Mills Design and Cape Performance Sailing have announced the new Cape 26 One Design.
Building on the worldwide success of their Cape 31, the Cape 26 is intended as a budget-friendly, family-oriented racing yacht for a crew of four, yet one that also appeals to the serious yacht racer.
Designed by Wicklow-based Mark Mills for performance, agility and speed as well as ease of transport and launching, the Cape 26 is promised to “deliver a high-octane sailing experience”.
Inward facing, no hiking, with the Mills ‘Ramp Deck’, the cockpit has been designed for comfort. And with the spinnaker chute, hoisting and retrieval “will be a breeze, and the crew should never have to leave the cockpit”.
A fully retractable rudder and keel make it an idea “trailer sailor” that’s easy to launch and retrieve on the slipway.
The design has a very shallow launching draft of 0.4m, but in race mode the draft will be 2.05m — delivering a powerful set-up “that will go well in light winds and also be a pleasure to sail in heavier winds”.
Its carbon rig will also be manufactured in the same way as that for its larger sibling, easy to step while providing comparable performance and responsiveness.
The Cape 26 will be built alongside the Cape 31 at Cape Performance Sailing’s base in Cape Town, South Africa.
More information can be found in the Mills Design brochure HERE.
