Clipper Marine collapsed before it could build a single hull. Cruising Consultants of Newport Beach then produced 16 boats between 1977 and 1979. Pacific Seacraft acquired the rights and molds in 1980, renamed the boat the Pacific Seacraft 37 in the mid-1990s, and has since completed several hundred examples. The design entered the American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 2002.
Design and Construction
Crealock paid particular attention to the shape below the waterline. He drew a hull with a large, moderate-aspect fin keel and a skeg-hung rudder, paired with an attractive canoe stern intended to part a following sea.
The hull is an uncored, solid-fiberglass laminate. Through the mid-1990s, the decks had marine-grade plywood cores; builders then switched to end-grain balsa, with plywood inserts at hardware mounting points. Pacific Seacraft used conservative, strong construction, including hand-laid hulls and decks. The hull-to-deck joint is bedded in polyurethane sealant, through-bolted, and finished with a 4-inch teak cap rail, forming a dry, robust union.
A full-length molded liner provides longitudinal and transverse stiffness, with recesses for bulkheads, floors, and tanks. The main bulkhead is both glassed and bolted. Beneath the liner, a glass-filled PVC pipe transfers mast compression to the hull.
The water tanks are integral to the liner, with molded sides, ends, and bottoms and Formica-faced plywood tops. This unusual arrangement uses the space beneath the berths to add capacity.
Rig, Stability, and Performance
The Crealock 37 was offered as a sloop, cutter, or yawl, although few buyers ordered the yawl and most boats now trade as cutters or sloops. Reviewers found the rig very well proportioned. The mainsail has a roughly 2.7:1 aspect ratio, considered near ideal, while the moderate-fin underbody keeps the boat easily managed by a short-handed crew.
In a little breeze, she heels quickly to about 15 degrees and then sits rock solid. She is somewhat narrow and has less form stability, but her ultimate stability is excellent. A beam or broad reach is her best point of sail.
Two Crealock 37s recorded corrected times in the Singlehanded Transpac that placed them among the fastest ten percent of all finishers. John Kretschmer noted that the cutter isn’t especially efficient dead downwind and needs a drifter or cruising spinnaker in light air. When the wind builds, however—even with a large sea running—the boat finds her stride. Owners have reported double-digit surfing in trade-wind seas, and long passages averaging better than 150 miles per day are common. Kretschmer called her a “swisher” rather than a “pounder,” citing seakindliness as the most underrated performance factor.
Accommodations
Cruising Consultants built the interiors in place, using teak-trimmed mahogany ceilings, an oak overhead, and a sole of narrow oak planks. Saloon headroom exceeds 6 feet. Achieving that space despite the boat’s low freeboard required a tall cabin trunk, which the designer disguised with low bulwarks and teak eyebrow trim.
Pacific Seacraft later introduced molded-fiberglass structural modules. These retained most of the teak joinery while making the interior brighter.
The forward cabin has a V-berth measuring just over 7 feet 6 inches at the head and narrowing to 3 feet at the foot. A 40-gallon aluminum tank sits beneath it, with an additional 60-gallon fiberglass tank under the saloon sole.
The head is to starboard, just aft of the forward cabin. Its molded lower half simplifies cleanup, and the shower pumps directly overboard. In the main cabin, three berths lie close to the centerline, making them comfortable sleeping places under sail. A U-shaped galley opposite the navigation station supports liveaboard use. Practical Sailor judged the interior very livable for long-term offshore cruising.
Machinery and Known Issues
Engine access is the main owner-facing annoyance. On Pacific Seacraft boats, the cockpit-floor opening was reduced to about 2 by 2 feet. Reaching the front of the engine to change the impeller or alternator belt requires removing the companionway ladder.
A hinged top on the engine box helps, as does a quarterberth panel that provides access to the engine’s left side and the stuffing box. Even so, routine work can be awkward. The supplied 55-amp alternator is also just barely adequate for the standard pair of 120-amp-hour batteries.
Over the years, the boat was fitted with both Universal and Yanmar diesels. The Yanmar 4JHE four-cylinder is now standard.
Deck Details, Changes, and Refit Options
Most of the deck hardware is well-finished bronze. Pacific Seacraft later replaced its trademark oval ports with rectangular ones.
The boat was designed with a strut-mounted exposed propeller, later modified to a skeg aperture with a standard two-bladed wheel. A singlehander’s package, which moves the halyards and reefing lines to the cabin trunk, is a common upgrade path. So is the optional anchor-windlass boss forward.
The removable cockpit sole is bolted down over heavy gaskets. After a deck retool, only its forward half could be separated. Together with the carefully detailed watertight companionway hatch, this arrangement reflects an owner-friendly design.
The Verdict
The Crealock 37 is a thoughtfully engineered, moderate-displacement cruiser. Its hull pedigree and disciplined construction justify the boat’s Hall of Fame recognition. For an offshore-minded owner, it offers seakindly motion and manageable short-handed sailing, with the trade-offs of limited light-air drive and tight engine access.
Pros
- Solid, uncored hull with a robust, through-bolted and teak-capped hull-to-deck joint
- Integral liner tanks and molded structure contribute to stiffness and livability
- Easily handled short-handed, quick to settle at 15 degrees, and endowed with excellent ultimate stability
- Proven passage-maker with strong results in singlehanded racing
Cons
- Reduced cockpit-floor access on Pacific Seacraft boats complicates engine-belt service
- Cutter rig is underwhelming dead downwind without a drifter or asymmetrics
- Standard alternator is marginal for the specified battery bank
