Comparison of Caliber 40 and Passport 40 - comments?

[killarney_sailor]

Still creating a short list for a boat for extended cruising. The Caliber 40 and Passport 40 seem to be quite similar boats overall. Is this true or am I missing something. I know that one is made in Taiwan and is likely to have teak decks and the other is US-made. Are there other significant differences?

Also is the Caliber 40 LRC basically and updated 40 with a small sugar scoop transom. