Boat models · Contessa
Contessa 26
Sailboat, coastal cruiser
Key figures
Reputation
Classcoastal cruiseras owners use it
Forumsloveda following; good ones get hunted
Pretty, seakindly little classic that punches above its size; owners keep them for decades.
- Coastal cruising
- loved · seakindly, stiff, handles weather well
- Offshore passages
- respected · small but proven; some have crossed oceans
- Club racing
- respected · competitive under IOR-era rules, active class
- Liveaboard
- disliked · too small, tight cabin
- Loved
- Seakindly motion in a blow · Classic good looks · Strong solid GRP hull · Sails well, balanced helm
- Gripes
- Cramped headroom and cabin · Small, dated interior · Wet in short steep chop · Tiller and cockpit tight
- Survey for
- Keel bolt and keel joint corrosion · Rudder and skeg condition · Deck core wetness at fittings · Original Atomic 4/old engine mounts
- Cross-shopped
- Westerly Centaur · Vega 27 · Folkboat · Sadler 25
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