Design and Construction
Nauticats are built in Finland and intended for high-latitude cruising, and the 39 follows that lineage with a traditional sailboat hull design beneath its deckhouse. The hull is solid fiberglass, and the yard's practice of hand-laminated single-skin construction without foam or balsa coring below the sheerline gives a straightforward structure an owner can survey without fear of hidden core rot in the hull shell. At 16,900 pounds displacement with 6,000 pounds of lead ballast, the 35.5 percent ballast-displacement ratio places her firmly in serious cruising territory; the capsize screening value of 1.64 would admit her to ocean racing under that formula anchor. Her 11.5-foot beam and 3.32 length-to-beam ratio make her slimmer than 58 percent of comparable designs, while a displacement-length ratio of 256 tags her among "moderate racers" — yet 54 percent of similar boats are heavier, so she carries load without wallowing.
Rig and Handling
The 39 is built with a fractional rig and carries more sail area than the earlier pilothouse generation, and owners find she sails well even in lighter wind and upwind. One family aboard their 2003 example reported loving how stable she feels crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the theoretical hull speed of 7.6 knots is within reach for a displacement hull of this length anchor. A standout trait is the inside steering station: in cold and wet conditions the boat can be sailed without firing up the engine, the helm tucked into the pilothouse while the crew stays dry. The wetted surface runs about 39 square meters, and the standard sheet spec calls for 14 mm diameters on jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker leads of 11.5, 11.5, 28.7, and 25.2 meters respectively — robust sizes that suit a boat meant to be handled offshore.
Accommodations
The pilothouse is the heart of the layout, providing a refuge when it is rainy and cold while flooding the cabin with natural light. Owners settling in for a week or more away from shore power cite enough stowage for a family with two growing kids, a 110-gallon fresh water capacity, and a battery bank sized for the same off-grid stretch. The inside steering station lets a short-handed crew hand-steer from shelter, and the overall plan reads as a long-range voyaging setup rather than a weekend coastal toy. A 2003 example named Polaris came with a generator, though that unit's head gasket had been replaced before purchase and still never really worked for its owners — a reminder that auxiliary machinery on any individual boat needs its own scrutiny.
The Verdict
The Nauticat 39 is a thoughtfully resolved pilothouse cruiser: a Finnish-built, Gustafsson-designed sloop that keeps real sailing ability while wrapping the helm and cabin in high-latitude shelter. Her numbers — capsize screening admitting ocean-race eligibility, comfort ratio in the 30.3–37.9 range, and moderate-racer displacement — back up the owner reports of stable, light-air performance. The caveats are individual rather than systemic: a given boat's generator or owner-fitted gear may not perform, and the pilothouse premium means more systems to maintain than a simple open cockpit boat.
Pros
- Pilothouse with inside steering allows dry, engine-off sailing in cold and wet conditions
- Traditional hull with more sail area than earlier pilothouse line; sails well upwind in light air
- Capsize screening of 1.64 admits ocean-race eligibility; moderate-racer displacement carries load
- Solid fiberglass hull; 110-gallon water and strong battery capacity for week-plus off-grid
Cons
- Individual boats may carry non-functional auxiliary gear (e.g. generator) needing immediate rebuild
- Slimmer, moderate-racer profile means less interior beam than beamier contemporary cruisers
