Design and Character
Hood drew the Little Harbor 37 as an ultra-heavy-displacement cruiser. Her displacement-length ratio is 508, placing her among “ultra heavy cruisers”; no similar sailboat designs are catalogued as heavier.
Her length-beam ratio of 3.52 makes her slimmer than 79 percent of comparable designs. By contrast, her ballast ratio of 26 percent is higher than that of only 3 percent. The Motion Comfort Ratio of 44.0 exceeds that of 99 percent of similar sailboat designs, while the capsize screening value of 1.57 reflects a stowage-and-ballast profile suited more to offshore work than speed.
An immersion rate of about 936 pounds per inch indicates how stubbornly she holds her lines as weight comes aboard.
Keel and Draft
The stub-and-centerboard keel gives a draft between 4.49 and 4.79 feet, depending on load. With the board raised, she draws little more than four and a half feet, allowing her into shallow marinas that a fixed-keel 37-footer couldn’t enter.
This versatile draft arrangement was one Hood favored for both coastal and offshore cruising. It is also the boat’s defining maintenance item.
Rig and Sail Handling
The Little Harbor 37 carries a masthead sloop rig. Her sail-area-displacement ratio is 13.86, a modest figure consistent with such a heavy hull.
The standing and running rigging dimensions on file include an 11.3-meter jib and genoa sheet at 14 mm diameter, a 28.2-meter mainsheet of the same diameter, and a 24.8-meter spinnaker sheet. These figures give buyers a sense of the control lines the crew handles: substantial genoa sheets, long mainsheet travel, and a spinnaker sheet sized for a full cruising chute.
Performance Underway
The theoretical hull speed is 6.8 knots. Calculated maximum speed under power is about 5.4 knots, bounded by the single 40-horsepower Vire diesel driving directly.
Her wetted surface of roughly 398 square feet is large for her length, a consequence of the heavy hull form. It works against acceleration but helps steady the boat in a seaway. Taken together, the displacement-length and comfort figures describe a boat that absorbs motion rather than skipping over it.
Verdict
The Little Harbor 37 is a purpose-built heavy cruiser from Hood’s early independent years. She suits an owner who values motion comfort and shallow-water access over pace, and who is content with a modest sail plan and a single small diesel. The centerboard arrangement is both her defining virtue and her defining maintenance item.
Pros
- Centerboard keel provides about 4.5 feet of shallow draft for marina access
- Motion Comfort Ratio exceeds that of 99 percent of similar designs
- Ultra-heavy displacement provides steadiness and capsize resistance
Cons
- Sail-area-displacement ratio of 13.86 limits light-air performance
- Heavy displacement and large wetted surface blunt acceleration
- Ballast ratio is low relative to peers, higher than that of only 3 percent
