It’s been a while since we had a good stir-of-the-pot to get us fired up about something other than politics and the news for a minute. So we figured why not throw our paw in the familiar beehive of that argument for a full re-imagining of a dear, beloved classic: the Cal 40.
This isn’t our first soiree into the merits of putting new life into a design released the same year that JFK was assassinated, and the Sabin oral Polio Vaccine was first distributed with a lump of sugar to kids across the US. In fact, we’ve jumped into the deep end twice and received a massive response (the good, the bad, and the ugly) each time.
In our first article, we put Cal 40 owners on notice that it was time to address the lingering design issues and suggest a path to update these treasured boats for the 21st century. We outlined an array of points in our brief that called out details including wide-ranging weights across the fleet, dated sails and rigs, cumbersome deck layouts, the (OMG) kooky cockpit ergonomics, and quirky mechanical choices. We also identified some rigging problems that continue to make us a little seasick when we think about the prospect of amateur sailors taking their Cals hundreds of miles offshore… even on a good weather day. Other than that, great boats!
