Bristol 38.8
Description
The Bristol 38.8 is a high-quality, centerboard sloop designed by the legendary American naval architect Ted Hood in the early 1980s. Built by Bristol Yachts (founded by Clinton Pearson in Rhode Island) from 1983 to 1987, with fewer than 100 hulls produced, it's renowned as a blue water-capable pocket cruiser emphasizing seaworthiness, stability, and classic lines. Hood, a multiple America's Cup winner, considered it one of his most successful designs, drawing from his expertise in centerboard cruisers. The 38.8 excels in coastal or offshore passages, with shallow draft (4'6" board up) for gunkholing in places like the Chesapeake Bay, yet deep draft (9'6" board down) for ocean-crossing performance. Variants include the Bristol 3800 (similar hull), and the design influenced the Wauquiez Hood 38 and Little Harbor 38.
Construction Details
| Designer | Hood, Ted |
|---|---|
| Builder | Bristol Yachts |
| Length | 39.000 ft |
| LOA | 38.250 ft |
| LWL | 30.580 ft |
| Beam | 12.080 ft |
| Displacement | 19150 lb |
| Max Draft | 10.300 ft |
| Min Draft | 4.500 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 51.50 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 16.75 ft |
| p | 45.50 ft |
| e | 13.75 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51.50 ft | 16.75 ft | 45.50 ft | 13.75 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 45.5 ft - (13868 mm) |
| Foot | * 13.75 ft - (4191 mm) |
| Leech | * 46.65 ft - (14219 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 47.07 ft - (14347 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 318.98 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 43.32 ft - (13204 mm) |
| Foot | * 22.24 ft - (6779 mm) |
| Leech | * 37.52 ft - (11436 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 114.99 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 19.26 ft - (5870 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.99 ° |
| Area | * 417.17 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | 51.45 ft - (15682 mm) |
| Foot | * 27.1 ft - (8260 mm) |
| Leech | * 48.32 ft - (14728 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 149.97 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 25.12 ft - (7657 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.03 ° |
| Area | * 646.17 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 51.45 ft - (15682 mm) |
| Foot | * 27.64 ft - (8425 mm) |
| Leech | * 47.33 ft - (14426 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 1067 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | * 51.45 ft - (15682 mm) |
| MidGirth | * 30.15 ft - (9190 mm) |
| Foot | * 30.15 ft - (9190 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | * 1319 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.