H 28 By Herrshoff
Description
The Herreshoff H-28 (often stylized as H28) is a timeless, classic cruising sailboat designed by renowned American naval architect L. Francis Herreshoff in December 1942, originally published in Rudder magazine in 1943 as a build-it-yourself project for post-WWII sailors. Intended as an affordable, seaworthy family cruiser emphasizing simplicity, beauty, and performance without rating rule compromises, it's a long-keeled, heavy-displacement design suited for coastal or short offshore passages on bays, lakes, or oceans. Available as a ketch (original cruising rig) or sloop (later adaptation), it accommodates 2-4 people comfortably for weekends or extended voyages, with a focus on easy short-handed handling and a "noiselessly propelled" joy of sailing, as Herreshoff poetically described. Over 200-300 examples were built worldwide from the 1940s to the 1980s, primarily in wood but also fiberglass by yards like Cheoy Lee (Hong Kong), Compass Yachts (New Zealand), and Walker Boat Co. (Australia). Variants include offshore-racing adaptations with tabernacle masts for bridge clearance. As of October 2025, used H-28s remain popular classics, with listings on YachtWorld (~$20,000-50,000 USD for restored wood or fiberglass hulls), cherished for their elegant lines and proven seaworthiness—capable offshore cruisers when well-maintained.
Construction Details
| Designer | Halsey Herreshoff |
|---|---|
| Builder | Choy Lee |
| Length | 28.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 22 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8 ft |
| p | 25.50 ft |
| e | 12.50 ft |
| p2 | 16.58 ft |
| e2 | 8.33 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 ft | 8 ft | 25.50 ft | 12.50 ft | 16.58 ft | 8.33 ft | - | - |
Blueprints
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 25.5 ft - (7772 mm) |
| Foot | 12.33 ft - (3758 mm) |
| Leech | * 27.68 ft - (8437 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 27.93 ft - (8513 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 162.1 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 20.5 ft - (6248 mm) |
| Foot | 8.58 ft - (2615 mm) |
| Leech | 17.5 ft - (5334 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 90.75 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 7.26 ft - (2213 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.25 ° |
| Area | * 74.39 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | 26.5 ft - (8077 mm) |
| Foot | 13.25 ft - (4039 mm) |
| Leech | 24.67 ft - (7519 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 153 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12.24 ft - (3731 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 2.56 ° |
| Area | * 162.15 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 22.24 ft - (6779 mm) |
| Foot | * 13.2 ft - (4023 mm) |
| Leech | * 20.46 ft - (6236 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 220 ft² |
| Sail Type | MIZZEN |
|---|---|
| Luff | 16.58 ft - (5054 mm) |
| Foot | 8.33 ft - (2539 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | * 18.23 ft - (5557 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 87.97 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | * 18.29 ft - (5575 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 72 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.