Overview
The Cape Dory 26 is one of the last small Albergs, built by Cape Dory Yachts from 1984 to 1988 in the company’s final years. It is essentially the company’s late rethink of its 25-foot slot: the same length and beam class as the 25D, but lighter, simpler, and outboard-powered. Only 78 were built, which makes it the rarest of the small Cape Dorys and a boat most buyers stumble on rather than search for.
History
By the mid-1980s Cape Dory’s all-Alberg formula was aging out of the market, and the 26 was among the last new small models before the company wound down at the end of the decade. Baldwin’s notes record the essentials: an Alberg design, 78 built between 1984 and 1988, and “most have an outboard motor well in lazarette.” Where the 25D had bet on a diesel and a radical layout, the 26 went back to basics: conventional V-berth interior, outboard in a well, and the trademark Alberg hull under it all.
Construction
Construction is standard Cape Dory, which is to say better than the price class: solid hand-laid fiberglass, bronze hardware, teak trim, and a molded full keel carrying 2,400 lbs of lead. That ballast figure is the quiet headline, a 45 percent ballast ratio in a 5,300 lb boat, among the stiffest numbers of any boat this size on Baldwin’s list. The rudder is keel-hung with tiller steering, and headroom is 5’11“ per Baldwin, remarkable in a 26-footer with Alberg’s low profile.
Under Sail
The 26 sails like a scaled Alberg: initially tender, then locked in as the lead takes over. With 304 sq ft of sail on a 19’3“ waterline it is no light-air flyer, but the capsize screening figure of about 1.8 and that ballast ratio give it storm manners out of proportion to its length. The outboard well keeps the prop in the water in a seaway better than a transom bracket, at the usual cost of well turbulence under sail and a cockpit locker sacrificed to the engine.
Buyers Notes
Rarity cuts both ways: with 78 hulls there is no steady supply, but the boats that surface tend to be late-production, lightly used, and cheaper than a 25D because there is no diesel to pay for. The outboard well is the honest budget choice; a modern four-stroke drops in without surgery. Survey points are the familiar Cape Dory set: deck core, bronze seacocks, chainplates, and the well’s drainage and cutout condition. For a buyer who wants the stiffest possible small Alberg and can live with outboard power, the 26 is arguably the best value in the family.
