The Cal 39 Mark II and Cal 39 Mark III are a series of American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s that were designed by

C. William Lapworth Charles William Lapworth (12 December 1919 – 3 April 2006) was an American naval architect who designed a large number of sailboats, many of them for Cal Yachts. He was active as a designer from the early 1950s until the 1980s. Described as ...

as racer- cruisers to fit the

International Offshore Rule The International Offshore Rule (IOR) was a measurement rule for racing sailboats. The IOR evolved from the Cruising Club of America (CCA) rule for racer/cruisers and the Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) rule. Rule context - past and present rating ...

and first built in 1978.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 330-331. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. The Cal 39 Mark II replaced the

Cal 39 The Cal 39 is an American sailboat that was designed by C. William Lapworth as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1970. The boat was introduced just before the adoption of the International Offshore Rule (IOR) for racing and, as a consequence ...

in the company product line and was in turn replaced by the derivative variant Cal 39 Mark III in 1983. The Mark III design was than replaced by the clean sheet

Cal 39 (Hunt/O'Day) The Cal 39 (Hunt/O'Day) is an American sailboat that was designed by C. Raymond Hunt and Associates as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1988. The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Cal 39, but is now usually referre ...

design in 1988.

Production

The designs were built by Jensen Marine/Cal Yachts in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, which was owned by Bangor Punta at that time. About 150 were completed between 1978 and 1986, but the boat is now out of production.

Design

The factory brochure for the boat describes the Mark II design goals as, "A Cruiser Built For Speed, Not Rating Points". The Cal 39 Mark II and Mark III are recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

s, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

, with

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

-cored decks and wooden trim. They both have

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

s, slightly raised counter

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transversu ...

s, spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw a ...

s, controlled by a

wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

and fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...

s. The spars are of painted

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It h ...

. The design has sleeping accommodation for six people. There is a bow cabin with a double "V"-berth, an aft double cabin on the port side and two settee berths in the main cabin. The galley is located to the starboard side, at the foot of the

companionway In the architecture of a ship, a companion or companionway is a raised and windowed hatchway in the ship's deck (ship), deck, with a ladder leading below and the hooded entrance-hatch to the main cabins. A companionway may be secured by doors or, ...

steps and includes a three-burner, alcohol-fired stove and an oven, as well as an

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refri ...

. The main cabin has a folding dining table. There is a

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

on the port side, aft of the bow cabin and a second one was factory option, in place of the navigation table, aft on the port side. Pressurized hot and cold water is provided. Ventilation and light includes eight opening ports along with the four fixed ones, deadlights over the head and passageway and a dorade vent over the galley, plus two translucent hatches, over the bow cabin and the main cabin. The T-shaped cockpit has a winch for the mainsheet, two winches for the

halyard In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term ''halyard'' comes from the phrase "to haul yards". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging, were classically made of ...

s and two

genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

winches. The halyards and

outhaul An outhaul is a control line found on a sailboat. It is an element of the running rigging, used to attach the mainsail clew to the boom and tensions the foot of the sail. It commonly uses a block at the boom end and a cleat on the boom, closer to ...

are mounted internally. The mainsheet traveler has a 5:1

mechanical advantage Mechanical advantage is a measure of the force amplification achieved by using a tool, mechanical device or machine system. The device trades off input forces against movement to obtain a desired amplification in the output force. The model for ...

. There are also jib tracks and an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ...

locker in the bow.

Variants

;Mark II :This model was introduced in 1978 and produced until 1982. It has a cutter rig, a length overall of , a waterline length of , a beam of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. A tall rig was also available. The boat is fitted with a British

Perkins Engines Perkins Engines Company Limited, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc since 1998, is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including agricultural, construction, material handling, power generation, and industrial. It was establi ...

4108

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

of or a

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post ...

Pathfinder diesel, for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 114 with the standard rig, or 106 with the tall rig. The

Portsmouth Yardstick The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the ha ...

racing average is 75.4 with the standard rig. ;Mark III :This improved model was introduced in 1983 and produced until 1986. It has a masthead sloop rig, a length overall of , a waterline length of , a beam of , displaces and carries of lead ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. A tall rig was also available. The boat is fitted with a Universal or Pathfinder diesel engine of . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of .

Operational history

In a 1994 review of the Mark II, Richard Sherwood wrote, "a Lapworth design, this Cal has a long water line, aft-extending rudder, and a substantial sailplan. In addition to the two rigs offered, a shoal-draft keel is available. The fastest boat incorporates the tall rig and the deep keel, with a PHRF of about 106." A report in Boats.com from 2003 stated, "both the Cal 39, built by Jensen Marine of Costa Mesa, California, and the Cal 39 MK III, built by Bangor Punta in Fall River, Massachusetts, are jewels in the tradition of most Bill Lapworth designs. Built between 1978 and 1986, they are true racer/cruisers sailors' boats with high performance on all points of sail, but with cruising accommodations that make them ideal boats to retrofit for offshore passagemaking." A 2008 review by John Kretschmer in ''Sailing Magazine'' described the Mark II as, "an ideal boat to consider for long-range cruising". He wrote, "launched in 1978, the Cal 39 was built during the hectic period when Cal's manufacturing shifted to Tampa, Florida, and then up to Fall River, Massachusetts, as the company struggled to re-establish its identity. Still, when all the glass cures, it is really the design that carries the day, and in typical fashion Lapworth was ahead of the curve with the 39. It was a genuine performance cruiser before there really was such an animal, and as such, the design not only seems less dated than others from this period, it is still highly desirable as a capable and affordable cruiser."

References

{{Cal Yachts Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Bill Lapworth Sailboat types built by Cal Yachts

Production

Design

Variants

Operational history

See also

References