Saturday, 1 October 2011

The Dix design Cape class yachts

It started with the very succesfull Cape Cutter 19,that became the Cape Henry 21 and of course on Dudleys drawing board is the Cape Charles 32,the plans are still to be completed.

 Seen here at a cove named Boulders,False Bay,South Africa,the very first Cape Cutter 19 doing what she does best. Picture taken by Nick?

The Cape Henry 21

The lapstrake plywood Cape Henry 21 developed naturally out of the Cape Cutter 19, a GRP trailer sailer that has become very popular in a short time and has sold 70 boats in its first 2 years in the UK market. The 19 proved to be a boat that is full of character, able and seaworthy, with a surprising turn of speed.

The appeal and success of that little boat brought a steady stream of requests for similar boats in larger sizes, to 30ft LOA and beyond. The concept of the 19 will work in slightly larger sizes but becomes less practical as size increases. I chose to rework the concept at 21ft to produce about 1/3 more boat in terms of volume and displacement, with resulting benefits in space, stability and performance. Above this size, many prospective owners expect standing headroom, which requires considerable change in the concept.

The Cape Cutter 19 was named after the Cape of Good Hope, where I have lived all my life at the tip of Africa. The Cape Henry 21 is named after the Southern promontory at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay in USA, my home from January 2004.


 This is the  Gary Wallis built plywood/epoxy boat in the UK.

Above is the Cape Henry 21

Below is the accomodation layout that Dudley has drawn for a customer who asked about a larger version of his other Cape boats,its a very large volume 32 ft boat that will take you most places.

Please note,the design is incomplete,it is a concept only,Dudley would need a firm order to take the drawings to the point where we could offer a Cape Charles 32ft kit.

R McB


I note that fuel prices and also epoxy and polyester resin prices are again on the increase,the epoxy factor to a wood/epoxy built boat is about 15% only,so in many ways wood construction is staying on the low side price wise.

With a Cape Henry 21 plywood CNC cut pack costing just R39,339 (U$4917) plus plans,its really does start to make sense to build your own. We can also offer part and fully built up kits ex Cape Town.

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