kettenburg 32 sailboat review

Review of Kettenburg 32

Basic specs..

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD7A diesel engine at 13.0 hp (9 kW), which gives a max speed about 4.0 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 114 liters (30 US gallons, 25 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Kettenburg 32 is 1.86, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.5 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Kettenburg 32 is about 150 kg/cm, alternatively 842 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 150 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 842 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

Maintenance

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Kettenburg 32 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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1947 Kettenburg P.C. (Pacific Class) - 32' Boat $10,950

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• Sailboat Guide

Kettenburg PC

Kettenburg PC is a 31 ′ 9 ″ / 9.7 m monohull sailboat designed by George Kettenburg Jr. and built by Kettenburg Boats between 1929 and 1959.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Also known as PACIFIC CLASS or PACIFIC COAST ONE-DESIGN. Originally commissioned by San Diego Y.C., USA.

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Sold – 32′ kettenburg pc32 (1948) email this listing to a friend.

Off Center Harbor's Remarks

A refurbished boat with elegant overhangs like this Kettenburg 32 should make a perfect boat for her home waters in Puget Sound.

Description from Boat's Main Listing

It’s with a heavy heart that I’m making this posting–this is an incredible sailboat, and one of the most enjoyable that I’ve ever owned…I recently purchased another older, bigger wooden boat that I live aboard, and having two old wooden boats doesn’t make much sense.

This is a special boat, one that I spent 2 months cruising the San Juan’s during covid last year, and then have raced a bit in the islands as well as Puget Sound. It’s incredibly fast in light air, well balanced, and a total joy to sail. It’s also a really, really pretty boat.

Built in 1948 in San Diego, it’s one of the last Kettenburg PC’s built (Hull #68), and one of four that were shipped to the PNW that have a raised cabin for cruising, forward v-berth, sink (and 15-gal water tank), built-in cooler, and a surprising amount of storage. The boat was recently refurbished in 2009, with a nearly $200k investment in sistering most frames and re-planked as needed, making it essentially a brand new boat.

Moorage near Ballard Bridge is transferrable ($320/mo.)

Sails: – 2 Main Sails (Full-batten main (lightly used, currently rigged) and like-new racing main – 2 class jibs (one used, one racing) – 1 storm jib – 1 spinnaker (used) I also have a Harken roller furler that came with the boat but I switched out for hanks (with the intention of racing). PHRF Rating: 173 Engine: 15 hp outboard (that drops through an engine well in the seat), low hours New bottom paint in May 2020 New 12v battery September 2021 Ground tackle: 24# Delta with 15′ chain, 180′ rode Full end-to-end cover (which is AMAZING, and I’ve rigged fairly lights that make boat-camping cozy and very dry in an otherwise exposed cockpit)

Surveys available, and all historical documentation of the rebuild, etc. comes with the boat.

I’m still not 100% sure I want to sell, but would also be open to co-ownership or some share of the cost. Open to helping deliver to anywhere in Puget Sound / San Juan Islands.

Particulars

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Seaward 32RK and 26RK Ocean-Going Capabilities

• Thread starter Skipper J
• Start date Dec 26, 2023
• Brand-Specific Forums

Hi, Those of you with these boats, would you cross an ocean with them? The keel-lifting system looks like it would be great for exploring canals and rivers in Europe. Thank you.  

David in Sandusky

I read this review of the 32 RK. Seaward 32RK Is a ‘Thin-Water-Cruiser’ - Blue Water Sailing Not much to go on in the review. Some indicators of a blue water sailboat design are: - Capsize screen/ratio is less than 2. This indicates that the boat may recover if it is rolled over by a storm wave. - Comfort ratio is over 30. I could find neither of these ratios for the 32 RK on the web. - Cockpit is not too large. This makes it easier to hold on or wedge in, and reduces weight on the stern if a wave fills the cockpit with water. - Ample tankage for fuel and water. - Ample storage for food and eguipment. - Good bunks for sleeping under way. Low, near the middle of the boat for minimum movement. Then there are equipment needs. Things like an autopilot, a water desalinator, long distance communication, a life raft, … the list goes on. You can acquire this equipment for a boat with a good design. I recommend the book “Choosing a Cruising Sailboat“ by Roger Marshall for a good, understandable explanation of what makes a boat good for ocean cruises, or for other purposes.  

