Years ago when we started dreaming about going cruising we started looking at yachtworld.com and then dreamed even bigger. Initially we looked at boats that we could never afford to buy. The boats eventually got smaller and cheaper and I stumbled across the Cabo Rico 34. Solid boats, designed by the late Bill Crealock, and built for blue water. The price was lower but still not low enough. Still just a dream. Enter one of our nations recent recessions and a cantankerous Cabo Rico 34 owner who wanted to sell his boat. It seemed to good to be true. A fresh water boat with low hours, in good condition, and about half the price of the same boat a few years earlier. We crunched the numbers and decided that it still wouldn’t work to buy the boat and bring it to Montana. Sadly, we told the owner that it wouldn’t work but told him to call us first if he could lower his price by $10,000. He assured us that that wasn’t going to happen as two people were bidding on the boat and had already driven the price up $20,000. I have to say I was more than a little brokenhearted to have that deal slip away. About a year later, Phebe was on the web and discovered the same boat for sale and for $10,000 less! Apparently the two people bidding on the boat got fed up with the seller and bagged it. The seller was definitely a PITA but we got a deal done and Jibbay Na Noodin was our Cabo Rico 34. It was meant to be.
The Cabo Rico 34 is a moderate/heavy displacement cutter rigged sloop with a full keel and attached rudder. She won’t win many races but will get us places safely and is beautiful. We enjoyed our time with her on Flathead Lake but she always wanted to go farther than the end of the lake and so did we.
Some Specs: Built by Cabo Rico Yachts, San Juan, Costa Rica. 1989 Cabo Rico 34 – Hull #6 Designer: W.I.B. Crealock Cutter rig w/boomed staysail Length Over All (LOA): 37′ Length On Deck (LOD): 34′ Length at Water Line (LWL): 26′ 8″ Beam: 11′ 0″ Draft: 4’10” Displacement (dry): 17,000# Ballast – Internal lead: 5800# Hull Material: Fiberglass Engine: Yanmar 3GM30F Mast Height: 46′ Water: 160 gallons (+/-) in 2 tanks Fuel: 40 gallons Holding Tank: 35 gallons Sail Area: 588 sq ft
Travels of Team Noodin 