I have a Cavalier 32 in Australia that has a builder's plate indicating it was launched as Cavalier 1, by Cavalier Yachts, Sydney, in October 1974, and completed the 1974 Sydney to Hobart race under that name. It has the racing fit out, with all plywood interior. I always assumed it was built in NZ, having been told they all were prior to Mr Muldoon's 20% tax on boats in 1978, despite my boat's builder's plate. But I recently received an email from Peter Smith, who built the Cavaliers in NZ, suggesting my boat was built in Australia, because it has stainless steel keelbolts. He says that all the Cavalier 32s that he built had bronze or copper keelbolts, and had ports, or apertures, in the lead keel, to access the bolts' nuts, allowing the keelbolts to be removed for inspection or replacement. I have not taken my keel back to the lead to see if it has apertures for the nuts, but info online suggests they are j-bolts cast into the lead, and therefore cannot be replaced, a horrible idea. I don't trust my keelbolts after 50 years, especially since they pass through what appears to be a timber keelson glassed into the bilges. There are similar-looking structures under the side decks to which the Genoa tracks are bolted. I'd appreciate any illumination. Graham Cox.
Cavalier 32 difference’s
in MarineTalk
Posted
I have a Cavalier 32 in Australia that has a builder's plate indicating it was launched as Cavalier 1, by Cavalier Yachts, Sydney, in October 1974, and completed the 1974 Sydney to Hobart race under that name. It has the racing fit out, with all plywood interior. I always assumed it was built in NZ, having been told they all were prior to Mr Muldoon's 20% tax on boats in 1978, despite my boat's builder's plate. But I recently received an email from Peter Smith, who built the Cavaliers in NZ, suggesting my boat was built in Australia, because it has stainless steel keelbolts. He says that all the Cavalier 32s that he built had bronze or copper keelbolts, and had ports, or apertures, in the lead keel, to access the bolts' nuts, allowing the keelbolts to be removed for inspection or replacement. I have not taken my keel back to the lead to see if it has apertures for the nuts, but info online suggests they are j-bolts cast into the lead, and therefore cannot be replaced, a horrible idea. I don't trust my keelbolts after 50 years, especially since they pass through what appears to be a timber keelson glassed into the bilges. There are similar-looking structures under the side decks to which the Genoa tracks are bolted. I'd appreciate any illumination. Graham Cox.