Choate Sloop 40

[Skydiver1949]

I have sailed before, had a Gulf 32. Liked it (Alaska). There are a number of Choate 40's available right now and I am considering either one of them or a Catalina S&S for overnighting/weekending offshore to the islands in Ventura area, perhaps up to Seattle at the furthest.
What is the seaworthyness of the the Choate 40 compared to the Catalina 38 or a pearson ketch in the 36 range. What are the major issues/problems with the Choate - Help would be appreciated. Oh - if anyone has had Corbin 39 experience, rating the Choate against it would be appreciated also.

[bluzzin]

I can not speak to the seaworthiness of a Chaote 40. I do know from reading the lists of PHRF ratings that they are fast and would likely outrun a Catalina 38 of S&S design. I have looked at a couple Choate 40s in our search for a quick boat for cruising the Pacific Northwest. The Choates I saw were beat, ridden hard and put away wet. Just comparing PHRFs the Corbin is a slow boat compared to the Choate and also a bit slower than a Catalina 38.

I do really like the interior layout of Choate at least the two I saw, huge aft cabin, nice galley / settee. It seems like most of the Choates are in So Cal, so you are in right place to shop for one. There may have been a variety of cabin layouts and a choice in head location.

Most important I think is doing a prequalifying survey yourself before signing the contract and paying for a survey. The two Choates I looked at both had soft decks, I could feel it just tapping a screwdriver handle around the chain plates and chain locker. You could spend many thousands trying to correct a problem like that and have no guarantee of complete sucess. Much better in my opinion, find one that has been lovingly taken care of and pay the price.

When I started looking at boats, the Choate 40 was the first missle that caught my eye, I still have a fondness for them. Good Luck in you search

michael

[delmarrey]

They are built in Long Beach Cal. Dencho Marine

Mine was one of those run hard and put away wet but I got it cheap and I like working on boats so I'm good with it.

As for sea worthy-ness, the rig is over built and the hull is strong but they are an IOR design and can be a little squirrelly in rough seas (cresting the swells). They were built with a few short cuts but that can be resolved. They're either a racer or cruiser. If you buy a racer it'll be lighter with the short cuts.

The decks are both balsa and foam cored, balsa being in the level areas, foam in the up rights. The problem is if the thru holes for deck gear was not sealed, some of the core may have got wet. I had to cut out and re-core under two winches and a padeye.

They're a deep keel boat with a large rudder so the COE is aft of the mast more then one would think but in wind under 20 kt one can run full sail w/a 150% genoa.

They are a perfect light air boat. I've balance mine out with a larger loose-footed mainsail w/3 reefs and a 135% roller reefing genoa. But I do need more keel weight. A bulb is in the future.

There's a whole lot more to know but I don't have all day, I'm off to the boat now, rebuilding her for a TransPac in a couple more years. This picture is a couple years old. She's a bit different now with a cockpit change and dodger/bimini.

[emagin]

SkyDiver, how do you plan to use the boat? 32 to 40 is a step up in size - you planning on going offshore or just local?

I don't know much about Choates but the Corbin 39s were ranked as one of the best affordable cruising boats in Cruising World, some years ago (88 or something like that).
I have seen two of them and spoken to several folks cruising them (but not sailed them myself) - they appear to be very sturdy boats that have done many bluewater cruises. Airex-cored hull, perfect ratings for seaworthiness. Only issue seems to be the owner-finished interiors which can be ratty, and looking at the pre '82 versions carefully (forestay to bow instead of to a bowsprit = "especial" models) as they have some weather helm.

Check out the spreadsheet I have on many boat stats here.
Remember this is geared toward cruising boats and safety (averages of many boat designers for 'perfect' cruising boat). These #s would not necessarily be the best for light air and do not favor the beefy/wide boats w/ pilothouse for motorsailing like a Nauticat or something like that.
The sheet is editable and has definitions tab at the bottom to explain where all this data comes from. Could be useful in your search!

Good luck.

Mark

[Skydiver1949]

Its good news that some have bluewatered the Choate as I would like to do something along those lines. At least make it North to Canada and Alaska's Inland passage Because it seemed like such a racer I was not as optimistic on its ocean readiness. It certainly would be local for the most part. John

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Skydiver1949

Its good news that some have bluewatered the Choate as I would like to do something along those lines. At least make it North to Canada and Alaska's Inland passage Because it seemed like such a racer I was not as optimistic on its ocean readiness. It certainly would be local for the most part. John

They are certainly good enough for that! I take mine up there when I get the time.

BTW- The hull design is identical as the 40 Swan. A couple years ago a Swan from Norway was hauled out for a bottom wash down by the marine supply I frequent and as I was driving by it looked as if my boat was sitting there. I stopped to check it out and I swear from the bottom up I couldn't tell any difference right down to the little bit of a square nose. After seeing that I considered renaming mine 'The Ugly Duckling'

It's deck or upper hull was considerably different. The cockpit was closed in more but the rigging was pretty much the same. Since then I've rebuilt my cockpit to assimilate something of the same but more to my liking.
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