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John

If you are a good navigator, competent in weather planning, have the needed provisions for your boat, have prepared a Seaworth vessel and crew, one might take most boats out onto the ocean. It is when your seamanship skills are lacking and the boat preparation is weak that one learns their choice was poor.  

People have crossed the Atlantic in little more than a refrigerator but that doesn't mean I'd do it. Ignoring the classification and numbers, the boat is too slow to avoid weather systems. There is hardly a time of year in which there is no risk of a storm in a three week voyage. A major cause of voyage failures is loss of steering. I think the Seaward rudder is designed to pop up in shallow water. I would be uncomfortable with that. Fine for coastal cruising in Florida. Offshore? "?" OP asked for those who own one of these boats. So ... I don't.  

Here is the way I look at ratios about sailboats. The question I ask is what was the use for which the designer designed the boat. Every competent designer knows about The Capsize and Comfort ratios. So if they are designing a blue water cruiser, they will meet the minimums for that use. So the Capsize well above the recovery value of 2, and the Comfort well below 30 combine with the trailerability to tell me this is a coastal cruiser designed to trailer from an inland location to multiple sailing areas. Once there, its adjustable keel tells me it is a really good shallow water “gunkholer.” Lots of places in the North Chanel, Georgian Bay, Lake Erie, and Thousand Islands where it would really shine. I agree it would be great for canals and rivers in Europe. If that’s where I wanted to sail it, and if trailering it in Europe would work (regulations?, trailer specs?, towing vehicle?), I would look at having it shipped over there by ocean carrier.  

Good points by all, thank you. And I should not have said that I only wanted input from those who owned these boats. After I sent the message, I took a good look at the 32RK picture and thought 'why, why?' when I realized it was another open-transom design. Correct me if I'm wrong, but on many open transoms (this is partially open) it looks like a following sea can swamp it, or come close. Or let in unwanted visitors. Maybe a good nickname for them is Shark Chutes! My apologies to those who have and like them. Good point too about the RK32's small rudder, and overall design intentions. It would be good for the Great Lakes. Being able to outrun ocean storms is definitely a plus. Any info on the best way to ship a boat to Europe is appreciated. As an information-gathering exercise, I subscribed to the Pro edition of Predict Wind during their recent 50% off sale in order to watch global weather patterns to see when the Northern route becomes doable. Definitely not now, unless one likes 36-foot seas. Looks like from AIS data that the recreational sailors are on the southern route across the Atlantic now. It's fascinating stuff to explore. FYI, the canals in England are narrower than the ones in France.  

Trip to Europe (and back) begins

David in Sandusky said: ...this is a coastal cruiser designed to trailer from an inland location to multiple sailing areas. Once there, its adjustable keel tells me it is a really good shallow water “gunkholer.” Click to expand

Kings Gambit

dlochner said: Recently Sailing Zinger rescued 3 people aboard a Bavaria 44 that had been dismasted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean off the beaten path. They have posted several videos about the rescue, with the last video the most relevant to this discussion. In it the rigging of a Bavaria Ocean 44 and a Bavaria 44 (the one that was dismasted) were compared. The take home story is all the ratios, capsize ratio, comfort ration, etc don't mean squat if the boat is not designed and built for off shore sailing. As @Tedd points out, the Seawards are not designed for offshore work. The can be sailed to the Bahamas because you can pick a weather window to get across the Gulf Stream and the trip can be as short as 50 miles. If exploring the canals of Europe are the goal, it might be best to buy a canal boat in Europe and sell when you're done. Click to expand

Late to the party, but if the o.p. is still here, I owned a Seaward 25 previously. We also looked at 32's when we were looking at larger boats, eventually buying a Catalina 350. My opinion is that neither the 26 or the 32 have strong enough rigs to make them a good boat for ocean crossings. Head to the Bahamas? Sure. I can tell you that the rig on my Catalina 350 is way more substantial than the ones on the Seawards, and I wouldn't take our 350 across an ocean. I wouldn't take me across an ocean either (not my thing). We loved our seaward, but used it as designed, lake sailing and coastal cruising. I wouldn't begin to have taken it out in some of the conditions we've sailed up on the Great Lakes in our bigger boat.  

Ok, thank you sesmith and all who have replied. Don't want to risk having a rig that isn't designed for it in waters that are too rough. Jsailem, I'll read that thread about the sailor taking the Northern route in its entirety soon to see if that's something in the cards. Iceland is dumbfoundingly beautiful and I'd like to visit again, this time by sea, if possible.  

