BoatsKlepper Cadet

Klepper Cadet

Fractional Sloop · Centerboard Dinghy · First built 1976

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy

See her sail

The Klepper Cadet, on the water

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

Footage from Eternal Sailing

Is it for you?

Character

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

TrailerableBeam 2.05 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 360 kg of hull, so roughly 950 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 360 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.23 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
CoastalBluewater

At 2.91 she sits above the 2.0 line — beamy for her weight, and happiest coastal.

Capsize screening 2.91
EasygoingPowered-up

33.6 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 33.6
TenderStiff

24% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 24%

Powered-up and quick to accelerate — this one likes to sail.

  • Heavier than ~94% of boats her size on file
  • Draws more than ~80% of boats her size on file
  • Beamier than ~89% of boats her size on file

Compared with 277 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Klepper Cadet, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Klepper Cadet is a 5.4-meter fractional sloop centerboard dinghy, built by Klepper-Werke since 1976, with a 2.0-meter beam and 360 kg displacement. Aboard *Haea*, Matthias and Luisa transported a Klepper Cadet by van from Germany to Greece.0:55 They constructed a motor mount for the dinghy and applied two coats of PU paint to its hull.20:59 The crew also finalized the dinghy’s battery storage area.21:35

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

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
24.4%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
33.6
Capsize screening
2.91
Hull
Hull type
Centerboard Dinghy
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1976
Builder
Klepper, Klepper-Werke

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.

O'Day Daysailer5.11 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterA 1956 centerboard dinghy with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio that remains in production today
Boat Shop Windows4:54from kentblairl
Aubin (Chantier Aubin) Snipe4.72 mSame hull family0.7 m shorterA legendary William F. Crosby-designed fractional dinghy that remains one of the world's most active racing classes
Rio to Polynesia on a 25-Foot Boat, the Journey that Changed Sailing in Brazil Forever | #SAL #368:16from Hashtag Sal
Small Craft Ltd. Wayfarer4.82 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterAn Ian Proctor-designed centerboard dinghy with a high sail-to-displacement ratio, built since 1957 in wood and fiberglass
The Easiest Sailboat You’ll Ever Own – The Wayfarer0:47from Practical Sailor
Finn (Monotype)4.50 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterA Richard Sarby-designed Olympic single-handed dinghy featuring an unstayed cat rig and a long history of competition
SEILmagasinet TV Episode 3 - 202551:39from SEILmagasinet
Lido 144.27 mSame hull family1.1 m shorterA fractional sloop dinghy designed by Barney Lehman, updated in 1995 with a modern mold for improved longevity and safety
Restoring covid-quarantine project boats - a Lido 14 sailboat and Seaflite 179SS ski boat0:03from Ravenswing
LaserPerformance 49er4.88 mSame hull family0.5 m shorterAn Olympic-class high-performance skiff featuring a massive sail-area-to-displacement ratio for elite racing
From Olympic drama to flying motorboats: Petter Mørland Pedersen in "Peiling på Seiling"11:34from SEILmagasinet

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.

Klepper-Werke FamA highly popular German pocket cruiser featuring a fractional rig and swing keel, designed for versatile shoal-water sailingCondor 55A Helmut Stoberl-designed fractional sloop with a lifting keel, built for performance with a high sail area-to-displacement ratioCondor 70A 1976 masthead sloop with a lifting keel, offering a high sail area-to-displacement ratio for spirited performanceKlepper MonasA high-performance fractional keelboat designed by Helmut Stoberl for single-handed sailing and active class racing

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Klepper Cadet, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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