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C&C 121 Express

Swift & Sure - C&C returns with a racer cruiser

Years ago, a couple of young Canadian designers started a company called Canadian Northern. They produced some very fast boats and, for reasons unknown to me, changed the name of the company by combining their last-name initials so that George Cuthbertson and George Cassian became C&C. Working with a group of Canadian builders C&C gradually grew to be one of the biggest production boat building companies in North America. It pioneered the use of cored laminates and introduced the now universal aluminum toerail. It was responsible for elevating the aesthetics of production yachts in general through the quality of its designs.

Like many builders C&C ran into hard times during the late 1980s, in part, because it lost sight of a defined market target. The boats were no longer racers, but they didn't make the transition to cruising boats gracefully. The company gradually shut down and was subsequently bought by Fairport Yachts, builders of the Tartan line. C&C is still a strong market identity. Combined with the design efforts of Tim Jacket, it appears to be making a comeback.

The new 121 is typical of the historical C&C type: the family club-racer/cruiser. The aesthetics are pure C&C. The cabin trunk is very contoured and sculpted with crisp facets. There are no ports forward of the big fixed windows. This saves the builder money and also reinforces the C&C look. All in all, this is a very handsome boat.

The hull shape features an extremely wide transom. It's too wide for my eye, but this beam aft benefits the cockpit layout and the aft cabin accommodations. Is this shape bad? Or slow? No, I don't think so. Sometimes when you get a boat with too much beam aft the waterlines go quite asymmetrical when the boat heels over giving it a multiple personality, i.e., it's balanced and well-behaved when sailed upright, but a real unbalanced bear when it's heeled. I would think that a designer of Jacket's experience has taken this into consideration. Note how far aft the keel is. This will help. Certainly almost all boats sail better with heel angle minimized.

The rest of the hull shape is really nice. There is a definite V-shape to the forefoot and this shape is carried aft with a 12-degree deadrise angle. This deadrise gradually fairs out as you approach the transom. Starting at station nine the run is quite flat. The lines plan shows almost a knuckle where this transition from deadrise to flat occurs. With the big wide transom I would be concerned that this transom might slap in some moorage situations. That aside I think this boat will be quite fast. The D/L is a moderate 141. Three keels are available drawing 8 feet; 6 feet, 6 inches; or 5 feet.

This is an amazing interior for a 40-foot boat. There are berths for two couples, a large head with shower stall aft and a well-laid-out galley and nav station. The saloon area features a drop-leaf table and room for at least four people to dine. I like to see a table overlap the seats by 3 inches, but this one looks like it stops short of the settee fronts. Clearance over the aft berth is 30 inches. I wouldn't consider this clearance generous, but it is adequate. The engine is tucked into the box at the foot of the companionway. Note there is counter space on both sides of the range. There is also a lot of locker space in this design.

The rig is normal with an SA/D of 23.16 and an 8-degree sweep to the spreaders. The main overlaps the backstay by about a foot.

It's good to see that the traditions initiated by Cuthbertson and Cassian are being maintained.

C&C Yachts
1920 Fairport Nursery Rd.
Fairport Harbor
OH 44077
phone: (440) 357-6612

Roomy and fast family racer-cruiser.

"Bob Perry's design reviews are available in book form. Five volumes of his work, going back over twenty years, have been assembled. Information on ordering these books is available from Sailing Magazine, www.sailingonline.com or by e-mail at sailingmag@ameritech.net.com."