Contessa 26 (J.J. Taylor 26)
Description
The Contessa 26 is an iconic pocket cruiser and bluewater-capable small sailboat, widely regarded as one of the most seaworthy and legendary 25-footers ever built. It's a fiberglass monohull with a classic, narrow-beam design inspired by the Nordic Folkboat but modernized for GRP construction and improved performance. Designed in 1965 by British naval architect David Sadler in collaboration with builder Jeremy Rogers, who had experience building wooden Folkboats. Sadler refined the Folkboat hull (adding more sail area forward, tweaking the keel and layout for better racing and cruising), and Rogers produced the first fiberglass version. Launched in 1966, it quickly proved itself as a fast, tough racer-cruiser, with early successes in offshore events and long-distance races. Total built by Rogers: Around 350. Separate molds shipped to J.J. Taylor & Sons Ltd. (Toronto, Canada), who built ~400 more until ~1990 (originally as Contessa 26, later renamed J.J. Taylor 26 after legal issues.
Construction Details
| Designer | David Sadler and Jeremy Rogers |
|---|---|
| Builder | Jeremy Rogers Ltd. (Lymington, England) |
| Length | 25.500 ft |
| LOA | 25.500 ft |
| LWL | 21.000 ft |
| Beam | 7.500 ft |
| Displacement | 5400 lb |
| Ballast | 2300 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.000 ft |
| Year Built | 1965 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 29 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 9 ft |
| p | 24 ft |
| e | 8.50 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 ft | 9 ft | 24 ft | 8.50 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Contessa 26 (J.J. Taylor 26) - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 24 ft - (7315 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | * 25.06 ft - (7638 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 25.18 ft - (7675 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | * 106.382 ft² |
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Contessa 26 (J.J. Taylor 26) - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 24 ft - (7315 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | * 25.06 ft - (7638 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 88 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 25.18 ft - (7675 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.5 ° |
| Area | * 125.72 ft² |
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Contessa 26 (J.J. Taylor 26) - GENOA
| Luff | * 24 ft - (7315 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | * 25.06 ft - (7638 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 88 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 25.18 ft - (7675 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.5 ° |
| Area | * 194.66 ft² |
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Contessa 26 (J.J. Taylor 26) - STAYSAIL
| Luff | 22.5 ft - (6858 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Leech | 20.75 ft - (6325 mm) |
| Length Perpendicular | * 10.96 ft - (3341 mm) |
| Deck Angle | 5 ° |
| Area | * 123.32 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
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.
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