1994 C&C 51 XL C/B for Sale – 52 ft – Bristol, RI, United States

Price Reduction to $195,000 8/28/25 - Motivated Seller, Inquire with listing broker. 

BLUE is hull #4 of the renowned 51’ XL series, featuring a centerboard design for optimal performance and shoal draft cruising.. She is one of those “unique to the market” yachts only available in limited numbers to the brokerage market. An exceptional value for the serious sailor looking for an updated and overbuilt classic for blue water.

C&C’s “XL” series combines functionality and luxury. BLUE has a spacious three-stateroom layout, including a generous owner’s stateroom forward (plus a convertible crew cabin in the forepeak), two double cabins aft, and two heads, each with a separate stall shower. 

Highlights Include: 

• Rod standing rigging in 2023
• Updated Sail inventory brand new Doyle 99% Jib in 2025
• (3) Zone air conditioning w/ reverse cycle heating, Westerbeke genset, & stowaway furling rig

Currently undergoing commissioning for the 2025 season in Bristol, RI, BLUE will be moored in Newport, RI, upon completion.. Please read the details below for full specifications. Showings available by appointment. 

The C&C 51 was designed to be the ultimate large high-quality production boat that we could produce, and we expected it to set new standards for quality and performance in the sailboat world. 

When the project started, we, as a company, had produced 5,650 sailboats ranging in size from 24’ to 66’. C&C were leaders in composite technology, and the 51’ project incorporated much of what we had learned throughout the years. We built a custom 52’ footer, and the 51’ structure was a spinoff from that boat, therefore, there was a proven formula. The design is an evolution of the Finnish production boat, the Baltic 51’.

Hull #1 had a deep keel, which loaded up the yacht's structure more than the centerboard version. When the keel was built, the mold expanded when the lead was poured, and the bottom of the fin had approximately 2,000 lbs more lead in it than planned. This resulted in an overweight boat but, more importantly, massively more stable. Despite the resulting loading increases, the boats’ structure survived adequately in many rough sailing conditions. 

The subsequent hulls had the centerboard design, with the proper amount of lead, so the structure never saw anything like the loads that Hull #1 did. The bottom line is that, like all C&C production designs, we deliberately overbuilt the structure, knowing of the possibility of misuse or violent weather somewhere in the yachts’ life. 

I was the chief designer at C&C from 1973 through 1990, and I feel that the 51’ was one of the best boats we ever produced…

Rob Ball