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Cal 31

Built ?–1984 by Bangor Punta Marine

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About the Cal 31

Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.

Illustration of a Cal 31
Illustration, not a photo of this model. AI-generated illustration of a typical mid-size cruising sloop.
Built
?–1984
Builder
Bangor Punta Marine
Designer
C. William Lapworth
Length
31.5 ft
Waterline
25.67 ft
Beam
10 ft
Draft
5 ft
Displacement
9,170 lb
Ballast
3,600 lb
Hull
fiberglass
Hull / keel
fin keel
Rig
sloop
Propulsion
inboard
Fuel
20 gal
Water
56 gal
Water heater
6 gal · AC + engine · factory option
Bow thruster
not fitted
Stern thruster
not fitted
Steering
tiller
Tank capacities — where the figures come from
  • Fuel 20 gal
    “Fuel Capacity 20 / 76.0 Liters” — owner's manual (manual dated 8/82), richardanderson.net · “Fuel: 18 gal.” — broker listing, sailingtexas.com
    The builder's owner's manual (Bangor Punta, August 1982) gives 20 gal on its standard dimensions page, matching our earlier figure.
  • Water 56 gal
    “Fresh Water Capacity 56 Gallons / 212.8 Liters” — owner's manual (manual dated 8/82), richardanderson.net · “Water: 50 gal.” — broker listing, sailingtexas.com
    The owner's manual agrees with our earlier figure; the tanks are stainless steel.
  • Holding unknown
    “Holding tank 16 gal” — search excerpt (1979), facebook.com
    Only one listing gives a figure. The owner's manual says the standard head drains to a collapsible rubber holding tank with deck pump-out, but gives no capacity.
  • Water heater 6 gal · AC + engine · factory option
    “Hot-Water Heater (Standard on Cal 35 and 39; optional on Cal 31) The 6 gallon hot-water heater is located in the engine” — owner's manual, richardanderson.net
    The Bangor Punta owner's manual (shared text for the Cal 31, 35 and 39) gives a 6 gal heater in the engine compartment, heated by 110 V AC and by an engine cooling-water coil, and optional on the Cal 31. It treats the 110 V shore-power system itself as fitted only on boats supplied with it.

Tanks are often replaced or added on older boats — check the tank labels or a survey for yours.

Thrusters and steering — where this comes from
  • Bow thruster not fitted
    “Standard Features for All Cals / Cal 31 Additional Standard Features / Cal 31 Options (compass, cradle, lifelines, helms” — brochure (1982), melantho.com
    Full standard-feature and option lists in the 1982 Bangor Punta brochure contain no thruster.
  • Stern thruster not fitted
    “Full standard and option lists - no stern thruster” — brochure (1982), melantho.com
  • Steering tiller
    “Laminated wood tiller with chromed bronze tiller head fitting.” — brochure (1982), melantho.com · “Wheel Steering - Pedestal wheel steering system with 28" wheel. Pedestal comes complete with engine controls, brake, and” — brochure (1982), melantho.com · “Heavy duty linked chain and sprockets in the steering pedestal control the steering cables. The cables run to a metal sh” — owner's manual, richardanderson.net · “With either the wheel or the tiller, it is comfortable for a maximum of four when sailing.” — review, practical-sailor.com
    A tiller was standard; pedestal wheel steering (28-inch wheel, chain and cable to a quadrant, emergency tiller) was a factory option, described in the Bangor Punta owner's manual for the Cal 31/35/39. A site of Cal documents lists an Edson steering addendum to the Cal 31 manual, but the brochure and manual pages seen don't name Edson.

Thrusters and steering are often replaced — check the units on your boat before ordering parts.

Sources disagree on first year — left blank rather than guessed.

Solid hand-laid hull; deck plywood-cored under hardware and cabin top Klegecell-foam cored. Encapsulated lead keel; foam-cored rudder on a stainless stock. Welded aluminum fuel tank, polyethylene water tanks. Earlier boats had Volvo two-cylinder diesels, later a 16 hp Universal. Shoal-draft keel 4.25 ft. Practical Sailor says production began fall 1978 with 130 built in the first three years; start year disputed (see disputed).

Engines fitted

Boats of the same model can differ — check which engines yours actually has before ordering parts.

Generator

Owner's manual describes a 110 V shore-power system with a 30 A main breaker but no generator.

Known problems for this model

Model sources (7)

sailboatdata.com · practical-sailor.com · listingsport.com · facebook.com · richardanderson.net · sailingtexas.com · melantho.com

Other Cal models

Researched from public sources. Spotted an error? The sources are listed above — tell us what they got wrong.