BoatsCabo Rico 38

Cabo Rico 38

Cutter · Long Keel · First built 1977

An aft-cockpit evolution of the Tiburon 36, offering a heavy-displacement cutter platform for stable blue-water sailing

Designed by W. I. B. Crealock, Dennis Garrett & William Crealock.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Long Keel

See her sail

The Cabo Rico 38, on the water

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

Footage from Hold Fast!

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 moderate beam gives 39 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 39
CoastalBluewater

At 1.67 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.67
LightHeavy

375 — very heavy for her waterline, a serious load-carrying cruiser.

Displacement / length 375
EasygoingPowered-up

15.3 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 15.3
TenderStiff

37% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 37%

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

What the fleet has seen

The Cabo Rico 38, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Cabo RICO 38 is a cutter-rigged sailboat with a long keel, designed by W.I.B. Crealock, Dennis Garrett, and William Crealock, and built by Cabo Rico Custom Yachts, Inc. since 1977. It measures 11.6 meters LOA, has a 3.5-meter beam, a 1.5-meter draft, and displaces 9525 kg. The design is based on the earlier Tiburon 36 but features an aft cockpit, with a pilothouse version also available. Aboard *Hold Fast!*, the Cabo RICO 38 *Coralia* completed summer coastal passages through New England, stopping at Boston, Marblehead, Salem, Gloucester, Rockport, Newport, and Cape Henlopen.12:39 The crew navigated the Cape Cod Canal and Buzzards Bay under sail alone at eight knots. *Coralia* also transited the Chesapeake Bay, the C&D Canal, and Delaware Bay, making routing decisions to enter unfamiliar anchorages before dark.4:17 During a coastal transit from Port Canaveral to Stuart, Florida, *Coralia* encountered light winds requiring motoring and later weathered a storm with 40-knot gusts while on a mooring ball, relying on a wind generator for battery charging.0:48

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 7 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Cabo Rico 38 on video

S/V Coralia - Coastal Sailing from Port Canaveral to Stuart FLA wind generator maintains battery levels during a 36-hour storm with 40-knot gusts in Stuart, Florida.Hold Fast!S/V SeaSprite Refit Update Late May 2026A Sea SPRITE 30 refit replaces DC breakers with digital switching and converts the icebox to a cold-plate refrigeration system.Hold Fast!Trawler Breaks Free of Mooring. Docks Itself Perfectly Across the River. A Grand Banks trawler breaks free at Sunset Bay Marina and drifts across the Indian River unassisted.Hold Fast!S/V Coralia - Offshore Sailing from Cape Hatteras to Cape CanaveralA Cabo Rico 38 completes a 48-hour January offshore run from Hatteras to Cape Canaveral, nearly pinned against the Gulf Stream by a late wind shift.Hold Fast!S/V Coralia - Sailing to New EnglandA Cabo RICO 38 sails Chesapeake to Boston, choosing Shinnecock Inlet to avoid night entrances at Montauk and Block Island.Hold Fast!S/V SeaSprite Refit - Why?A 30-foot SeaSprite undergoes a winter refit while hauled out at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.Hold Fast!S/V SeaSprite Refit Update - 19 August 2026Sea SPRITE 30 refit stalls at Harrington Harbor North awaiting Phipps Boatworks bay space.Hold Fast!Farewell S/V Coralia - Pre-Sale Sea TrialThe S/V Coralia undergoes a final sea trial to verify mechanical and rigging integrity before a sale.Hold Fast!S/V Coralia - Sailing Offshore 700NM from South Florida to the Chesapeake BayA Cabo RICO 42 completes a 700-nautical-mile offshore passage from Florida to the Chesapeake Bay.Hold Fast!Sailing S/V Coralia - Winter Passage to Cape HatterasA Cabo Rico 38 makes a mid-November Chesapeake-to-Hatteras passage, timing ICW bridge openings and waiting out a gale in Manteo.Hold Fast!S/V Coralia - Sailing to New England Part IICabo RICO 38 Coralia sails Boston to Cape Henlopen, with a squall dragging boats in Gloucester.Hold Fast!S/V Quetzal - Sailing Offshore to New EnglandThe video for the S/V Quetzal voyage to New England contains no substantive sailing information.Hold Fast!

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
37.1%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cutter
Ratios
SA / displacement
15.3
Displacement / length
374.6
Comfort ratio
39.4
Capsize screening
1.67
Hull speed
7.3 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1202
Hull
Hull type
Long Keel
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1977
Units built
200
Designer
W.I.B. Crealock, Dennis Garrett, William Crealock
Builder
Cabo Rico Custom Yachts, Inc

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.

Downeaster 3811.58 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1974-era cutter with a 35.4 comfort ratio, built for stable, long-distance voyaging on a heavy-displacement hull
Why Sailors Still Want This Slow Old Cruiser – Down East 38from Practical Sailor
Tayana 3711.18 mSame hull family0.4 m shorterA Robert Perry-designed long-keel cutter with a heavy displacement and a production run of nearly 600 hulls
This $59,900 Sailboat Is READY to Sail Away Today! - Ep 359 - Lady K Sailing0:48from Lady K Sailing
Tashiba 3610.97 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA 1986 cutter with a 43% ballast ratio, engineered for heavy-displacement stability and offshore passage-ready motion
Guy deBoer’s 4,000 Mile GGR Qualifier onboard his 1986 Tashiba 36 Spirit 🌊⛵️4:10from Golden Globe Race Official
Cape George 3610.97 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA heavy-displacement cutter with a long keel, designed by Atkin and Monk for offshore stability and steady passage-making
EP#325 Round the World With @KirstenNeuschaferGGR2:39from Sailing Into Oblivion
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 351:37from Lady K Sailing
Seafarer Yachts 38C11.51 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA versatile cruiser available in multiple rig configurations and often sold in kit form for owner completion
#273 ⛵️ 'Must Watch' ⛵️Insiders Guide To Owning a Sailboat!1:47from Sailing Nervous- Starting Over!

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Cabo Rico 38 PHA pilothouse evolution of the Crealock hull, offering protected watch-keeping in a heavy-displacement cutterCabo Rico 34A heavy-displacement cutter designed by W.I.B. Crealock, featuring a long keel for steady, comfortable blue-water cruisingCabo Rico 36A stretched-stern evolution of the 34 that lifts the transom clear of the water for improved performanceCabo Rico 42 PilotA 2005 pilothouse evolution of the Paine-designed cutter, featuring a long keel and a high comfort ratio for stable offshore

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Cabo Rico 38, 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 Cabo Rico 38

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue