(Published Pratical Boat Owner - june 2008)

A special yacht emerged when the Contessa 32's instigator and builder, Jeremy Rogers, put a lifetime's ideas into the restoration of one boat.

The restoration of something old and bashed is very ‘a la mode’. But are such restorations worth all the time, pain, effort and expense involved? As one wise old woman once told me (maybe it was my granny — she was usually right), such projects sometimes add up to little more than ‘good money after bad’.
When it comes to restoring a near wreck, some boats repay the cost and effort and others do not. It all depends on the aura and appeal of the boat. After all, some yachts are a feast to the eyes but a misery below. Others offer caravan comfort and cocktail party cockpits but have no visual appeal whatsoever.
Yet just once in a while, a flash of inspiration or pure genius produces a yacht that’s truly special — a yacht that takes the world by storm, looks lovely and also looks after you whether you’re sailing the high seas or relaxing in an anchorage. This sort of yacht is worth restoring, and such a yacht is the Contessa 32.
The Contessa 32 was first shown to the sailing public at the 1971 Earls Court Boat Show. Several Contessa 26 owners had been asking builder Jeremy Rogers for something a bit bigger. But the successful 26 was a hard act to follow, so designer David Sadler and Rogers sensibly took their time. The RORC’s rating rules were changing to a new lOR system, so it could have been hazardous to design ‘to a rule’. Instead, they took a relatively conservative route, settling on a sea-kindly but quick hull with plenty of accommodation. Perhaps the only design feature that could be called bold was the move from the Contessa 26’s Folkboat-style transom rudder — that hung from the trailing edge of a long keel — to the new fangled ‘fin and skeg’ underwater configuration. But even though the 32’s keel is a separate fin, it is long, deep and heavily ballasted by today’s standards. So, unlike the modern cruiser’s canoe hull with a lump of iron bolted onto its flat bottom, the 32’s hull has depth. This in turn means that she offers standing headroom below without the need to have a skyscraper coachroof. Combine this elegant low roof with beautifully balanced bow and stern overhangs and you have that elusive ‘wow’ factor: a beautiful- looking boat that turns heads wherever she goes, a boat that has that rare RAF (‘rowing away factor’) experienced by the owner as he bids farewell to his moored yacht.

The Contessa 32 was an overnight success and at the following year’s Lans Court Boat Show she won the coveted Boat of the Show Award. Rogers moved his production facilities to a larger factory to cope with demand, yet still the waiting list ran to two years. Within the first decade of production, nearly 500 Contessa 32s rolled out through his Lymington factory gates. Contessa 32s girdled the globe — frequently. They raced across the Atlantic more often than many cruisers left the Solent, the latest example heing Amelie of Dart (buil number 930), built by jeremy Rogers’ new company just a couple of years ago. Stephen Gratton took her on the 2005 Amateur Single-handed Transatlantic Race and raised more than £50,000 for a multiple sclerosis charity.

But perhaps the most famous and far travelled of all Contessa 32s is Willie Ker’s Assent. She first came to fame as the smallest yacht to complete the infamous and storm-lashed 1979 Fastnet Race, when several larger yachts came to grief and sadly several lives were lost. Then Ker decided to take to the ice, and Assent cruised to both the Arctic and Southern Oceans. Contessa 32s, it seems, go anywhere. And, with the addition of a wind vane or autopilot, they’ll do it without making demands on the crew.

Finding Gigi

But imagine my surprise while strolling around the 2007 Lans Court Boat Show to be confronted by what looked like a gleaming and beautiful brand new Contessa 32. It was as though T had entered a time warp.
Yet this was not just any old Contessa 32. It was Gigi, a Contessa with a long and illustnious career and she’d heen rescued and restored by Rogers. Gigi was originally delivered to an American owner back in 1982. But she was not shipped to the USA. Crewed by one John Kretschmer, Gigi’s new owner sailed her across the Atlantic as a shakedown cruise. Then Kretschmer persuaded him that a tilt at the old Clipper record for ‘doubling the Horn’ would be fun, so off went Gigi on a circumnavigation of South America, which inciuded doubling the Horn (from 500 to 50°) in eleven-and-a-half days. You can read about it in Kretschmer’s book Cape Hooi to Starboard. Gigi subsequently also crossed the Pacific (visiting Australia and New Zealand) and had probably logged in excess of 50,000NM when Rogers heard about her again a couple of years ago. The brother of Bill Green (Rogers’ former business colleague) phoned him to say that he had spotted Gigi looking abandoned and sad in Galveston, Texas, having been used as a sailing school boat and apparently sunk, then salvaged. ‘I’ll arrange shipping her back to the UK if you buy her,’ he told Rogers. So, with the boat unseen, Rogers took the plunge.
The first time 1 saw Gigi in Rogers’ factory, around a year ago, she looked in a sorry state. ‘She’s a total rebuild job,’ said Rogers as we stared at her faded huli and almost empty interior. ‘I’ve stripped her and almost have to start from scratch.’ Then, having seen her make her restored debut at Earls Court in December, T was thrilled to be invited by jeremy and Fiona immediately after her Easter launch. Here was my chance to see what Rogers had done to make a great boat even better. ‘We’ve put a lifetime of ideas into this one boat,’ Rogers explained, adding ‘and she’s been
a perfect trial horse for all the Contessa 32 refurbishment jobs that we do in the future.’ His factory has space for four 32s at a time, taken up by a mix of new builds and refurbishments.

