Bodhran is my 1979 Downeast 32 cutter which I purchased in October of

2002 and has pretty much been my obsession ever since. Bodhran is hull

#130 of the 134 Downeast aka. Down East aka Downeaster 32s built in

Santa Ana California by Down East Yachts LTD. These boats are not

racers by any means, but offer an amazing amount of interior space, a

sound hull and a salty appearance that always turns a head or two.

Bodhran served as a good home for 4 years living at the dock while I was

fixing her up. She’s also performed admirably on my travels down the

West coast of the US, a couple of seasons in Mexico and in 2008 all the

way across the Pacific to New Zealand.

Builder: Down East Yachts Santa Ana,CA Designer: Bob Poole
LOA: 35′0 Displacement 17,000 Fuel: 80
LOD 32′0 Ballast 5,500 Water: 100
LWL: 25′10 Bridge Clearance 46′0 Holding: 6
Beam: 11′0 Draft: 4′9 Engine: 25 hp Isuzu

Sail plan

Main: 280 sqft
Yankee: 329 sqft
Jib: 188 sqft
Staysail: 125 sqft
Working Total: 593 sqft

In addition to the stock Down East 32 sails, I’ve also got a .75oz 549sqft Asymmetric Spinnaker from cruising direct,

a storm jib and a storm trysail. The spinnaker has been a great

addition, allowing me to sail in winds as light as 3 knots as long as

the seas aren’t too high. I’ve only flown the storm jib once and it

performed beautifully in gusts up to 45 knots with a double reefed main.

When I blew out my main off the Washington coast, the trysail did an

admirable job when hove to and also did a surprisingly good job beating

to weather along with the jib in 25 knots of wind. Bodhran has been

pretty heavily modified over the years.

Here’s a link to a post I put up with some of my favorite mods: Some Projects That Have Treated Me Well

Here’s some pics of Bodhran from New Zealand in early 2011

Exterior

Profile_thumb s/v Bodhran Bow_thumb s/v Bodhran
Stern_thumb s/v Bodhran Companionway_thumb s/v Bodhran
OverheadBow_thumb s/v Bodhran OverheadStern_thumb s/v Bodhran
CockpitForward_thumb s/v Bodhran Turtle_thumb s/v Bodhran

Interior:

SaloonFwd SaloonAft_thumb s/v Bodhran
Dinette_thumb s/v Bodhran Galley_thumb s/v Bodhran
Fridge_thumb s/v Bodhran Nav_thumb s/v Bodhran
Head_thumb s/v Bodhran
VBerthAft_thumb s/v Bodhran

And here’s some older pics:

Moored_thumb s/v Bodhran HauledOut_thumb s/v Bodhran Sailing_thumb s/v Bodhran
Gallows_thumb s/v Bodhran BodhranForedeck_thumb s/v Bodhran Foredeck_thumb s/v Bodhran
Salon3_thumb s/v Bodhran Galley4_thumb s/v Bodhran Dinnette1_thumb s/v Bodhran
Settee5_thumb s/v Bodhran Companionway2_thumb s/v Bodhran head1_thumb s/v Bodhran
Foreward_thumb s/v Bodhran 32Downeast_diagram_thumb s/v Bodhran 32downeast_thumb s/v Bodhran