1985 Celestial Center Cockpit48ft

Specs for Celestial 48 Ketch
Designer:    Bryce Fuhriman et al
LOA:   48’0”
LWL:   39’4”
Beam:   13’6”
Draft:   6’
Ballast:  11,800 lbs
Displacement:  27,000 lbs
Sail Area:   990 sq ft
Fuel Tankage:  250 gallons
Water Tankage: 250 gallons
Ballast/Disp  44%
Disp/Length  198
SA/Disp  17.67

RIGGING & PERFORMANCE

The Celestial 48 is good light wind performer and is surprisingly agile for a center cockpit cruiser with a displacement of 27,000 lbs. Because the jib sheets are led to tracks on the caprail, sheeting angles aren’t particularly tight so the boat will point to about 45 degrees, much higher than that and she will stall, especially if pushing into head seas.  With all canvas up, the boat will do 6 to 7 knots on a close reach and 8-9 knots on a beam or broad reach in about 15 knots of true wind.  Although she needs to be reefed early, in light wind, she moves like a luxury car and will scoot along at 5 knots even in only 8 to 10 knots of breeze. 

The sail area is 990 square feet on a Kenyon, keel stepped double spreader main mast which is relatively tall at 56 feet above the waterline. She also has a large mizzen sail on a deck stepped, single spreader spar.  On a beam reach, the boat stays on her feet and does best under a jib and jigger configuration, using the headsail and mizzen, but keeping the mainsail furled.   Because of the split rig, this boat is easily managed short handed.

Under power, the Celestial 48 is very maneuverable due to her large skeg hung rudder.  With a 3-blade fixed or folding propeller, she will turn in her own length using a back and fill technique.  The boat will power up to 8 knots depending on sea conditions and is pretty controllable.

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION

The Celestial 48 is actually 50 feet LOA, and 48 feet on deck.  She has a beam of 13’ 6” and draft of 6 feet with a fully encapsulated, elongated fin keel consisting of two solid lead castings.  The underbody has very full and round bilges which means there is lower form stability.  This makes the boat  initially a bit tender so you’ll need to reef if the wind is forward of the beam and in excess of 18 knots.  But the 44% ballast to displacement ratio kicks in and ensures she stabilizes and stiffens up. 

The hull of the 48 is balsa cored to the waterline with solid glass reinforcement at the chainplates, rudder shaft and propeller shaft.  The balsa is cut away and sealed with epoxy around the through-hulls and is omitted entirely in the keel sides and on the centerline. 

The cockpit is compact but will seat 6 for cocktails.  It is well laid out to easily add a complete bimini enclosure, making this a great covered patio, protected from the elements.  The companionway has a bridge deck and is offset a bit to port with engine gauges below and within sight of the helmsman.  The sole of the cockpit is removable and is directly over the engine in case a future repower is necessary.  Visibility from the helm is excellent in all directions.

BELOW DECKS

One of the highlights of this boat is the layout which is a modern fore and aft cabin design featuring 6’2” headroom in the saloon, galley and aft stateroom.  A traditional 6’6” long V-berth is forward.

The saloon has a centerline drop-leaf table with a built-in eight bottle wine rack and will seat 4 comfortably or 6 in a pinch.  An L-shaped settee is on port with a straight settee on starboard.  

The U-shaped galley is to starboard. A gimbaled stove and refridgeration redesigned for living aboard. The sinks are on the centerline and close to the companionway steps so the cook doesn’t have to go far to get food to the crew in the cockpit. 

The companionway has a built-in locker in each step and room for 2 8D batteries underneath the bottom step.

The forward facing nav station is on port, across from a small wet locker and just at the head of the passageway that provides access via a door to the large, crawl-in engine room.  This dedicated, well-insulated and well-lit, machinery space allows access to all sides of the engine .  Starboard of the engine there is a cabinet and room for additional equipment.  To port of the engine, there is enough room for a small genset and the forward bulkhead has plenty of room for equipment installation including an inverter, battery charger, fuel filters and the raw water strainer.  This is a very large engine room by sailboat standards, and it’s great to have dedicated access without disrupting the living spaces.

The owner’s suite aft on the 48 came in a variety of layouts in terms of storage options but primarily there is a king-sized centerline bunk which allows sleeping fore and aft and a variety of drawers, lockers and shelves, all customized for current owners.  A large lazarette behind this bunk spans the entire transom and is 4’ by 8’ x 3’, accessible via two deck openings.  This space provides good access to the steering quadrant and the emergency tiller that attaches on deck.  Unlike on many center cockpit boats that have the connection to the rudder under the aft bunk, with the Celestial, emergency steering means you can be topsides rather than be peeking out the aft hatch while standing on the bunk. 

Both heads, forward and aft, are a fiberglass pan with teak trim.  The aft head has a dedicated (not a walk-through) separate shower with a seat.  It has an opening port.

The entire interior is solid teak or teak veneer with a teak and holly sole.  A vinyl headliner adds a nice finish. 

Storage throughout is worthy of a bluewater boat and can be found underneath and behind settees, underneath bunks and in 23 hand-caned lockers.  Ventilation is provided by fifteen opening ports and seven hatches.

Tankage on these boats is phenomenal.  Originally, the Celestial 48s were spec’d with 250 gallons of fuel in one tank and 250 gallons of fresh water in two tanks.  All the tanks are fiberglass, low and on the centerline beneath the cabin sole.  

The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.