Bristol Channel Cutter

BoatsBristol Channel Cutter

See her sail

The Bristol Channel Cutter, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Abandon Comfort

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a narrow beam gives 34 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 34

CoastalBluewater

At 1.68 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.68

LightHeavy

346 — heavy for her waterline, built to carry stores and ride steadily.

Displacement / length 346

EasygoingPowered-up

18.6 — plenty of sail for her weight; lively and quick to respond.

Sail area / displacement 18.6

TenderStiff

33% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 33%

Built heavy and sea-kindly — a boat made to cross oceans and forgive a rough night.

What the fleet has seen

The Bristol Channel Cutter, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Bristol CHANNEL CUTTER is a 11.5-meter cutter-rigged sailboat designed by Lyle C. Hess, built from 1976 to the present. It features a long keel with a transom-hung rudder, displaces 6350 kg, and has a 1.5-meter draft. Cape George Marine Works currently builds the model in the USA, with some also produced in Canada. Its standard sail area includes a 22.13 m2 main, a 27.36 m2 jib, and a 9.72 m2 staysail. Aboard *Abandon Comfort*, a wooden boat resembling a Bristol CHANNEL CUTTER was seen in a boatyard.3:36

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Ballast / displacement

32.9%

Rig & sail area

Rig

Cutter

Ratios

SA / displacement

18.6

Displacement / length

345.5

Comfort ratio

33.6

Capsize screening

1.68

Hull speed

6.9 kn

Pounds / inch immersion

945

Hull

Hull type

Long keel w/trans. hung rudder

Construction

Fiberglass

Ballast type

Lead

Production

Years built

First built 1976

Units built

127

Designer

Lyle C. Hess

Builder

Sam L. Morse Co, Cape George Marine Wrks

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Henry R. Hinckley Pilot 3510.90 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA Sparkman & Stephens fiberglass classic designed for Hinckley, featuring a long keel and available as a sloop or yawl

Don’t Launch Without This: The Essential Sailboat Maintenance Guide7:51 from Practical Sailor

Cape Dory 3611.01 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterProduced from 1978 to 1990, this long-keeled cutter was later marketed as the Robinhood 36

10,000 Mile Gear Review After Solo Sailing an Atlantic Circuit0:01 from Atom Voyager

Chris-Craft Sail Yacht 3510.67 mSame hull family0.8 m shorterA long-keeled masthead sloop from the boards of Sparkman & Stephens, featuring a hull shared with the Caribbean 35

Sailboat Designers that Changed Sailing Forever! Lady K Sailing - Ep 3645:38 from Lady K Sailing

Rustler Yachts 3610.77 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA Holman and Pye designed masthead sloop featuring a heavy-displacement long keel hull built for offshore stability

Pär Nyman // GGR 2026 & Sailing Spirituality1:52 from 59° North Sailing

Shannon Yachts 38 PH11.51 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA long-keeled cutter designed by Stadel for offshore stability, offering a comfortable motion and steady passage-making

A Sailboat With No Keel? Shannon Shoalsailer 351:37 from Lady K Sailing

Bristol Yachts 4012.24 mSame hull family0.7 m longerA versatile masthead sloop available as a cutter or yawl, produced over sixteen years for steady, comfortable cruising

Bristol 40 for $40,000 - Can You Make it Work?from Practical Sailor

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Falmouth Cutter 34A Lyle Hess design revived in 2003, featuring a long-keeled fiberglass hull and a cutter rig for blue-water capability Falmouth Cutter 22A narrow-beamed 30-foot cruiser with a shallow 1.07-meter draft and a traditional long-keeled hull Cape George 31A William Atkin-designed cutter with a heavy ballast ratio and long keel, built for stability and offshore comfort Cape George 38A 1985 cutter with a 1.58-meter draft and high comfort ratio, designed by Atkin and Lange for steady offshore work Bristol Yachts 27.7A Halsey C. Herreshoff masthead sloop featuring a fin keel and skeg-mounted rudder designed for stable coastal cruising

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