Soverel 33 (1983) Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The Soverel 33 carries light displacement, with original Florida boats near 5,200 pounds, most weighing about 5,800 pounds ready to sail, and Tartan-built examples closer to 5,900. A 2,800-pound lead keel and an 11-foot beam amidships give her a powerful but easily driven platform. Four builders produced the boat: the first 69 at Bill Soverel's Florida plant, five flush-deck versions at Republic Boats in California in 1984, 19 at George Olson's Santa Cruz operation in 1985, and a final small batch at Tartan Yachts in North Carolina. Florida hulls and decks were cored with Klegecell in mat and biaxial roving, Republic used Divinycell, Olson used balsa, and Tartan combined Klegecell hulls with balsa decks; Tartan boats also received better-finished interiors and more amenities. Construction came as four modules—hull, liner, and two deck-cockpit pieces—with the liner stiffening the hull amidships and aft of the companionway.

Rig and Handling

Her rig is a 50-foot-tall 15/16 fractional sloop with a bendy double-spreader section on Navtec rod rigging and straight spreaders. Checkstays replaced running backstays, preventing rig pumping without MORC penalty, while the split backstay attaches at the transom through blocks. Shroud bases sit well inboard for narrow sheeting angles, and the mast butt bolts allow tune adjustments affecting sail shape. All halyards and controls lead aft to the cockpit; the boom ends forward of the tiller, well clear of the sole, with the traveler 38 inches aft of the companionway. On the water, test sailors found her sailing close-hauled at 5.7–5.9 knots in 6–8 knots, gaining a half-knot when flattened with rail weight in 7–9 knots, and holding better than 4 knots on a beam reach in 3 knots. A.75-ounce spinnaker lifted her past 6 knots in 4–6 knots.

Accommodations

Below, the saloon is 4 feet 10 inches wide at shoulder level and 9 feet 8 inches at the settee backs, with 5 feet 10 inches of headroom at the peak. The 33-inch-deep settees convert via wooden brackets to 24-inch berths, and 10-inch storage bins run behind them. An 8-gallon fuel tank sits under the starboard berth, water tank under the port settee, and a 25-gallon cooler secures to the galley shelf beside a recessed two-burner alcohol stove and cold-pressure sink. Opposite lies a 49-inch nav counter; the head is an athwartships toilet with curtain privacy and no shower. Quarter berths are enormous at 9 feet 6 inches by 4 feet, and forward sail stowage runs 6 feet 8 inches. She sleeps four comfortably and races well with six.

Known Issues

Mark Soverel delivered some new boats with instructions for adding hull stiffeners to reduce oilcanning forward of the main bulkhead, and after hull #16 two vertical bow stiffeners became standard. Decks cored with balsa or foam at the chainplates lacked sheer strength, letting the chainplate creep inward under load; Tartan increased lamination there, and the builder’s bulletin described cutting out coring and relaminating solid as the fix.

Refits and Ownership

The original 8-hp Yanmar 1GM (now 1GM10) powers most boats, though several now run transom outboards to 9.9 hp. The lightweight fiberglass engine box gives little sound deadening. Hull numbers are non-consecutive, ending at 119, so buyers should verify builder by core material and finish rather than number alone.

The Verdict

The Soverel 33 is a sharp, light racer that bridged one-design ambition and modern sports-boat thinking, rewarding a tuned rig and active crew with genuine speed in thin air.

Pros