BoatsSpirit 32

Spirit 32

Masthead Sloop · Fin keel, spade rudder · 1977–1995

A Jacques De Ridder-designed IOR 23-footer built for nearly two decades as a stiff, masthead-rigged fin-keel sloop

Designed by Jacques De Ridder, built by A. J. Van Heyden.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin w/spade Rudder

See her sail

The Spirit 32, on the water

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

Footage from Wind Hippie Sailing

Is it for you?

Character

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

CoastalBluewater

1.99 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.99
EasygoingPowered-up

13.4 — modest power for her weight; easygoing rather than lively, and happier with a breeze.

Sail area / displacement 13.4
TenderStiff

43% of her weight is ballast — stiff, standing up well to her sails.

Ballast 43%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

What the fleet has seen

The Spirit 32, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Spirit 32 is a Masthead Sloop designed by Jacques De Ridder and built by A. J. Van Heyden and A. J. Van Heygen from 1977 to 1995. It has a fin keel with a spade rudder, measures 9.48 meters LOA, 3.18 meters beam, and 1.59 meters draft, displacing 4200 kg. The model was available with a deeper 1.83-meter draft keel. Its sail area includes a 37.06 square meter genoa and a 79.3 square meter spinnaker. The Spirit 32 has an IOR rating of 23 feet.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 4 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

What broke, what changed

Gear aboard, as the crews told it

Moments from individual boats of this model that the fleet has filmed — one crew, one piece of kit, one day on the water. Not a review of the class, and not a count of anything.

Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Spirit 32 may be fitted out entirely differently.

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
42.9%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
13.4
Capsize screening
1.99
Hull
Hull type
Fin w/spade rudder
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
1977–1995
Units built
127
Designer
Jacques De Ridder
Builder
A. J. Van Heyden

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.

Maxi Yachts 959.50 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 9.5-metre masthead sloop produced for a decade, featuring a skeg-hung rudder for predictable coastal handling
Maxi 95: The world's largest 31-footerfrom SEILmagasinet
Contessa 329.75 mSame hull family0.3 m longerA 1973 London Boat Show winner with a skeg-hung rudder and a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 47 percent
Contessa 32 - A Yacht Delivery from Gosport to Falmouth0:17from Halcyon Yachts - International Yacht Delivery
Cal Boats 309.14 mSame hull family0.3 m shorterOffered with an optional tall rig, this masthead sloop served as the predecessor to the 2-30 series
Left a multinational, house, and car to live on a 30-foot sailboat | #SAL Clip #1451:32from Hashtag Sal
Dufour Yachts 319.40 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1973 masthead sloop featuring a skeg-mounted rudder and a comfortable, stable design for coastal cruising
The Perfect Affordable Cruising Boat? (Dufour 31)2:19from Untide
Hunter Marine 319.55 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Cortland Steck design featuring a B&R rig and a fin keel, built for coastal cruising between 1983 and 1987
Inside Our New Sailboat… A Full Walkthrough of Our Home0:10from Sailing Nomadika
Nonsuch 309.24 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA 30-foot cruiser with a 43% ballast ratio, offering a stable and stiff platform for coastal cruising
The Sailboat With No Wires Holding Up the Mastfrom Lady K Sailing

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.

Spirit Yachts 41A masthead-rigged 12-metre cruiser by Jacques De Ridder, balancing a 38% ballast ratio for stability in a modern hullSpirit 36A Jacques de Ridder-designed masthead sloop with a shallow draft, serving as the direct predecessor to the Spirit 37Spirit 28 (Finch)A Robert Finch and Earl Blackwell-designed masthead sloop built for coastal cruising with a stable 42% ballast ratioSpirit 28 (Van De Stadt)A Van de Stadt design #216 masthead sloop with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio, once favored by the designer.

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Spirit 32, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Spirit 32

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