BOAT REVIEW: Cape Cutter 19

A blend of classic and contemporary, the Cape Cutter 19 seems destined to leave its own mark.

The desert winds blew a steady force five, with bigger gusts funneling down the canyons, over the sand and scrub, and onto Lake Havasu—laying the boats over even farther. Several racers had tied in a reef, but the group of pocket cruisers closing on the finish line were going all in, full sail up.

One of the boats, a Cape Cutter 19, was holding off a pair of 26-footers while seemingly doing her best to spit the bone from her teeth and crawl up out of her own wave train. As she rounded the last mark and headed for the finish, her singlehanding skipper raced to sheet the jib, staysail and main, as all 302 square feet of sail snapped back and forth. Sheets trimmed, the little gaffer accelerated and stormed upwind across the finish line.

The Cape Cutter stood out, not only for her performance, but for her look. Wispy sweet tobacco smoke and the feel of salt air are implicit in the design. The tanbark sails serve to underscore the aesthetic.

The boat was conceived by Nick and Lyndsay Voorhoeve, who worked for years in the Bahamian charter business. They took their ideas to noted designer Dudley Dix in South Africa. The brief called for a production trailersailer styled after traditional English work boats. The look was set, but for Dix and his clients form had to follow function.

“UK coastal sailing can be rather demanding, so the boat had to be seaworthy,” says Dix. “A secondary market was South Africa because the boats were to be built there and shipped to UK. The sailing conditions around Cape Town can be even more rugged, so coping with Cape conditions became the performance target.”

Cutter rigs are unusual on boats this small. We asked Dix about the choice.

“Fully inboard cutter rigs on small boats are ineffective because there is insufficient separation between the various sails. This does not hold true for gaff cutter rigs. The gaff mainsail moves the center of effort aft and needs to be balanced by moving the headsail area forward. That increases the fore triangle base and separates the sails, allowing a staysail to fit into the gap. ”

Dix has had a chance to sail several of the production boats and has been impressed with both seaworthiness and performance.

“I helmed one in a light-wind race of the Traditional Boat Association in Cape Town, with Nick and Lyndsay Voorhoeve crewing. We started the race 15-20 minutes late, sailed through half the fleet by the first mark, passed the leading boat just before the second mark, then led the fleet to the finish. We were the second smallest in the fleet of about 20-25 boats. In the process we two-sail reached through the lee of a 30-square metre racer that was carrying a spinnaker. Everyone in the fleet was astounded by her speed.”

Norma Brown, Sales Director for Honnor Marine who builds the production Cape Cutter (since 2003), told us the 19 outperforms all the gaff-rigged boats her size. “For the last three years our Cape Cutter 19 has come first in her section in the Round The Island Race held on the IOW.”

It’s no surprise then that the boat has proven quite popular, with 116 produced in fiberglass so far. The first 55 were built in Cape Town, the rest by Honnor Marine in the UK. Dix has also sold 56 CC-19 plan sets and another 65 plan sets for her bigger sister, the Cape Henry 21.

Still we asked Dix if, given the chance, would he change anything.

“This is one of those rare boats that seem to be just right. I don’t think there is anything that I would change. If I were to design it now from scratch without reference to the existing drawings, I don’t know if I would get it as right as I did first time.”

We were lucky to have a chance to test sail a Cape Cutter 19 with owner Martin Stretch.

PERFORMANCE:

“Quite fast in light airs given her length. You can use the main, the staysail (jib) and the genoa. It’s easy for the CC-19 to reach her hull speed, about 5.5 knots. Doesn’t point that high, but that is quite common for gaff rig.” Bert Verweij (the Netherlands) 2001, Zimp

“Best I’ve had is 7.6 skts SOG but I reckon on 5kts” Toby Heppel, 2003 Ladybird

It takes a little more time for the unfamiliar sailor to get comfortable on the Cape Cutter 19. There’s the extra sail and sheet, a furling line, a downhaul, an extra halyard for the gaff—a lot of strings to think about while you try not to pierce anything (or anyone) with the 19’s substantial bowsprit. But after settling in it becomes apparent that everything falls right to hand and this is a boat that can be easily singlehanded—something owners do regularly.

Motoring from the marina we were impressed with the 19’s maneuverability under power. With the inboard motor well, the engine’s prop is forward of the rudder blade, resulting in exceptional directional control.

There was already a fresh breeze blowing when we raised the main, hoisted the staysail, and unfurled the genoa. Sail handling was all done from the cockpit.

