Design and Construction
The 32s is built predominantly of glassfibre with wood trim, but the defining characteristic is its hull-within-a-hull assembly. Each shell is fiberglass in polyester resin laid up by hand, and closed-cell polyurethane foam is injected into the intervening space, which provides buoyancy and insulation against condensation as well as making the boat unsinkable. The European Union gives the 32s a Category A rating for all oceans, a certification that aligns with the structural redundancy of the sandwich rather than merely nominal compliance. Above the waterline the boat presents a low, lean hull topped by a stepped superstructure — almost a deck saloon — while below the waterline she has a shallow underbody with a flat run. The fixed wing keel is standard, with optional twin tandem keels separated by an open slot; the tandem version yields a shoal draft of 4 feet 3 inches, while the deeper wing configuration draws 5 feet 11 inches. Displacement is 8,575 lb with the shoal-draught keel and 8,157 lb with the deep keel, on a beam of 11 feet 3 inches and a waterline length of 27 feet 6 inches.
Rig and Handling
The 32s carries a fractional sloop rig of the Bermuda type, with a sailplan quoted at 460 square feet of working sail. The most unusual element is the EVS — Etap Vertical Steering — a tiller that moves athwartships in a vertical plane rather than swinging horizontally. The vertical post is attached by Delrin rack-and-pinion gears to the rudderstock, and pushing the bar left steers the boat left, an intuitive mapping that test sailors found agreeable. Carol Hasse, a Boat of the Year judge, said she really enjoyed steering that boat and noted it is quite responsive with a balanced helm. Yachting Monthly's testing found she tracks well under sail with plenty of feel and slips easily into a steady groove; the big rudder can put a fair amount of weight on the helm, but it keeps her going straight when other yachts are beginning to round up in the gusts. The mainsheet traveler is mounted across the cockpit just forward of the helm, and with the Volvo sail drive turning at 2,600 rpm the boat has been pushed along at 8 knots in review conditions. She is quick and sporty if you want her to be, but not at the expense of easy handling, and she stands up to her canvas well.
Accommodations
Below, the 32s sleeps six across a double V-berth in the bow cabin, two straight settees in the main cabin, and an aft cabin with a double berth on the starboard side. The galley sits on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder and is L-shaped, equipped with a two-burner stove, an ice box, and a double sink; opposite it, on the starboard side, is the navigation station, with the head located aft of that station on the same side. The accommodation is generally good, with excellent features such as the ventilation and thoughtfully designed stowage spaces for large items, and the roomy aft cabin is a genuine asset. The honest caveat from period review is that there is less room inside than the equivalent Bénéteau or Jeanneau — a trade the buyer accepts for the unsinkable construction and shoal-draft options.
Known Issues and Ownership
The source documents no structural defects or systemic failures for the 32s. The principal ownership note is that the boat was at one time supported by a class club, the ETAP Owners Association, which speaks to an organized owner base during the production years. Prospective owners should understand that the EVS helm is a specialized interface rather than a conventional wheel or tiller, and that Yachting Monthly's review noted many of these yachts were fitted with it; familiarity with the Delrin rack-and-pinion linkage is worth confirming during any survey.
The Verdict
The ETAP 32s is a genuinely distinctive 32-foot cruiser whose unsinkable foam-sandwich construction, Category A ocean rating, and EVS vertical steering place it outside the mainstream production mold. It rewards the sailor who values structural redundancy and responsive, balanced handling over maximum interior volume, and its availability from 2003 through advertisement in 2021 suggests a design that satisfied its market without repeated reinvention.
Pros
- Unsinkable hull-within-hull polyester and foam-sandwich construction with condensation insulation
- Category A rating for all oceans from the European Union
- Responsive, balanced EVS vertical steering with intuitive left-steers-left mapping
- Shoal 4 ft 3 in tandem-keel option alongside deeper 5 ft 11 in wing keel
- Roomier aft-cabin layout with well-ventilated, thoughtfully stowed interior
Cons
- Less interior room than equivalent Bénéteau or Jeanneau models
- EVS helm is a non-standard interface requiring familiarization
- Big rudder can load the helm with noticeable weight
