H 28 Ketch
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 | Nathaniel Greene Herreshoff |
|---|---|
| Builder | Choy Lee |
| Length | 28.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 29 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 8 ft |
| p | 28 ft |
| e | 13.50 ft |
| p2 | 18.50 ft |
| e2 | 9.25 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 ft | 8 ft | 28 ft | 13.50 ft | 18.50 ft | 9.25 ft | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 28 ft - (8534 mm) |
| Foot | * 13.5 ft - (4115 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.37 ft - (9257 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 30.66 ft - (9345 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 195.1 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 24.07 ft - (7337 mm) |
| Foot | * 10.36 ft - (3158 mm) |
| Leech | * 21.39 ft - (6520 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.2 ft - (2804 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.93 ° |
| Area | * 110.74 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 22 ft - (6706 mm) |
| Foot | 8.5 ft - (2591 mm) |
| Leech | 20 ft - (6096 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 96.5 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 7.72 ft - (2353 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 9.27 ° |
| Area | * 84.95 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 28.58 ft - (8711 mm) |
| Foot | * 12.72 ft - (3877 mm) |
| Leech | * 27.16 ft - (8278 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 12 ft - (3658 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.93 ° |
| Area | * 171.5 ft² |
| Sail Type | ASYMMETRICAL |
|---|---|
| Luff | 30 ft - (9144 mm) |
| Foot | 14 ft - (4267 mm) |
| Leech | 28 ft - (8534 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 315 ft² |
| Sail Type | MIZZEN |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 18.5 ft - (5639 mm) |
| Foot | * 9.25 ft - (2819 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | * 20.32 ft - (6194 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 88 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | * 20.39 ft - (6215 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 88.83 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.