The staysail (inboard jib) is hanked on, but comes with a downhaul. Some owners convert this sail to furling as well. The staysail isn’t self-tending, like it could be if it was clubfooted (with a boom)—a popular arrangement with shorthanded cruisers on larger boats—but the combination of sails does allow, at least, for a lot of sail reduction and balancing options. We had a chance to experience some of this firsthand as, in the building winds, we eventually settled on a single-reefed main and staysail.

The cutter rig also allows for some additional efficiency. Instead of setting a sloppy, partially-furled genoa, CC-19 skippers can roll the genoa completely and continue under perfectly shaped staysail.

There’s no shortage of sail area on the 19—in fact many owners do away with the stock genoa in favor of a smaller yankee foresail. Still, we much prefer a boat that leans to over-canvassed than having it the other way around. It’s easy enough to reduce sail, but there’s not much you can do with an under-canvassed boat in light airs. Most CC-19 owners consider light-air performance good.

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Length: 19'

LWL: 18'

Beam: 7' 3"

Draft: 1' 6" / 4"

Sail Area: 302 sq ft

Balast: 882 lb

Displacement: 3245 lb

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The 19 might not point with the race boats, but she’s no slouch to weather, and she goes like a freight train when cracked off. Her plumb bow and straight stern make for a long waterline and good speed.

We found quite a bit of weather helm initially—nothing disconcerting—but enough to encourage the aforementioned sail reduction, which mostly neutralized helm.

Although we’ve read where people describe the Cape Cutter as sailing like a “big dinghy,” we thought she felt more staid, like a heavier keel boat. Her ultimate stability might be less, but her wide flat after section, generous beam, and 838 pounds of ballast, lend a “substantial” air to her movements. The long, shallow keel (not to mention the centerboard) helps the boat track well, but it also make hers a little slower through tacks, like a more sedate yacht. Overall we thought the boat performed well on all points.

TRAILERING AND LAUNCHING:

“Rigging of the CC19 is easy to do but it will take some time because of the number of components to install. It takes me about two hours in the beginning of the sailing season.” Bert Verweij (the Netherlands) 2001, Zimp

At 2535 pounds displacement, the Cape Cutter requires a reasonably powerful tow vehicle, but she’s just light enough that we’d consider using her as a real trailersailer—taking her to different locations for an overnight or weekend cruise.

The relatively short spars, including the hollow wooden mast, which is attached to a tabernacle, make mast raising and rigging less stressful. However because of the Cutter’s additional lines, sail and spar, owners allow for an hour or so to ready the boat for launch.

The standard custom-designed low-riding Honnor Marine trailer apparently makes launching and retrieval relatively painless.

SEAWORTHINESS:

“Stability is a strong feature—she is quite beamy and has about 300 kgs of lead ballast.” Toby Heppel, 2003 Ladybird

“I’ve sailed the CC19 in (force) 7 bft with a double reef in the main and the staysail on the IJsselmeer with waves of about 1.5 meters. That is not really a pleasure any more but she will bring you home. Very important from a safety point of view, she is very easy to heave to.” Bert Verweij (the Netherlands) 2001, Zimp

Dudley Dix might be better known for designing fast boats, but he also draws them tough and capable, and the Cape Cutter 19 is no exception.

The 19 boasts a number of seaworthy features, not the least of which is that she’s apparently self-righting to about 110º.

The cockpit is substantially self-draining with the inboard motor well, and the cabin is protected by a seat-high (12") bridge deck and higher sill. Captain and crew sit safely inside the boat behind deep coamings that feature flat tops (7"-wide maximum) with nonskid for sitting up or hiking out. The port and starboard cockpit lockers, which would open right to the inside of the boat on most vessels we review, are sealed and discrete on the Cape Cutter (ideal for fenders and an external gas tank).

There’s also a manual bilge pump, operable from the cockpit, installed as a standard feature on every CC-19.

The designed motor well means the engine is right at hand, and the weight is down low where it adds to stability. The well also means the prop stays submerged even in heavy going.

The mostly flat raised deck makes going forward less risky than on most boats, with the beefy side shrouds outboard and a pair of house-length grab rails accessible. All the way forward is an honest-to-goodness functional anchor locker—41 inches long, 5 inches deep, with scuppers. There’s also a large forehatch just forward the mast that can be used for sail changes or an emergency exit.

