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Passport Yachts

30K views 48 replies 12 participants last post by  canadianboatseeker 
#1 · (Edited)
Anyone have an opinion on Passports? I'm in the process of buying a 1984 Passport 40 and we're looking at a Passport 515CC in a couple of years. I spoke with the President of Passport at Annapolis and I was very impressed with his interest in our purchase (vs. the many other sellers that shrugged us off as we walked through) and the apparent quality. The Passport 40 we're buying got excellent marks on its survey (you can see some pics at http://labatt.dandd.com/v/non-art/passport40). Are there any gotchas I should be concerned about? Any positives or negatives regarding Passport?

Some have already been asked and answered (decks need refinish - already got price, new sails in '03, new Yanmar diesel in '04, new bottom paint '05, new topsides pain '05, new instruments '03, new batteries '06)
 
#2 ·
Labatt - your link didn't work for me... We spent some time with friends with a Passport 40 this summer - they had no complaints as yet, have owned the boat for just under a year. She seemed very comfortable and spacious, and kept pace with our 35' racer/cruiser in most breezes, but fell back downwind. It has a terrific cockpit for entertaining, we had 12 there and everyone had a seat. It did not appear to back up very well, but that may have been due to their relative newness with boating. (It is their first boat).
 
#3 ·
The link should work now. It had a ")" in it. This one has a Gori three blade prop as opposed to the original so it's supposed to be a bit better, but unless you have saildrive you're probably going to do pretty badly backing up without years of practice :) We're going from a Precision 23 with an outboard to this beast... should be interesting! I hope we get a slip on the outside of the last dock at our marina for our first year! Practice practice practice they say.
 
#4 ·
Labatt...great boats for cuising. The 40 is a well respected passagemaker and the Perry designed Royal Passports were really incredible, top of the line boats. Have not yet seen the new Vista line but assume the tradition will continue...at those prices you should be getting a world class vessel down the road.
 
#7 ·
TAK said:
If your boat is Pelican in Annapolis, I contemplated making an offer on it before I ended up buying a 94 Caliber 40. Its a nice boat! Good Luck w/ it..
LOL! That's the one! The buyer was "motivated" and we got an incredible deal. We're doing a sea trial a week from tomorrow. In the meantime I'm making sure Passport's don't have any hidden secrets (like the decks on older Tayana 37's).
 
#8 ·
My broker called the listing broker for Pelican this summer when it was listed at 179k.. and asked how firm the sellers were.. He said then they would not budge.. its great boat but was not worth that IMO .. Week later I found the Caliber.. and closed a month after that. no regrets but I think you got a great boat. - The teak decks need little attention to some of the bungs but over all looks to be in great shape.. Hope you have great success.. w/ it.. I am sure you got a great price..

BTW.. my last boat was a catalina 27, the transition was not as daunting as I thot.. once you get used to writing Big Boat Checks .. :cool:
 
#10 ·
longwaterline said:
The one thing I would be concerned about is the iron keel on the Passport 40This can cause all kinds of structual and stabiltiy problems. You want a lead keel for all kinds of reasons.
I'll have to see if this one has iron or lead. Apparently, lead ballast was a "popular option" for Passport 40's during this time. Thanks for the heads up! I didn't even realize that iron was standard on this boat!
 
#11 ·
Labatt, did you buy Pelican. I saw the boat when I stopped by while attending the Annapolis Boat Show. My concerns were teak decks, electrical wiring, iron keel, and black iron fuel tanks. I also need air conditioning where I sail. Out of couriosity can you share the selling price? I currently own a 79 Tartan 37 in pristine condition (new engine, sails, standing rigging, canvas, air conditioner, electronics, etc.), and could not justify the price differential.
 
#13 ·
jaguaretype said:
Labatt, did you buy Pelican. I saw the boat when I stopped by while attending the Annapolis Boat Show. My concerns were teak decks, electrical wiring, iron keel, and black iron fuel tanks. I also need air conditioning where I sail. Out of couriosity can you share the selling price? I currently own a 79 Tartan 37 in pristine condition (new engine, sails, standing rigging, canvas, air conditioner, electronics, etc.), and could not justify the price differential.
We are finalizing the sale on Tuesday. There was actually a survey done on the boat prior to us looking at it so I was able to get an idea of any issues at the start of the process - very helpful. I'm not in love with having teak decks, but we only expect to have this boat for 2 years so I'll deal with them. We're going to get them refinished and that will cost us around $5k (yes, I know that's a good deal). Did you see something wrong with the electrical wiring? The only thing they survey made apparent was the lack of GFCI outlets. I'm OK with the iron keel - once again, for the same reason as the teak decks - I'll only have the boat for a couple of years. What's the problem with the black iron fuel tanks? Rust concerns?

