BoatsCape George 38

Cape George 38

Cutter · Long Keel · First built 1985

A 1985 cutter with a 1.58-metre draft and high comfort ratio, designed by Atkin and Lange for steady offshore work

Designed by William Atkin & Cecil Lange.

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

See her sail

The Cape George 38, on the water

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

Footage from Sailing Magic Carpet

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 49 — a heavy, notably soft motion offshore.

Comfort ratio 49
CoastalBluewater

At 1.49 she sits well under the 2.0 line — a solidly ocean-capable hull for her size.

Capsize screening 1.49
LightHeavy

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

Displacement / length 312
EasygoingPowered-up

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

Sail area / displacement 13.6
TenderStiff

35% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 35%

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

  • Heavier than ~91% of boats her size on file

Compared with 412 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Cape George 38, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Cape GEORGE 38 is a cutter-rigged sailboat with a long keel, designed by William Atkin and Cecil Lange, and built by Cecil Lange & Son and Cape George Marine Works from 1985 to the present. It has an LOA of 11.6 meters, a beam of 3.5 meters, a draft of 1.6 meters, and a displacement of 13,607 kg. Aboard *Sailing Magic Carpet*, the crew performed a full refit on their Cape George Cutter 36, *Magic Carpet*, including applying Kiwi Grip non-skid paint to the cabin top and cockpit hatches, and Coppercoat anti-fouling to the hull.3:40 They installed a 25-kilogram Vulcan anchor and 400 feet of 3/8-inch galvanized Titan chain, selecting the Vulcan due to the bowsprit precluding roll-bar anchors.22:47 The crew fabricated custom storage shelves and installed custom fiberglass hatches and gutters from Wells Fiberglass.15:08 They addressed a design conflict where the bobstay interfered with anchor deployment. *Magic Carpet* sailed through the Broughton Archipelago and Knight Inlet, encountering unpredictable winds and using a weighted fishing reel to verify depths in glacial-fed waters.3:27

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 70 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Cape George 38 on video

Storm on Vancouver IslandA Cape George 38 crew waits out severe October storms in Ucluelet before transiting the Pacific coast.Sailing Magic CarpetRemote Boat-Access Hotsprings on the Canadian CoastYukon Bay Hot Springs on BC's central coast requires navigating a two-to-four-meter-deep shifting-sand lagoon by depth sounder.Sailing Magic CarpetInhabited Ghost Town. Boat Access Only. Ocean Falls, BCOcean Falls, BC: a boat-access ghost town where a hydroelectric dam now powers bitcoin mining.Sailing Magic CarpetThis is Why We're Sailing Magic CarpetHumpbacks surround Magic Carpet north of Cape Caution as the crew fishes, pickles salmon, and anchors at Safety Cove.Sailing Magic CarpetUnexpected Landfall After Notorious Cape CautionA Cape George 38 crew navigates the exposed Cape Caution and discovers a remote, wildlife-rich island anchorage.Sailing Magic CarpetPAN PAN: Tsunami Heading Towards Us. [Ep 12]The crew of Magic Carpet evaluates tsunami risks while anchored in the protected Broughton Archipelago.Sailing Magic Carpetcalm, before and after the storm [ep 11]Magic Carpet cruises the Broughton Archipelago before a tsunami advisory forces the crew to leave the water.Sailing Magic CarpetDeep In The Canadian Wilderness [Ep 10]A Cape George 38 crew navigates challenging upwind conditions and anchor retrieval issues within British Columbia's Knight Inlet.Sailing Magic CarpetSailing the Alpine: Voyage of a LifetimeA Cape George Cutter 36 navigates the unpredictable winds and deep, glacial waters of British Columbia's Knight Inlet.Sailing Magic CarpetThe First Problem With the Boat [Ep 7]A Cape George Cutter 36 replaces a faulty propane solenoid valve while cruising the British Columbia coast.Sailing Magic CarpetTesting Magic Carpet: The Infamous Johnstone Strait.The crew of Magic Carpet navigates the Johnstone Strait by timing their departure with favorable tidal currents.Sailing Magic CarpetNavigating Tidal Rapids in a Traditional SailboatMagic Carpet transits the Discovery Islands by timing multiple tidal rapids to coincide with an ebb tide.Sailing Magic Carpet

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 Cape George 38 may be fitted out entirely differently.

Who's been looking

Market signal

Crews the fleet has filmed weighing this model up — no sale seen, and no asking price.

1channel weighed buying one

From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
35.0%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cutter
Ratios
SA / displacement
13.6
Displacement / length
312.4
Comfort ratio
49.5
Capsize screening
1.49
Hull speed
7.9 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1448
Hull
Hull type
Long Keel
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 1985
Designer
William Atkin, Cecil Lange
Builder
Cecil Lange, Son, Cape George Marine Works

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.

Baba 4012.14 mSame hull family0.6 m longerA 13-ton cutter with a 41.5 comfort ratio, built between 1980 and 1982 for steady, long-distance passage making
Full SAILBOAT TOUR [Baba 40, Bluewater, Deep Draft, Around the World Ocean Sailing Monohull]0:05from Adventureman Dan
Hans Christian 38T11.56 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA traditional cutter with a long keel and high comfort ratio, built between 1976 and 1989 for steady offshore cruising
the BRUTAL take down of a Hans Christian 38T - Ep 237 - Lady K Sailing0:53from Lady K Sailing
Island Packet 370/37911.53 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA long-running cutter produced from 2003 to 2019, featuring a skeg-hung rudder and a stable 1.3-metre draft
Island Packet 370: What You Should Know | Boat Reviewfrom 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
Island Packet 38012.06 mSame hull family0.5 m longerA 12-metre blue-water cruiser featuring a 1.4-metre draft that balances offshore stability with shallow-water access
Can You Cross The Ocean on a CHEAP Sailboat? Ep 239 - Lady K Sailing1:44from Lady K Sailing
Island Packet 34911.66 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Robert K. Johnson-designed cruiser featuring a shoal-draft long keel and a versatile Solent rig
WOW! A Channel for Cruisers is Harder Than Expected | Ep. 94:58from The On Deck Channel

The family

Boats like this

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

Cape George 31A William Atkin-designed cutter with a heavy ballast ratio and long keel, built for stability and offshore comfortCape George 36A heavy-displacement cutter with a long keel, designed by Atkin and Monk for offshore stability and steady passage-makingFalmouth Cutter 22A narrow-beamed 30-foot cruiser with a shallow 1.07-metre draft and a traditional long-keeled hullBristol Channel CutterA Lyle Hess-designed cutter with a long keel and transom-hung rudder, built for offshore work since 1976Westwind 38A cutter-rigged cruiser by the Stadels, featuring a skeg-mounted rudder and a stable, comfortable motion for blue water

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Cape George 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 Cape George 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