FROM ITS fairly recent inception as a group of small boatbuilders who banded together under designers Cuthbertson and Cassian, C & C Yachts has mushroomed into a major manufacturer of fiberglass auxiliaries notable for their racing successes. So when we learned that C & C was to have their latest creation, a 33' Three-Quarter Tonner, at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, we hastened to make arrangements with C & C Dealer Representative Mike Spicer to sail her after the show ended.
On the appointed day we met Mike at Hartge Yacht Sales in Annapolis where the boat taken after the show, but the weather was hardly conducive to either sailing or taking photographs-intermittent downpours mixed with icy temperatures and gusty winds. Having inured to uncooperative elements when reporting on boats, we decided to use the day for a look at the C & C's accommodations. Walking down the dock towards the boat, it was easy to pick her out with her typical C & C saucy sheerline and full length black extruded aluminum toerail tracks, a C & C trademark. What did surprise us was her hull color-a dark chocolate C & C offers as. an option called "nomad brown." It takes some getting used to.
We clambered aboard and went below, noting the amply sized (24" x 24") frosted translucent companionway hatch and the one piece teak ply hatchboard-certainly easier to use than the normal three or four individual boards, if a bit less convenient to stow. The first impression of the main saloon is one of much more space than is typical for a 33' sailboat. There is plenty of room to move around and an open, uncluttered feeling. This is largely due to the that C & C has not fitted the main cabin with pilot berths, unlike most of the Three-Quarter Tonners we've seen, preferring to forego cramming in extra berths in order to achieve plentiful elbow room. As long as you don't intend to cruise or race with the entire King family, the trade-off makes sense, although it does limit the number of bunks that would be tenable slamming into heavy seas.
Forward, the C & C features a 6'4-1/2 V-berth abaft the rope locker, with a filler panel as standard to make it into one big playpen. Each side of the V-berth is hinged to provide stowage space underneath, and a shelf with two-inch sea rail runs full length port and starboard over the berth. Overhead, a clear plastic hatch supplies fresh air and sail handling access, and two dome lights provide illumination. A privacy door separates the forward cabin from the rest of the boat to some degree.
The head is situated to starboard directly abaft the forward cabin, and is equipped with a Raritan hand pump toilet as standard, with either direct dis-charge or holding tank set-ups available. A locker, shelves, and counters around the toilet and modestly-sized sink offer adequate stowage space. We were distressed to see, however, that although the through-hull fittings under the sink had seacocks, one fitting had an elbow between the seacock and the hull surface-we'd prefer to see the seacock fastened flush to the hull, as recommended by ABYC.
A hanging locker across to port from the w/c and sink is the same size as the one outboard of the toilet and is large enough (18" bar) to provide for the normal ship's complement, and three open-faced bins should suffice for the crew's personal gear. A sliding door separates the head area from the main cabin.
The main cabin features a 6'6'/2" L-shaped settee to starboard with table that converts to form a double berth, and a settee berth opposite. Both have full length shelves with 43/4" coamings above and outboard, along with large lockers behind the three cushions on the back of each berth. The starboard berth has additional stowage space under itin all, the main cabin has more than enough stowage space to accommodate the clothes and gear normally accumulated in a season's cruising or racing. The whole area is nicely finished off with lots of teak trim, a nylon shag rug on the sole, and pleasant, durable fabrics on the berths. Four fixed ports admit enough light, and ventilation is taken care of by the companionway hatch, the forward hatch, and a mushroom vent over the head. One dome and two overhead lights illumine the bunks and the dinette.
The galley, to starboard and just abaft the dinette, is equipped with a three-burner gimbaled Hillerange alcohol stove with sea rails and oven. The formica counter space is fitted with teak sea rails, and the stainless steel sink situated next to the companionway ladder measures an ample 10" x14-1/2"x4-1/2" deep. A hand pump supplies fresh water, and a dome light keeps the cook happy at night. Although the stowage space on our boat was about adequate, on the newer boats additional lockers and drawers have been fitted in and around the galley. The ice chest is good-sized, and drains into a sump, although on our boat the pump was a bit awkward to operate, being in a low locker under the sink. With a partial bulkhead between the galley and dinette, and the companionway ladder on the inboard side, the cook has plenty of things to brace him- or herself against, and this, combined with an efficient layout, appears to provide a galley that would be usable and convenient at dockside or in a seaway.
