads bonded in place. Above the hull, the deck uses a balsa-cored fiberglass sandwich that adds stiffness and insulation, mated to the hull by an inward flange that is bolted and bonded with sealant. On deck, a molded non-skid pattern aids traction, while teak handrails, toe rails, and trim soften the white gelcoat with its blue cove stripe and boot top. Beneath, a cast-iron fin keel carrying 2,800 pounds of ballast is bolted through with stainless steel, and a fiberglass spade rudder on a stainless stock hangs from two pintles and gudgeons.

Rig and Handling

The 28 carries a single-spreader masthead sloop rig that is simple and efficient, with a deck-stepped aluminum mast on a stainless tabernacle so the stick can be lowered for bridges or canals. The aluminum boom uses slab reefing with two points, and the loose-footed mainsail trims easily. Roller furling on the forestay lets a crew reef or furl the genoa from the cockpit, while an adjustable backstay tensioner controls mast bend. With a sail area of 365 square feet and a displacement of 6,970 pounds, her Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 14.9 means she needs a stiff breeze to get moving, yet a Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 40.2 helps her stand up to her canvas and power through waves. Writing in Yachting Monthly, reviewers found her a reasonably sharp performer on the club circuit yet also a safe, manageable, and docile family cruiser, with slightly heavy steering noted as the one handling caveat. A Capsize Screening Formula of 1.9 places her among the safer choices for ocean passage, and her moderate displacement hull with a Displacement/Length Ratio of 292 reads as a heavy-displacement cruising boat that is stable and stiff with good righting capability if inverted.

Accommodations

Inside, the layout sleeps five or six across two separate cabins and the saloon, finished in teak veneer with white bulkheads and headlinings. The forward cabin holds a V-berth convertible to a double with an infill, plus a hanging locker, shelves, and an opening hatch. The saloon settees serve as singles or convert to a port-side double, around a folding table seating four. A starboard galley aft of the settee packs a two-burner gas stove with oven and grill, manual-pump sink, and icebox, while a port navigation station with a large chart table and quarter berth sits opposite. The head, between saloon and forward cabin, has a manual washbasin, electric-pump shower, and lockers. Yachting Monthly judged the interior awkward, the galley small, and the fold-down chart table clumsy, though original equipment was good and even included self-tailing winches and lee cloths.

Cockpit and Deck Gear

The cockpit is spacious and uncluttered, seating six with a folding tiller that frees space when stowed, connected to the spade rudder. A large port cockpit locker swallows sails and gear, and the wide flat foredeck eases sail and anchor work, served by a bow anchor locker and roller. Stainless pulpit, pushpit, stanchions, and lifelines frame the perimeter, while cleats, winches, tracks, and jammers support a complete sail-handling setup.

The Verdict

The Contessa 28 packages IOR-era cruiser-racer DNA into a 28-foot hull that punches above its length for seaworthiness. She is a moderate-displacement boat that feels underpowered in light air but rewards a breeze with stiffness and balance, and her documented ocean crossings by owners confirm the design's offshore intent even though she is best suited to coastal cruising. The interior is practical if quirky, and the original inventory was generous for the class.

Pros