Sold
1981 Hughes 38 MKIII Cruiser/Racer for sale
View 23 Photos

1981 Hughes 38 MKIII

Introduction

About the 1981 Hughes 38 MKIII

Built by Hughes Boat Works of Ontario, Canada, this sailboat is well suited for coastal cruising, club racing and heading to Mexico if you get pulled there. The hull is based on the Sparkman & Stephens design #1903.  With its fine ends and narrow beam, this boat excels under sail and offers impressive upwind performance.

With a fantastic amount of upgrades over the last 4 years, you will be hard-pressed to find a more turn-key coastal cruiser at this price point.

The electrical system was re-wired and upgraded with lithium batteries, charger, isolator, solar, etc.

New mainsail, genoa, and Tides Marine low-friction mainsail track and running rigging.

Hull was taken back to bare fiberglass with a new barrier coat and bottom paint

With a large v-berth, good good-sized salon, and enough solar to keep you going, this is a fantastic coastal cruiser for a couple or young family who doesn’t want a project boat.

Features

Electrical

The entire boat was rewired in 2022 with lithium batteries and upgraded systems including Starlink.

Renogy 200 Ah Bluetooth lithium iron phosphate house battery (new 2022)

Alberta Lithium 50 Ah, 750 CCA engine battery (new 2022)

Renogy battery monitoring system (new 2022)

Victron Blue Smart IP22 30A battery charger (new 2022)

Victron ARGO FET battery isolator (new 2022)

12v electrical system re-wired with marine grade (tinned) cable and blade fuses (2022)

Renogy 700W pure sine wave inverter (new 2023)

Shore power:

50 ft 30A shore cable c/w smart plug at cockpit connection

ProSafe 30amp galvanic isolator (new 2022)

Circuit breakers for 110V shore power outlets (GFCI in galley/head)

Renogy solar charging:

Rover 40A MPPT charge controller c/w bluetooth

2 x 100W solar panels

35A Hitachi Alternator

LED lighting throughout (new 2021)

Electronics

To compliment the new electrical systme the electronis were also upgraded to have an integrated and simple system.

Instruments on NMEA2000 network:

Raymarine Chartplotter, Axiom 9RV (new 2020)

Raymarine i50 tridata depth/speed/temp (new 2021)

Raymarine RS150 GPS receiver (new 2021)

Raymarine ST60 Windspeed

Raymarine ST60 Depth

Raymarine Evolution Autopilot c/w i70 pilot controller & Ev1 sensor core (new 2022)

Em-trak B900 AIS Transciever

Raymarine CPT-100DVS downvision/fishfinder (not permanently mounted)

Furuno 1623 Radar & display

Std. Horizon Matrix GX2200 (GPS/AIS/DSC) VHF Radio c/w remote RAM-3 Helm station (new 2021)

Std. Horizon HX210 Handheld  VHF  (new 2022)

Ritchie Binnacle mounted compass (5”, gimballed)

Sails and Rigging

Crisp sails, a new Tides Marine low-friction track and running rigging give you a great performing boat. All the winches have been recently serviced.

Battened mainsail (new 2022)

Tides Marine mainsail low-friction track (new 2024)

Furling headsail (110%, new in 2023)

Hood roller furler

Spare Genoa (150% furling, good condition)

Cockpit Winches

2 x #44 self tailing Lewmar winches

2 x # 12 Lewmar winches

1 x #16 self tailing Lewmar winch

On Mast:

1 x #16 Lewmar winch

1 x #12 self tailing Anderson winch

Additional Equipment

33lb galvanized Rocna anchor (new 2021)

250’ 3/8” galvanized chain + 100’ nylon rode.

Spare anchor (Danforth) c/w chain/rode

Stern line reel & 300 ft of floating line (for stern tie)

Safety

Life Sling, rail-mounted

Life Ring, rail mounted

Life Jackets x 4

2 x fire extinguishers

Flares

Propane detection/alarm and remote supply switch

Hypalon dinghy (Achilles) – no outboard

Fenders

Docklines

Boathooks

Misc tools and spares

Galley and Domestic Equipment

Since 2020 all freshwater hoses have been replaced as well as the propane lines.

HilleRange 3 burner propane stove

Dickinson Newport propane heater

Dickinson Marine Sea-b-que propane BBQ (rail mounted)

2 x 10lb propane tanks (cockpit)

Microwave

Pressurized water system, 45 gallon fresh water capacity

Sea water foot pump to galley sink

Dometic fridge/freezer

Large icebox

Vertex FM radio + Bluetooth input

Starlink dish & router (new 2023)

Auto Bilge pump (new 2023)

Manual bilge pump

Manual Jabsco head, sanitation hose (replaced 2023)

Whale holding tank discharge pump (new 2023)

Head/galley through hull fittings/valves replaced with Trudesign composites (2024)

Full set of cockpit cushions

Winch, companionway, binnacle & hatch covers (Sunbrella)

Caframo Sirocco II fan

Machinery

A solid inboard workhorse the Yanmar 3GM30 has been well looked after. When purchased by the current owner they replaced the head gasket, cleaned out the cooling system, replaced all fuel lines, hoses and re-wired the engine. They also installed a temperature sensor on the exhaust as well as a fresh water rinse hose to make flushing the raw water cooling system convienent.

Yanmar 3GM30 Inboard diesel. Raw water cooled, 1989,  Est. 3,400 hours

Kanzi KM3A clutch/gearbox

PSS Shaft seal (new 2022)

Specifications

Year
1981
Make
Hughes
Model
38 MKIII
Length
38 feet
Price
$ 44,000 CAD
Location
Ladysmith, BC
Type
Sail
Class
Cruiser/Racer
Fuel Type
Diesel
Hull Material
Fibreglass

Dimensions & Other Specs

Dimensions

Overall Length
37ft 10in
Length at Waterline
27ft in
Max. Draft
5ft 10in
Beam
8ft 2in

Weights

Ballast
6400 lbs
Displacement
14500 lbs

Tanks

Fresh Water Tank
45 gal (Plastic)
Fuel Tank
15 gal (Aluminum)
Holding Tank
30 gal (Plastic)

Accommodations

Single Berths
3
Double Berths
1
Cabins
1
Heads
1

Propulsion

  • Engine 1 of 1

    Engine Make
    Yanmar
    Engine Model
    3GM30
    Engine Year
    1989
    Total Power
    27 hp
    Engine Hours
    3400 hrs
    Engine Type
    Inboard
    Drive Type
    Direct Drive
    Fuel Type
    Diesel
    Propeller Type
    3-Blade
    Propeller Material
    Bronze
Kelly Yacht Sales logo

Going, Going, Gone!

Sorry, this 1981 Hughes 38 MKIII has been sold. If you would like to discuss similar yachts, please contact:

Disclaimer: Kelly Yacht Sales offers the details of this 1981 Hughes 38 MKIII 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.

Top