C&C 25 Mk 1

Simon Sexton · Nov 7, 2019

There's a C&C 25 MkI out in Clear Lake that sails in Galveston Bay almost every time I'm out there on weekends. I own and sail a Catalina 25 (tall rig), which is supposed to be more of a cruiser, less of a racer. For some reason, I was able to keep up with this guy pretty well until we both decided to round up. He didn't outpoint me, but he was definitely faster. C&Cs are built heavier and more stable than Catalinas, especially those of the smaller line of boats (25-30 ft.). This extra weight along with the deeper fin keel gave that boat the advantage upwind. It wasn't until the reach/downwind legs I was able to catch up to them. My boat has a thinner, more basic design that makes her fast on these legs. Her shorter fin keel and 150 genoa also helps downwind. This being said, I have no clue how experienced her captain was. I myself have been sailing for ten years, racing competitively for seven. That may have been the only reason I was able to sort of keep up with that guy. From my understanding, the C&C 25 MkII was a faster and more efficient design. I've never sailed against one of those before, but I've heard their PHRF rating is pretty close to that of a San Juan 24 (another fast boat).

shemandr · Nov 7, 2019

There was one in our fleet years ago. I believe it was rated around 220. It did very well in PHRF racing spinnaker class. The skipper is a good sailor and he worked the boat hard. It is also the case that he owned the boat for many years and drove it like it was part of him. I sailed with him on it for several races. I couldn't observe any one thing that made him faster than other sailors but he did a lot of little things right. I wish I could remember some of his tips but it was twenty years ago. I think his was an outboard, or at least I don't remember an inboard.

C&C 25 Mk 1

Drinky Crow

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Simon Sexton

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shemandr

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Drinky Crow

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