I'll share the price once the deal is complete :)

Chris
 
#14 ·
We're flying down to Annapolis tomorrow for the sea trial (on Tuesday) of our prospective Passport 40! It should be interesting - they are predicting 25-30kts of wind, gusts to 35kts and seas of 4 feet and there's a small craft advisory. I was hoping for under 10kts as I wanted to see how the boat would do in light air (being so heavy). Instead we'll be tucking in a reef or two. It should be fun though. The current owner is hiring a pro captain instead of coming down himself, and the surveyor and our broker, both highly seasoned sailors, will all be on board. We can't wait!
 
#15 ·
Good luck and have fun. I was out for the last sail of the season a few weeks ago during a small craft advisory....and my boat is a small craft...but we had a blast. At one point we had 28 knots of wind with gusts up to 35 or so... and 5-7' seas with the occasional 8-9' thrown in to keep us on our toes.
 
#16 ·
How's the P40 search

Labatt......Are you still looking for a P40. I was down in Annapolis last week and looked at Pelican....must be she is still for sale???? I'm looking for the forward berth model with head in the V so Pelican did not quite fit the bill......although she looked like a good boat.
 
#17 ·
Encapsulated iron keels are very common on Perry-designed boats, like the GW42 I've owned for 17 years. Never a moment's problem or concern.

If they're done right, there's no reason encapsulated iron ballast keels should present "structural or stability problems".

Just another old wives tale :)

The Passport 40 is a very fine yacht. You'll love it.

Bill
 
#18 ·
jaguaretype said:
Labatt, did you buy Pelican. I saw the boat when I stopped by while attending the Annapolis Boat Show. My concerns were teak decks, electrical wiring, iron keel, and black iron fuel tanks.
We did a pseudo sea-trial yesterday. Unfortunately, it was blowing 30 with gusts to 38, the owner wasn't on board, and it didn't appear as if the reefing lines were fully run, so we didn't get to put the sails up :( We motored about a bit which let us test out a few odds and ends. The paid-for captain had sea trialed this boat once before so he was able to share a lot of information about his experiences. We decided we're going ahead and purchasing the boat.

A couple of points based upon people's comments. One, I found out the fuel tanks are actually fiberglass encased steel, not black iron. Also, the keel, while iron, was designed as an integrated portion of the hull mold (i.e. there are no keel bolts). The iron was sectioned, encapsulated in resin and then placed into the keel cavity. Theoretically speaking, according to our surveyor, there shouldn't be any rust or water issues.

The electrical wiring is in excellent shape and well laid out and marked. Wire gauge is correct for everything we could determine.

It's missing a few odds and ends that we'll be adding - a small propane heater, wind instruments, radar, rudder angle indicator and most importantly - an electric windlass since we will be hauling 250'-300' of chain or rode up when we anchor in Lake Champlain.

Should be fun!
 
#20 ·
We spent some time on a Passport 40 this past summer, and had occasion to troubleshoot some minor electrical issues. I was very impressed with the documentation that came with (and was still on board) this 22 year old boat. All wiring diagrams had complete detail wrt to the terminations, wire colours, gauges, purposes etc. It made the job a lot less of a treasure hunt that it is in most other vessels.
 
#21 ·
telekitr said:
Labatt......Are you still looking for a P40. I was down in Annapolis last week and looked at Pelican....must be she is still for sale???? I'm looking for the forward berth model with head in the V so Pelican did not quite fit the bill......although she looked like a good boat.
We've just "closed" on Pelican. The brokerage we used - Martin Bird - has a Passport 40 for sale in Annapolis with the configuration you're looking for. It's over at Jabin's. You can give Bill Day (from Martin Bird) a call at 410-268-1086. He's been wonderful to work with.

Chris
 
#22 ·
Chris,

You said, "It's missing a few odds and ends that we'll be adding - a small propane heater, wind instruments, radar, rudder angle indicator and most importantly - an electric windlass since we will be hauling 250'-300' of chain or rode up when we anchor in Lake Champlain."

Hey, I'd consider most of that a plus, since you'll be able to choose your own radar, wind instruments, windlass, etc. :))

However, the "small propane heater" and "Lake Champlain" raised a flag with me. I don't know what kind of heater you're thinking about, but propane is dangerous stuff from several aspects. In northern climes, I'd strongly suggest a diesel-fired furnace such as the Espar or Webasto models. I've had an Espar on my boat for many years, and it's a joy. Clean, reliable, safe, efficient forced air heating throughout the boat, fueled from your main diesel tank.

If you do decide to go this route after investigation, I can recommend Ocean Options in Edgewater, MD (near Annapolis) for sales and installation. They're dealers for the Espar, and did a good job installing a new heater for me a few years ago.

Bill
 
#23 ·
Congrats... :D
 
#26 ·
Labatt, congratulations on the purchase. I think the problem with the wiring was that it was not tinned and therefore prone to rusting. Glad to hear the tanks were not an issue. Sounds like you got an excellant boat. There is a 1980 Alden 44 for sale (asking price of $149,000), which seemed to be a better deal than the Passpoart 40, but both boats have teek decks in need of refurbishing. Jay.
 
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