Design and Construction
Briand's cruiser-racer sits on a 26.75-foot waterline inside a 32-foot overall hull, with a beam of 10.75 feet and a displacement of 9,800 pounds. The single skin polyester fiberglass hull carries 4,410 pounds of exterior cast iron ballast, and the deck above is balsa-cored polyester fiberglass with wood trim throughout. The hull itself shows a raked stem and a reverse transom, and the underwater profile runs to an internally mounted spade-type rudder on a tiller with a fixed deep-draft fin keel. Buyers could also specify a shoal-draft fin or a keel with a retractable steel centerboard, the latter drawing 6.75 feet with the board down and just 3.5 feet retracted. The racing root of the design is visible in the proportions rather than the finish: a 45 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio on a 9,800-pound hull gives the section stiffness you would expect from a Three-Quarter Ton derivative built on a prototype IOR racer.
Rig and Handling
The Symphonie carries a masthead sloop rig with a Bermuda plan, a deck-stepped mast, and a single set of spreaders on aluminum spars with continuous stainless steel wire rigging. The sail plan is generous for the length: a 212-square-foot mainsail and a 274-square-foot jib/genoa give 658 square feet of upwind area, while a 446-square-foot genoa and a 969-square-foot symmetrical spinnaker push downwind area to 1,180 square feet. The deep-draft keel version draws 6.16 feet; the shoal keel 5.9. The design has a hull speed of 6.87 knots, and the spade rudder on a tiller keeps steering direct. The deck-stepped mast and single-spreader rig keep the standing rigging simple, and the optional symmetrical spinnaker of 969 square feet gives the boat a credible downwind sailing capability.
Accommodations
Below, the Symphonie sleeps six. A double V-berth fills the bow cabin, where headroom is 67 inches; the main cabin carries a U-shaped settee and a straight settee under 73 inches of headroom. An aft cabin on the starboard side holds a single berth. The galley sits on the port side at the companionway ladder as a U-shaped space with a two-burner stove, an ice box, and a double sink, while the navigation station faces it to starboard. The head is just aft of the bow cabin on the port side and includes a shower. The 30-gallon fresh water tank and 17-gallon fuel tank support the modest systems, and the Japanese Yanmar diesel of 16 or 22 horsepower drives the boat. The layout places the working stations opposite each other at the companionway, which keeps the cook and the navigator clear of the main settees sleeping accommodation for six people.
Known Issues
The balsa-cored deck is a saturated-core risk if a fitting leaks, the deck-stepped mast loads the cabin top through its step, and the externally mounted cast iron ballast can corrode or weep at its fastenings. The spade rudder and tiller steering place the rudder stock loads on an internal structure, and the shoal and centerboard keel options introduce moving steel components below the hull that demand their own inspection.
The Verdict
The Symphonie 32 is a Briand cruiser with a genuine IOR racer underneath, built in useful numbers and offered in three keel configurations to suit draft-restricted or offshore ambitions. The accommodation is full for six without feeling improvised, and the rig is straightforward to maintain. The caveats are those of its era: balsa-cored deck, deck-stepped mast, and external iron ballast all reward a careful survey.
Pros
- Racing-derived hull with cruiser accommodations for six
- Three keel options including a retractable-centerboard version
- Simple single-spreader masthead rig with generous sail area
- 320 built, so spares and knowledge are reasonably available
Cons
- Balsa-cored deck vulnerable to saturated core from leaks
- External cast iron ballast subject to corrosion at fastenings
- Deck-stepped mast concentrates rig loads on the cabin top