The C & C 33 should keep the navigator happy with his lot-the chart table, situated to port across from the galley, measures 2' 6-1/2" across by 2' long, and has room under the hinged lid for enough charts for most sailor's needs. A bin outboard looks large enough to contain a full array of electronics and instruments, and a drawer under that is suitable for navigating tools odds and ends. More stowage space is available under the navigator's seat and table. The navigator also has his own berth-a quarterberth under the cockpit seat abaft the chart table. The quarterberth is a comfortable 6'1" long with lots of space and headroom, although entry and exit, like many quarter-berths, calls for some contortions on the part of the large and unwieldy. Traps under the berth offer stowage space, along with a shelf that runs outboard of the berth. Ventilation is supplied by an opening port looking into the cockpit.
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Overall, the accommodations in the C & C are well thought out and nicely finished. Although anyone over 6'1-1/2" will have to stoop, most people should find the headroom ample. We did notice the lack of a proper oilskin locker, but one could be squeezed in somewhere. On later boats on the production line, we noticed that C & C is making some alterations to the interior, such as putting sliding panels on some of the open-faced bins, changing the dinette table to increase the number of people who can sit comfortably at it, and adding some drawers and lockers around the galley, but even the prototype had most satisfactory accommodations. Although Mike Spicer from C & C couldn't wait around for the weather to improve for our sailing and photography session, he did arrange with Hartge Yacht Sales to provide us with a camera boat and stalwart crew, including sailmaker Chuck Wiley, to help sail the boat. Two days later the day dawned bright and clear, so we called Hartge's and arranged to go out for a sail that morning. We arrived and found everything in order and the crew from Hartge's ready to go. Backing out of the tight slip was accomplished with a minimum of fuss, although without any stern mooring cleats the stern mooring lines had to run to the genoa sheet cleats-two mooring cleats aft would be ai. improvement. Under power, the 33 moves along at a decent clip-with the gas Atomic-4 engine coupled to a 2:1 reduction V-drive and solid 15 x 10 propeller we clocked around six knots, maybe a litte higher. Finally we reached the mouth of Annapolis Harbor, raised sail and shut off the engine. We sailed out into an almost perfc - fall day on the Chesapeake--clear, sunny and bright, with a good 10- to 12-knot northerly with higher gusts. Cold it was, but not cold enough to spoil sailing in nearly optimum conditions. |
Under a 155 percent genoa and full main, the C & C 33 went to weather like a dream-we made roughly five to six knots, and heeled only about 13 to 17 degrees. The C & C is stiff, and going to weather she is a joy to sail-well balanced and very responsive. The slight chop in the Bay, perhaps a little over a foot, had no appreciable effect on her, and although we didn't have any instruments to indicate how close to the wind we were sailing, she seemed quite close-winded.
Alas, our enjoyable beat up the Bay was shortlived, as our genoa halyard fitting gave out and the sail came down in a flapping heap. In short order, however, the aces from Hartges had everything squared away, and within a minute or two we had the spinnaker flying and we were scooting dead downwind.
With a high ratio aspect partially balanced rudder, the C & C had good control downwind, although constant attention and adjusting was necessary to keep her on course and moving her best. She showed no bad traits downwind, although like many IOR boats she might be tricky to handle in a really heavy breeze with large following seas.
She really enjoyed reaching with the chute. While she had a healthy weather helm, with the amount of sail we had up and the 12-knot and up breeze it was not more than should be expected. As on the other points of sail, the C & C lived up to her star-studded pedigree and moved smartly with good manners, although with the imprecise speed indicators we had aboard only a rough estimate of her actual speed was available-perhaps seven to eight knots, maybe more in the puff's. While reaching under spinnaker, we did come alongside a 44' yawl that was carrying everything but the captain's drawers, and we almost kept up with her-not bad for a boat some 11 feet shorter.
It's true that sailing a boat for the first time on such a glorious day can tend to influence one to overlook weaknesses in sailing qualities and deck layouts, but even trying hard to guard against this we could come up with very little to nit-pick about. As well as having a hull that seems to give her excellent sailing characteristics, the 33 has a deck lay-out that has been arranged carefully for convenient and efficient sailing. The blister-type cabin top, covered with the same good nonslip surface as the side decks, offers a stable place to work even at considerable angles of heel, and the foredeck is clear and uncluttered. Halyard winches are grouped around the base of the mast on the cabin top-much better to be able to kneel or sit when raising or dumping sails in rough going than having to stand balancing precariously as is the case with halyard-winches mounted partway up the mast.
