Poole described the design as a classic cruising yacht that used modern materials where appropriate while retaining the traditional character of early Down East cruisers. It measures 38 feet overall, with a 29-foot waterline and a beam just shy of 12 feet. The shoal-draft, long-keel hull draws just under five feet and carries 8,000 pounds of encapsulated lead ballast within a displacement of 19,500 pounds.
Design and Construction
The Downeaster 38’s substance lies in its specification rather than its decoration. The solid-fiberglass hull and deck were laminated to Lloyd's requirements, with no coring below the waterline. Every through-hull below the waterline has a seacock.
A steel backbone runs through the rudder. Instead of the usual molded pattern, the nonskid deck surfaces use sand set in a polyurethane adhesive. Tankage follows the same practical approach, with an aluminum fuel tank and a stainless-steel water tank.
Rig and Handling
The Downeaster 38 was offered with cutter, ketch, or schooner rigs; the ketch carries the “Kth” designation. The cutter has 665 square feet of sail area. The schooner could carry considerably more sail, including a 498-square-foot gollywobbler between the masts or even a 727-square-foot balloon jib set from the main masthead.
The ketch’s sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.13, leaving it slightly underrigged compared with the broader fleet. Its long keel and 41-percent ballast-to-displacement ratio, however, produce a capsize screening value of 1.72 and a motion comfort ratio of about 38. By that measure, it is more comfortable than 90 percent of comparable cruising designs.
With a displacement-to-length ratio of 384, the Downeaster 38 ranks among ultra-heavy cruisers. Its theoretical hull speed is 7.2 knots.
Accommodations
The forward cabin has a double berth. In the main cabin, a pilot berth sits outboard of the starboard settee. The port side could mirror that arrangement or have a settee that converts to a double berth, with a shelf overhead.
Near the companionway, the galley has a double sink positioned close to the centerline. Opposite are a fixed chart table and a quarter berth, placing navigation and food preparation on opposite sides of a practical cruising interior.
Verdict
The Downeaster 38 Kth is a thoughtfully specified heavy cruiser, not a performance boat. Its strengths include a Lloyd’s-requirement laminate, seacocks on every below-waterline through-hull, and a ballast-to-displacement ratio that, by the numbers, delivers exceptional motion comfort for its size.
The ketch rig trades outright sail area for manageable handling. Below, the practical cruising layout provides genuine double-berth options forward and aft. The ratios also suggest that the boat will be slow to accelerate and under-canvased beside lighter contemporaries, but that is the deliberate trade-off made by a 19,500-pound, long-keel cruiser.
Pros
- Lloyd's-requirement laminate, with seacocks on all below-waterline through-hulls
- Encapsulated lead ballast equal to 41 percent of displacement, contributing to a comfort ratio that beats 90 percent of similar designs
- Practical arrangement with the galley and chart table on opposite sides, plus a quarter berth
- Emergency hand-start provision and twin independent batteries as standard
Cons
- Slightly underrigged for its displacement, with an SA/D of 15.13
- Ultra-heavy displacement-to-length ratio limits acceleration and top speed