Forepeak refurb

Starting at the bow, Gigi worked so well we decided to do the same on the 32,’ Rogers explained. So he stripped Out the old forepeak berths and in went two pipe cots. When these are folded flat against the hull, large open-topped lockers are easily accessible. Into one of these, Rogers has fitted a holding tank. Then, when the cots are lowered, an extra ‘infihi’ panel can also be inserted between them to make a comfortable double berth. It looks neat and works well. And Rogers also fitted two new lockers right in the eyes of the boat, beneath the anchor well base. As well as providing handy stowage space, this gives useful access to the electric workings of the anchor windlass above.

Heads makeover

Moving aft, Rogers has also given the heads compartment a major makeover. To starboard, the new WC has a hinging seat above it (which can be used to sit on when showering). Then he has made a clever slide-out wash basin, using a special pigmented resin which looks very smart.
To starboard there’s a large and cleverly compartmentalised
storage area. An upper shelf takes bulky items. Beneath this, a thin locker (with a fold down front) takes all the life jackets. And beneath this again is a large openfronted locker (with a zip-up fabric front) that accommodates wet weather gear: a place for everything and everything in its place. Also on a practical level, the inlet and outlet seacocks for the WC are not hidden away
— but are on full view and accessible. Before leaving the heads, it’s worth mentioning the beautifully louvred athwartships sliding door that closes it off from the saloon.

Traditional saloon

The main saloon remains pure Contessa 32: a welcoming ambience, ample headroom and plenty of space all round. The new finish and detail work are exceptional. Upholstery has been made by Sanders Sails in Lymington, as have the sails, pipe cot canvas, lee cloths, sail cover, and companionway sprayhood.
‘Sanders does a great job and we are lucky to have such a good company on our doorstep,’ Rogers said. Backrest panels double as infihls to convert the U-shaped settee (to port) into a double. Both this berth and the one opposite have proper lee cloths — as you would expect in a real sea-going yacht. The teak woodwork on the overhead lockers, saloon table, side lockers, bookshelves and buikheads add to the overall feel of a ‘quality’ classic yacht. And it’s obvious Rogers won’t cut corners. Most modern yacht builders, for example, use kitchen-style plastic drawers with a wooden front. Not Rogers — Gigi’s drawers are solid timber and feature traditional dovetail joints. And, for an authentic feel, the original gimballed oil lamp is back on the main bulkhead — fitted with an LED light bulb.
Rogers then lifted the sole to show off the new water tank. On old 32s, he explained, this tank was made of GRP and bonded into the bilge. ‘The water could taste a hit weird. So we stripped it out and fitted a tailor-made hOlt (24gal) stainless steel tank. 1f a dient wants more, we can fit an extra tank forward,’ he added.

Reworked galley

The galley is also transformed. The original (and very effective) U-shaped configuration is retained, so the chef is secure when the boat is on either tack, even in rough conditions, with a proper crash bar and ‘bum strap’ adding to the security. But the detail is all new. To start with, there’s a deep electric fridge. ‘It’s wonderful,’ Fiona said. ‘I’ve never had a boat with a fridge bef ore — and the fridge even has a light!’ A practical double sink unit (with hot and cold running water), Force Ten stainless steel cooker (complete with oven), and separate cool box
complete the galley equipment. And Rogers has again used special resin to cast extensive and practical work surfaces — inciuding a clever ‘lift up’ surface behind the cooker, concealing a deep beker to take all those awkward shaped saucepans and frying pans that won’t fit anywhere else. New stowage bekers and compartments under the side deck complete the picture. 1 particularly liked the way the doors to these hinged down flat and were held there by chains, revealing tiling and a fiddle rail on their inside surfaces, 50 they could be used as somewhere to put a cup before filling it.

Chart table changes

The chart table bas also received thought. ‘The original lid fouled the underside of the deck, so I’ve articulated it with a second hinge,’ Rogers said. ‘Now it not only opens up completely bot also acts as a book rest.’
Aft of the table lives the traditional quarter berth. 0K, the 32 does not offer a monster separate double aft cabin — but this quarter berth is the best place for an off watch crew to sleep at night.
Gigi also has a brand new 3-cylinder Beta engine driving a Darglow 3-bladed feathering prop. Rogers would never tolerate the drag of a fixed prop, besides which Gigi will be IRC and Contessa One Design racing when she’s not carting the Rogers’ grandchildren about.

Deck tweaks

Up on deck, Rogers bas also made meaningful small changes. The pushpit is split, to make access to self steering gear easy. The pushpit legs are right aft, increasing foot space on the stem deck. The stanchion by the cockpit is cranked Out, to increase sitting comfort and give a bigger arc to swing a winch handle. And the winch moves aft, to make room for the sprayhood side panels. Gigi should be as comfortable on deck as down below. All in all, Jeremy and Fiona Rogers have condensed a lifetime of e erience into restoring Gigi, which can o ly benefit the class and future customers buying new Contessa 32s or refurbishing old ones. And it’s wonderful to see such a well used classic being given a new lease of life. Worth every penny in my opinion.