The T-shaped: cockpit is a generous 7'8" long by 5'3" wide, and has four drains,for speedy self-bailing. It's designed for either wheel or tiller steering-we had a tiller. Wi&-the tiller we met with few complications or hassles during tacks and spinnaker operations, although the sheet trimmers do have to step lively to keep out of the way of the tiller and helmsperson during tacks. The cockpit is quite comfortable to sit in, with high coamings and large seats, and the tiller, a handsome laminate of ash and mahogany, comes readily to hand. The blister cabin is low enough to give an excellent, unobstructed view of what's happening in all directions. While the cockpit does function agreeably with a tiller, the T-shape is well suited for wheel steering, and in fact we were told at the C & C plant that the vast majority of 33's ordered thus far have been equipped with wheels ($850 extra).
In keeping with the care and thoughtfulness that went into the design, the deck hardware is of ample strength and quality, and more important, properly installed. The stainless steel bow and stern pulpit stanchions, along with the lifeline stanchions, are all through-bolted. All the Barient winches, cleats and deck fittings are also through-bolted with glassed-in back up plates.
We caught up with Mike Spicer a few weeks later at C & C's plant at Niagara-on-the Lake in Ontario, Canada. This small town on Lake Ontario, is steeped in British/American colonial history and on the surface seems an unlikely location for production boatbuilding. But there are advantages: a good labor supply, direct overland shipping to the States, plus facilities for water delivery of larger boatsand Lake Ontario makes a dandy testbed for new designs.
Once welcomed at the plant, our first barrage of questions concerned the fiberglass lay-up of the hull and deck structure-here we were stonewalled. The C & C management does not give out this information. Whereas they would not divulge lay-up schedules, they were willing to discuss hull thicknesses at specific points and indicate the types of fiberglass materials that go into their hulls and decks.
We learned that the C & C 33 comes in with a thickness of .21" at the sheer, .29" along the bottom, and .42" on the centerline in way of the ballast keel-more than adequate.
The C & C people are not wedded to the traditional mat/roving concept used by the great majority of boatbuilders. Their aim is lightness with maximum strength. To this end they employ glass materials that we have never seen on any other production line:
1. Undirectional roving consisting of continuous parallel strands of fiberglass either stitched together or bonded to a very light mat to form a roll of material with the strands running the full length.
This material produces excellent strength characteristics parallel to the strands and is not burdened with the extra weight of fill material.
2. Unbalanced woven roving with variations in the warp/fill relationship. Most woven roving is a square weave with equal bundles of strands in both the warp and fill. C & C utilizes rovings with variations in the fill bundles to suit specific strength requirements.
These materials offer high strength in the warp direction and optimum weight/strength characteristics.
As we snooped through a 33 hull on the line we noticed a number of removable panels on the overhead. We learned that when removed, the fastenings for deck mounted gear are revealed making it a cinch to tighten or relocate hardware. But the piece de resistance is found along the perimeter of the deck where every fastening, toerail, rail stanchion bases, etc., is accessible! A small down flange on the outboard edge of the overhead liner serves to conceal the fastenings yet leaves them ready prey for a socket wrench.
The hull/deck connection is one of the best and most practical that we have seen. The hull is flanged inboard for an inch or two, capped with a strip of compressible butyl compound, fitted with a d-shaped vinyl rub rail, more butyl tape, the deck fitted in place, another butyl tape applied followed by an extruded aluminum toerail track, and the whole sandwich fastened with 1/4-20 s.s. bolts on close centers. Once the bolts are taken up the butyl compound fills every crevice. If there is a deck leak at any point, simply tighten the readily accessible toe rail track bolts in the immediate area!
We came away from the C & C 33 impressed-she is soundly and solidly constructed, and from
our all too-brief sail she seems to be fast and responsive, particularly to windward. Her
accommodations are uncrowded and comfortable, and for the cruising man who wants a quick
and responsive boat without having to suffer a typical cluttered racing interior, she should
be excellent. With such renowned boats as Red Jacket, Condor, Arieto, and Sorcery in her lineage
she has a lot to live up to-we're betting she will.