Even potential weak links have been mitigated by thoughtful design. The forestay attaches at the bow—not the bowsprit—so there’s little chance of losing the rig if the bowsprit hits something or is otherwise damaged. Her semi-balanced transom-mounted rudder is protected by a shallow keel that runs from the centerboard slot all the way aft to the rudder.

The 220-pound centerboard is a 20 mm galvanized plate. A stainless steel wire strop attaches the board to a stainless steel power winch. From the winch, an 8 mm rope can be pulled from the cockpit working the 6 to 1 purchase. An additional 660-plus pounds of lead is located along the internal keel. With a board-up draft of 18", the CC-19 is also more or less beachable.

Because of design and quality construction, the 19 ought to be about as a seaworthy as any boat of its type and size. It scores an impressive 189 on the SCA Seaworthiness Test.

ACCOMMODATIONS:

The elephant in the 19’s cockpit, of course, is the motor and well taking up the center third of the overall space. Still, we like the tradeoff, and the 80" long by 69" wide cockpit remains comfortable for as many as four persons.

Below, the Cutter’s cabin offers as much as 46 inches of headroom from sole to overhead—38" from the quarterberths/settees.

The quarterberths are two feet wide and an overly generous 86" long. Overhead clearance is 18", with more space for a bent knee under the coaming. Overall, the quarterberths are comfortable, full-sized bunks.

A long centerboard trunk intrudes, dividing the cabin sole, but there’s just enough space on either side for passage. To port is a sink with a faucet that pumps water from a flexible container stowed under the forepeak. There are also upper and lower cupboards.

To starboard is another molded cabinet with cupboards above and below a flat countertop that can accommodate a cooker or be used as a small nav table.

Forward the beefy compression post is the just-adequate 6' 3" V-berth.

Knowing the Cape Cutter doesn’t come with any cabin ports or windows, we imagined it would feel stuffy below, but because both the sizeable main hatch and the forehatch are tinted Lexan, the cabin was surprisingly light and airy.

Cabin stowage was good, with the cupboards and multiple bins located under the berths.

QUALITY:

Honnor Marine (Our review boat was actually one of those built in South Africa by Cape Yachts, but design and construction haven’t changed) describes CC-19 construction this way: “The hull is hand laid up solid laminate, reinforced to take to the ground with bilge runners to provide stability when drying out. The deck is hand laid up 10 mm balsa core reinforced with marine ply pads in load areas with a nonskid finish moulded into the walk areas. The interior is a stipple flow coated finish. The hull to deck joint is a biscuit tin type, and through-bolted with 316 stainless steel bolts.”

Translation? The CC-19 is well built. Honnor’s use of balsa coring prompts our usual warning about how careful owners need to be when drilling holes, as wet balsa can rot and lead to soft spots and delamination, but we were thoroughly impressed with quality, fit and finish. Production boats built in the U.K. are required to meet certain standards for certification, and we didn’t see where any corners were cut.

Skipper, Martin Stretch at the helm of his Cutter.

Fittings under strain are backed up well by stainless plates and washers and finished with acorn nuts.

We did hear one report of a broken mast. The hollow mast looked good from the outside but had rotted and degraded. The owner replaced it with a solid spar.

COMPROMISES:

The Cape Cutter 19 has a few more moving parts than a lot of trailerable sailboats, and there’s quite a bit more brightwork to tend to—all part of the trade off for the traditional rig and aesthetic.

The aforementioned short V-berth is also a possible hang-up for larger sailors or the cruising couple who wants to bunk together.

MODIFICATIONS:

Without a doubt the most common mod mentioned was a switch from Genoa to a smaller yankee.

Our test boat skipper added Spinlock rope clutches to the cabintop, but to her builder’s credit, most owners appear to have made no or very few modifications.

VALUE:

As there are apparently only three CC-19s in the U.S. and Canada, finding one used is nearly impossible. Boats can imported from the UK at a price of around $28,000—not too bad really. However this price doesn’t include the cost of shipping to the nearest port and any import taxes.

The UK price for a new 19 is £20.950 which includes the 20% vat. Several UK owners consider the Cutter pricing good based on the fact it is apparently somewhat less expensive than its direct competitor, the similar Cornish Shrimper 19.

Sailing amongst some of the sterile production fiberglass sailboats on the market, the Cape Cutter 19 stands out. Her creators should be commended for blending an elegant mix of modern and traditional ideas into a safe, salty, and stylish trailerable family cruiser. •SCA•

www.capecutter19.com

www.dixdesign.com

First appeared in issue #76.