Acapulco 40

[Christian Van H]

Hey George! Garry is a member of this forum now. Contact him through email by going to his personal page. His forum name is " Yachtbuilder " I believe. I doubt that boat was his personal boat, but it surely could be one of the many he constructed. No one on Earth knows more about these boats, and Garry is a great guy...

EDIT: DOH!!! I forgot he posted earlier to this thread! Just use his link to contact him. He probably doesn't check in here often, but he responds well to email...

[gvolos]

I have e-mailed him and am waiting for his reply. Thank you for your help Christian.

[beevek]

George (and others) --- hi! In fact the boat George posted (for sale in Thailand) was just bought by me; I closed on it right around the time George first posted.

She is hull number 5037 (which I'd assume means the 37th Acapulco 40). According to the builder's cert, she was completed in 1971 by Yachtcraft dba Islander Yachts in Costa Mesa, CA. She's currently called Kestrel II but I am in the process of rechristening her Oia (after the beautiful little town in the Cyclades).

The boat's now lying in Langkawi and in a few weeks I'll bring her down to Singapore. I just spent my first weekend on her and I am quickly falling in love! The lines of the boat were what drew me to her in the first place --- she looks great both in and out of the water. The cabin is quite nice too and as George guessed, she was reasonably well-kept by her previous owner. (That's not to say I don't have tons of plans and didn't just spend 3 days cleaning, of course.)

For any interested in the Acapulco 40, you may want to take a look at the blog I'm keeping: http://oiaboat.wordpress.com/

Cheers,
Kris

[gvolos]

Hi Kris,
Fair winds to you and your new boat. It seems at the time I inquired, she was sale pending by you. Oh well... Did you ever check out the one for sale in Hawaii? If you stumble on anything worth while in this price range in South East Asia, give me a nudge.
I am also looking to live on board in this region.
All the best
George

[beevek]

George,

Nope, I never looked at the one in Hawaii (which I believe is probably Hull #1) --- I wasn't specifically seeking to buy an Acapulco 40, but this one caught my eye from among everything else in the region.

I'll send you an email with some thoughts on a couple other boats I looked at.

Cheers,
Kris

[tarrto]

I have a 40ft ketch rigged, 1973. Have not seen any other ketchs out there. Fine boat..

[gvolos]

Where are you located tarrto?

[tarrto]

Portland Oregon

[gvolos]

Thanx tarrto. I was sort of hoping that you would be living in Europe so perhaps I would have the chance to visit at some point in the future.
Gary, the builder of these boats speaks very highly of them.
All the best.

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by tarrto

I have a 40ft ketch rigged, 1973. Have not seen any other ketchs out there. Fine boat..

Tarrto, could you please post some pics of your boat? I would love to have some for my collection... Thanks, Chris

[bob perry]

I met the designer at a boat show once. I was 29 years old and I thought I knew everything. He was about 60 years old and he thought he knew everything.

As I recall his name was Ted and he was a nice man and I was a smart assed kid.

[Dmarina]

Tarrto: Was your boat built in a boat yard in San Diego and is it blue and white? An Acapulco of this color was built next to ours and we also bought ours from Gary. Send more info. Very interested in any Acapulco, as there won't many built. What is your hull number? Ours is #15. Nice hearing from you. Diane in San Diego

[Yachtbuilder]

Hi Tarrto,

I just happened to check in today and noticed from your post that you are in Portland. I also live in Portland these days and was the builder of most (not all) of these wonderful boats.

It would be nice to meet you and see yours sometime. The last one I produced I sailed to Hawaii in 1979, where she still lays. I miss being in the industry but it is hard for a small builder to make any real money, especially if your product doesn't have a widely recognized designer's name attached to it, no matter how good it is. San Pedro Boat Works learned that lesson.

Best of luck to you, perhaps we will meet sometime. If you have any questions about the boat just let me know.

Regards,

Garry Powell

[Yachtbuilder]

Hello Bob,

I believe we may have met at the Long Beach Sailboat Show in the late Seventies. I had one of my Acapulco 40's in the show and you were aboard one of your Valiant 40's just a few boats up from mine.

I really regret that I did not take the time to chat with you for a while, as you were always one of my favorite N.A.'s. Your boats always sailed very well. I had raced a couple of your Valiants on San Diego Bay and was not quite able to stay with them. While the Acapulco had an advanced underbody, for a CCA design of it's type, it did not have the modern underbody of your Valiant 40 and (likely) had more wetted surface. Not the best combination for the light air races in San Diego Bay.

A few months ago I was visiting some friends at Anacortes who spent 25 years cruising a Baba 40, and recently purchased a Grandbanks Europa. You probably know Gary and Bill. While there I noticed one of your Valiants, just a few slips up, that looked ready for a long voyage. Beautiful boat!

I must confess that I am an incurable romantic and the first time I laid eyes on the drawings of the Acapulco 40 design, I knew I had to rescue it, even if for only a few short years.

I hope you are doing well.

Garry L. Powell
Portland

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by bob perry

I met the designer at a boat show once. I was 29 years old and I thought I knew everything. He was about 60 years old and he thought he knew everything.

As I recall his name was Ted and he was a nice man and I was a smart assed kid.

Mr. Perry, I would love to hear anything you might remember about your encounter with Ted Carpentier. I have looked high and low for info on him. He was apparently quite intelligent and worked directly with Howard Hughes as an aeronautical engineer... But little more is out there on him... At 29 I wager you knew more than most 60 year olds about boats, and I'd love to hear what you recall. Chris