Design: Philip Rhodes, 1958

LOA: 32’

LWL: 22’1”

Beam: 8’9”

Draft: 4’9”

Ballast: 3750

Working Sail Area: 408 ft.

Designed by Philip Rhodes in 1958 for George B. Walton, a Yacht broker in Maryland.  Approximately 95 were built between 1960 and 1965; 35 by Danboats and the balance by Sanderson-both in Denmark.  Gulf Marine in California bought the molds from Walton and also built about 10 hulls sold as the Cabrillo 32.  She was Rhodes design #C700 being 32' LOA, 22'1" LWL, 8'9" Beam and 4'9" Draft.  Ballast was 3750 lbs. of outside lead.  She carries 408 sq/ft of working sail and 588 with genoa.  Her hull is solid glass with integral tanks and her deck was cored with plywood, particle board or masonite.  She sails very well and is weatherly, stands up well and is nearly perfectly balanced.  All of the original drawings were donated to Mystic Seaport and are available from them for $7-10 a sheet.  The Chesapeake has appeared in ads for solar panels, scuba gear, and Adsil coatings.

In the Feb '84 issue of Sailing, four boats were chosen as “Classic Plastics”.  Bob Perry chose the Chesapeake as his favorite oldie, saying it was "one of the first that struck me, it grabbed me by the heart when I saw it.  Why? Beauty of proportion."

She has a CCA rating between 22.4 and 24.9.  One owner in Weymouth, Ma. wins his class just about every year and reports that during a race in late October, only 5 boats finished in 40 knot winds and his was the only one not damaged.  Tom Meers claims she lays to "like a duck" under triple reefed main and storm jib.  The original brochure selling price was $14,900.  This was with main, jib, genoa, spinnaker; all spinnaker gear; 5 winches; roller furling boom; Atomic 4; monogrammed dishes, flatware, and glasses for six; all safety gear; anchor and rode; and screens for all openings.  She had a folding pedestal table, fold up pilot berth to port, and 100lb. icebox. This brochure claims all bulkheads to be of glass and the head bulkheads of glassed plywood, that the deck was honeycomb cored (must have been changed early), rudder stock and hinge fitting of bronze , and 3750 lbs. of lead bolted with 5/8" bronze bolts (mine are either SS or monel).  A later brochure raised the price to $16,800 and changed the deck core to 3/4" plywood, changed the rudder stock to SS.  The Gulf Marine Cabrillo 32 (same hull design) brochure lists the hull and deck as solid glass, with internal ballast (unknown material).  There was an owners association in the 60's with a newsletter called "Chatanews".  I have seen the summer '64 issue, if anyone has any others I would love to see them. In this issue there is discussion of compass location (seemed to be a big problem).  Discussion of additional ballast, anywhere from 400 to 750 lbs. added in bilge area between head and locker, also a sentence stating that Walton added 400 lbs. to all hulls in this area.  One owner stated that his displacement is 11,915 which I think is more reasonable.  Discussion of core separation of the deck (already in 1964!).  Also talk of very poor gelcoat and repainting hulls.  Discussion of adding a Laz locker also.

Written by previous owners group coordinator