Launched in 1970, the prototype Red Herring represented the state of the art in offshore racing yacht design. The first two boats hit the water in 1971, and the type was successful from the outset. Within weeks, Jeremy Rogers won his class at Cowes Week aboard Red Herring, which went on to become the overall winner of her class that season. By the spring of 1971, the designer’s own Contessa, Catherine, had joined the prototype. The design was named Boat of the Year at the London Boat Show in 1972.
Across more than 50 years, the Contessa 32 has retained its reputation as one of the most seaworthy yachts of its size. It also continues to race competitively as a one-design, with fleets established throughout the UK and a reputation as a welcoming, family-friendly group.
Design and Construction
The hull has encapsulated keel ballast, a long fin keel and a separate skeg-hung rudder. This configuration distinguishes the 32 from the long-keel Contessa 26 that preceded it. Moderate overhangs, a reverse transom on a short counter and an elegant sheerline give the boat a profile that period observers described as neither modern nor old-fashioned.
Within an overall length of 32ft, the boat has a 24ft waterline and a beam of 9ft 6in. Compared with many of today’s wide-beam designs, the Contessa 32 has a relatively low wetted surface area, a consequence of its 9ft 6in beam and 24ft waterline within a 32ft overall length. Displacement is 9,500lb, including 4,500lb of lead ballast—a ratio that underpins the stability figures for which the class is known.
Rig, Performance and Handling
The Contessa 32 is rigged as a masthead sloop with a high-aspect mainsail and a large overlapping genoa. It was long famed for its ability to windward in strong breezes.
Writing in Yachting Monthly, one owner described the Contessa as quick when beating and a gentle broacher. The owner noted that she leans over but doesn’t go down as far, so the cockpit stays clear of the water.
That windward pedigree faced a severe test in the 1979 Fastnet Race. The Contessa 32 was the smallest yacht to finish, and only one of the 58 starters in Class V completed the course: Assent, a Contessa 32. The official RYA inquiry into the disaster used the Contessa’s stability curve to illustrate seaworthiness.
The angle of vanishing stability is 156°. If a rogue wave inverts the boat, a subsequent wave needs to roll her through only 24° for her to regain righting stability. For many owners, she remains the archetypal bulletproof “go anywhere” cruiser, with notable high-latitude ocean voyages in both hemispheres to her credit.
Trade-Offs Under Sail
The same hull form that makes the Contessa 32 stiff upwind brings compromises off the wind. She has a pronounced tendency to roll when sailing downwind in a stiff breeze, while the small rudder can make control challenging in those conditions.
Owners also concede that she’s a wet boat. Sailing upwind in gale-force conditions can be an extremely wet experience—the price paid for her strong windward performance. These are accepted characteristics rather than defects, and they help define the Contessa 32 as a boat for sailors who place seaworthiness ahead of comfort.
Accommodation
Below decks, the Contessa 32 was not designed to maximise living space in harbour. The interior is notably small beside that of a modern 32-footer, an inevitable result of the narrow beam. Headroom is limited to little more than 5ft in the full-width heads compartment, which separates the saloon from the small forecabin and its double vee-berth.
At the foot of the companionway, a proper half-Admiralty-size chart table sits to starboard and offers reasonable stowage. Aft of it is a slim quarter berth, with the head of the berth serving as the navigator’s seat.
Opposite, the U-shaped galley makes good use of the limited space and is ideal for use at sea. Newer models, along with some updated boats, gained an improved arrangement with twin sinks and handy worktop space.
The saloon itself is a good size. It has full-length settees on both sides, a large central table, stowage outboard of the settees and shelves above.
Production, Ownership and Racing
The first UK production run continued through 1983, with around 600 boats built. A further 80 or 90 were built in Canada. Production resumed in 1995, with sales proceeding more slowly since then.
The class has also seen extensive institutional use. Contessa 32s served as sail-training boats for many years, including in large fleets at the former National Sailing Centre in Cowes and the Gosport-based Joint Services Sailing Centre.
One-design racing remains active. On the opening day of a recent Cowes Week, the first two Contessa 32s finished only six seconds apart after almost four hours of racing—a measure both of the fleet’s closeness and the durability of the original design.
The Verdict
The Contessa 32 is a genuinely enduring design: a 1970s offshore racer-cruiser that earned its seaworthiness credentials in the Fastnet and has spent half a century proving itself as both a competitive one-design racer and a high-latitude voyager.
Its compromises are clear and accepted. The interior is small, the boat is wet upwind and she rolls downwind, and she punishes those who want harbour volume. But for sailors who value windward ability, stability and a class that still produces close racing, few 32-footers have such a substantial record behind them.
Pros
- Angle of vanishing stability of 156°, with righting stability regained after a 24° roll from inversion
- Established one-design racing class with active UK fleets
- Proven record of high-latitude voyages in both hemispheres
- Encapsulated keel ballast and a skeg-hung rudder, with the skeg protecting the rudder stock
Cons
- Small interior with limited headroom compared with modern 32-footers
- Very wet upwind in strong breezes
- Pronounced rolling and challenging rudder control downwind in stiff breezes