C & C 33 SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions:
Overall length --- 32' 10-1/2"
Waterline length --- 26'5"
Beam -- 10' 6-1/2"
Draft --- 5'6"
Freeboard forward --- 4'5"
Freeboard aft --- 3' 4-1'2"
Bridge clearance ---46'11" *
Cabin headroom --- 6'2" to 5'10"
* Waterline to top of mast.
Displacement: 9800 Ibs (approx). Ballast: 4075 Ibs (lead).
Ballast/ displacement ratio: 42% (approx) Displacement/ length ratio: 238 (approx)
Sail Area: Main plus 100% foretriangle: 501.2 sq. ft.
Sail area /displacement ratio: 17.51 (approx)
Accommodations: Sleeps six in two cabins -two in forward cabin V-berth, one in main cabin fixed berth, two in main cabin convertible berth, and one in quarter berth to port. Washroom with marine head, lavatory, and sliding privacy door. L-shaped galley with gimbaled three-burner alcohol range and oven, s.s. sink with fresh water pump, top opening ice chest, dish rack, and lockers.
Standard Equipment: Complete International Rule navigation lights; mast-mounted bow light incorporates foredeck floodlight; engine and tank compartment ventilation complies with Coast Guard recommendations; bilge blower; one 2-3/4 lb. dry chemical fire extinguisher; manual bilge pump; s.s. pulpit and pushpit; coated s.s. life lines with necessary stanchions; teak grabrails on cabin trunk; deck hardware includes bow chocks integrated into stemhead casting; two 10-1/2" bow cleats, full length extruded aluminum toerail tracks p&s; 7" cleats for main halyard; genoa halyard; main sheet, and genoa sheets-all through-bolted; 19-1/2" x 19-1/2" aluminum framed foredeck hatch with clear acrylic insert; 24" x 24" sliding companionway hatch with acrylic insert and fiberglass hood; four fixed ports in cabin trunk: opening port in way of quarter berth; deck-mounted vent overhead; 12v electrical system; switch and fuse panel with five circuits; boxed 12v 55 amp hr battery; explosion-proof master switch; standing rigging grounded for lightning protection; 20 gal Monel fuel tank; 30 gal neoprene fresh water tank; self-bailing cockpit with valved scupper lines; non-slip deck surfaces.
Spars and Rigging: Single spreader rig with diamond-shaped aluminum mast with integral bolt rope groove (7.75" x 4.60" x .145" wall). Aluminum boom with integral bolt rope groove (6.25" x 3.125" x.1 15" wall) and fixed gooseneck. Foil section aluminum spreaders. All standing rigging Navtec No. 8 round s.s. rod (.225" dia). Standing rigging consists of headstay, backstay, single uppers, and double lowers. S.s. chainplates, cast aluminum stemhead fitting, and cast aluminum mast step. Two Barient No. 26 s.s. sheet winches, one Barient No. 10 mainsheet winch, one deck-mounted Barient No. 16 s.s. genoa halyard winch, one deck-mounted Barient No. 10 main halyard winch, and one boom-mounted Barient No. 10 for outhaul and slab reefing. Roller bearing mainsheet traveller with adjustable stops. Cunningham tackle. Main halyard 5/32" dia 7 x 19 s.s. wire with rope tail, genoa halyard 3i 16" dia 7 x 19 wire with rope tail. Braided Dacron main and genoa sheets. Two genoa snatch blocks.
Auxiliary Propulsion: Universal Atomic Four 30 hp gasoline engine with 2:1 reduction gear, Walter V-drive, and water-cooled exhaust. Two-bladed 15" x 10" propeller. Cockpit mounted controls and instrument panel.
Construction: Molded fiberglass hull, deck, and hull liner. While C & C would not reveal details of their laminating procedures, the following figures were given on hull thickness; top-sides-.210", hull bottom-.293", centerline in way of ballast keel-.416".
Price: Standard boat with above equipment less sails, FOB Niagara-on-the-Lake, U.S. duty paid, $33,950. Boat sailed had a number of extras including non-standard hull and deck colors, molded boot top, anti-fouling bottom paint, lower lifelines and gates, spinnaker gear including winches, 110V shore power system, Navtec backstay adjuster, and inboard genoa tracks with cars, for a retail value of about $36,750.
Designer: C & C Design Group.
Builder: C 8 C Yachts Manufacturing, Ltd. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., Canada.