Design Brief & Intent
The Contest 28 was designed to fill a crucial niche for sailors who demanded genuine bluewater-capable engineering in a package easily handled by a couple or a single hander. While contemporaries like the Swedish-built Shipman 28 and the Dutch-built Friendship 28 targeted a broader, more casual sailing market with lighter displacement and simpler structures, Conyplex engineered the Contest 28 to the same structural and finish standards as their larger 30-plus-foot yachts. This is immediately evident in the interior, which features high-grade, satin-varnished mahogany joinery, solid timber trim, and a classic, highly functional layout.
Stepping below deck reveals a traditional cabin arrangement that maximizes the boat's nine-foot, four-inch beam. To port, a well-proportioned galley features a two-burner stove, a sink, and a icebox, balanced to starboard by a proper navigation station with a chart table. The saloon utilizes a straight settee to starboard and a U-shaped settee to port that converts into a double berth, flanking a solid mahogany dining table. Forward of the saloon, a marine head and hanging locker separate the main living area from a comfortable V-berth in the bow. The cabin offers an impressive six feet, one inch of headroom, a luxury rarely found in 28-footers of this vintage, without giving the boat a high, unseemly freeboard.
Variations & Configurations
To accommodate different cruising grounds, Conyplex offered the Contest 28 with two distinct keel profiles. The standard deep-draft version (Type B) features a fin draft of five feet, four inches, optimizing windward performance, stability, and control in open water. For those sailing the shallow canals, estuaries, and inland seas of northern Europe or the East Coast of the United States, a shoal-draft version (Type A) was offered, drawing just four feet, seven inches.
All models utilize a high-aspect masthead sloop rig with single-spreader aluminum spars. Under the waterline, regardless of the draft option selected, the rudder is hung on a substantial, full-depth GRP skeg, a classic Dick Zaal design choice that provides exceptional rudder protection and directional tracking.
Sailing Performance & Handling
The sailing dynamics of the Contest 28 are defined by its high ballast-to-displacement ratio of 47.14 percent. With nearly half of its 6,173-pound total weight concentrated in its cast-iron fin keel, the boat is exceptionally stiff, carrying full sail long after lighter, wider-beamed pocket cruisers of the era are forced to reef. This translates to a highly reassuring feel at the tiller, especially when beating into a fresh breeze.
Its displacement-to-length ratio of 244.54 places the design firmly in the moderate displacement category, ensuring a predictable, comfortable motion through a choppy seaway without the slamming common to flat-bottomed modern hulls. A comfort ratio of 20.24 confirms this balanced behavior, indicating that the boat is stable and easy on her crew during longer passages.
With a sail area-to-displacement ratio of 20.92, the Contest 28 possesses a surprisingly powerful sail plan for its displacement, allowing it to ghost along effectively in light air with a large genoa. While its capsize screening formula of 2.03 technically sits just above the threshold traditionally recommended for extreme offshore racing, the deep skeg-hung rudder, heavy ballast, and narrow waterline make it a highly seaworthy, predictable, and forgiving hull in heavy weather.
Known Issues & Triage
Given that these vessels are now decades old, prospective buyers must evaluate several age-related areas. The most common mechanical point of concern is the original propulsion unit, typically a twin-cylinder Volvo Penta MD6A (10 hp) or MD7A (13 hp) diesel engine. These raw-water-cooled engines are highly durable, but decades of saltwater exposure can lead to internal cooling jacket scaling and localized hot spots. Buyers should inspect the exhaust elbow for carbon clogging, check the raw water pump for seal leaks, and analyze the engine under load for signs of overheating.
On deck, while the solid hand-laid fiberglass hull is largely impervious to structural issues like major core rot, the deck itself is a GRP and balsa sandwich structure. Hardware like stanchion bases, chainplates, cleats, and handrails must be checked for moisture intrusion. Over time, compromised factory bedding compound can allow rainwater to seep into the balsa core, leading to localized delamination and soft spots.
In the bilge, the steel backing plates for the keel bolts require close examination. Because these boats have deep, narrow bilge sumps where water can accumulate, corrosion of these plates and the keel nuts is common. Fortunately, the solid fiberglass hull lay-up around the keel joint is extraordinarily thick, making the replacement of rusted steel backing plates with modern stainless-steel equivalents a straightforward, if labor-intensive, DIY task.
Modernization & Upgrades
Modern owners of the Contest 28 are increasingly focusing on repowering and system modernization to extend the lifespan of these robust hulls. Replacing an aging, raw-water-cooled Volvo Penta with a modern, fresh-water-cooled diesel (such as a 14-to-16 horsepower Beta Marine or Yanmar unit) is a popular upgrade. These newer engines fit comfortably within the engine compartment, improve fuel efficiency, reduce vibration, and significantly increase reliability. Due to the vessel's moderate displacement and easily driven hull form, the Contest 28 is also an excellent candidate for electric propulsion conversions for owners who primarily use their boats on inland lakes or for short day-cruises.
Electrical system overhauls are also common. The original factory wiring of the late 1970s was basic and lacks proper overcurrent protection by modern standards. Upgrading to a modern marine electrical panel, replacing old PVC-coated copper wiring with tinned marine-grade wire, and installing a modern lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) house battery bank significantly improves onboard safety and energy autonomy. Finally, replacing the original, aging flexible freshwater bladder or stainless-steel tanks with modern rigid polyethylene tanks resolves taste and sanitation issues while preserving the boat's cruising range.
The Verdict
The Contest 28 is a beautifully built, heavy-displacement classic that punches well above its weight class in terms of seaworthiness, build quality, and interior comfort. For the sailor seeking a safe, predictable pocket cruiser with the finish quality of a luxury yacht, this Dick Zaal design remains an outstanding, high-value option on the used market.
- Exceptionally stiff and stable hull with a high ballast ratio
- Outstanding interior joinery with high-grade mahogany and solid teak finishes
- Generous interior headroom for a 28-foot sailboat
- Excellent tracking and rudder protection provided by a full-depth skeg
- Highly robust, hand-laid solid fiberglass hull construction
- Original Volvo Penta engines are raw-water cooled and increasingly difficult to source parts for
- Balsa-cored decks are susceptible to localized rot if deck hardware bedding fails
- The narrow, traditional hull design offers less aft cabin space compared to modern, wide-beam production boats of similar length
- Bilge-located steel keel backing plates are prone to rust and require monitoring
