Review of Cabo Rico 38 XL

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak.
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 6 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

The boat equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The Cabo Rico 38 XL is equipped with a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.57 - 1.67 meter (5.15 - 5.45 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Cabo Rico 38 XL is typically equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 44.0 hp (32 kW), which gives a max speed about 5.9 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 217.0 liters (57 US gallons, 47 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Cabo Rico 38 XL is 1.67, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Cabo Rico 38 XL is about 213 kg/cm, alternatively 1194 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 213 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1194 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Cabo Rico 38 XL is 37.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 85% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Cabo Rico 38 XL is 3.56.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 76% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Cabo Rico 38 XL is 37%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Cabo Rico 38 XL is 354 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

10% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 23m² (247 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Cabo Rico 38 XL it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.