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Kettenburg 41

The kettenburg 41 is a 41.0ft masthead sloop designed by paul kettenburg and built in fiberglass by kettenburg boats between 1966 and 1969., 30 units have been built..

The Kettenburg 41 is a heavy sailboat which is a reasonably good performer. It is reasonably stable / stiff and has an excellent righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a bluewater cruising boat. The fuel capacity is originally small. There is a very short water supply range.

Kettenburg 41 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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Seaward 32RK Opinions?

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Howdy, I have been eyeballing these for a couple of years now since I saw one in in Dubuque, IA on the Mississippi. I never got to go aboard as the owner wasn't around but she sure had nice lines and looked like a well thought out fun to sail boat. At least from the dock. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info either way on the net about these 32RK boats. There also doesn't seem to be too many for sale at one time. I'm thinking that either the current owners are really happy with them, or they didn't make a whole bunch of them. They do seem pretty proud of the boat if you know what I mean $$$. Anyone on here ever been aboard, or better yet sailed aboard one? I would love to hear the good, bad and ugly of this boat.  

I've been on one many times at boat shows, and I've read most everything I could find about them on the interweb, including watching the videos of their design and construction. If I had the cash, I'd own one. It is my favorite boat in terms of design, looks and features. The build quality also looks to be very high. Most importantly, it fits with the way I sail now, and how I want to sail in the future. There are a number of sailing magazine reviews of the boat; I think most of them are linked to the company website. They are all very favorable, citing especially the variable draft retracting keel. The only downside I see to buying one is the stability of the company. Hake Yachts (the owners and builders of the Seaward boats) has recently been unsettled. A couple of years ago, they announced that they were closing their manufacturing facility, and were henceforth going to be built at the Island Packet Yacht company factory. They cast the decision as good for both parties, as both had excess manufacturing capacity, and this would be economical for everyone. I saw it as neither were selling as many boats as they had been and needed to cut costs. Within a short period of time, IPY closed its doors, and was headed for bankruptcy or some other dire fate. There were lots of rumors on the web that Seaward was going to buy IPY, but we were hanging for about a month I think before that announcement was made. I don't know about the financial health of the company at this point. The ads I see in the national magazines for both IPY and Seaward each mention the other, but I definitely see fewer ads for the Seaward boats than the IPY boats. That may make sense as IPY has always been a bigger name than Seaward, but that may mean the Seaward line is less favored within the company. Buying a boat from a financially distressed company is not necessarily a really bad thing. Lots of us own Oday's, Pearsons and other boats built by companys that no longer exist. Because of the internet, help and advice is more readily available than ever before. Of course, you want your new boat's warranty to be honored, but that's a risk you may be willing to take. And Seaward (at least a couple of years ago) wasn't selling through dealers; only factory direct. Which means that "factory service" was never going to be easy unless you were near their facility in Florida. I don't know if IPY dealers have become Seaward dealers as well. For me, I'd buy the 32RK now anyway. I like the boat that much. And as we all must know, buying a boat is never a rational decision.  

I recently spoke to a broker who was a dealer for Seaward and he said that indeed they were being built at the IP factory. He said that they were going to abandon the 46RK since they already will be building IP's and Blue Jacket. So now we have three boats manufactured in the same facility. The way he put it was that we should expect to see an improvement in the 32RK's build quality as the folks at IP are renowned for build quality/fit and finish. From what I have been able to glean from the internet and one owner I spoke with, the 32RK is a great boat. A little sterile on the interior compared with some of the blue water vessels out there, but outstanding for what it was built for. He reported that he could sail inside 38 degrees and the boat would do hull speed under power if needed. With swept spreaders, I think a furling code zero would be a great addition for downwind action. Wonder how much that would cost to add? I've been reading Sail Magazine and there always seems to be an add for these sitting near a beach in the Bahamas. The reason I am attracted to the boat other than it's pretty lines is that you get performance, can get into skinny waters and still have the comforts of a cruiser. It seems if you want performance, you have to sacrifice creature comforts and vice versa. We currently own a 2012 Macgregor 26M which is a fun boat and really great to start out in due to it's price point. With the family getting taller, I think the 32RK will be a nice fit until my wife and I can get out to the big blue. :ship-captain:  

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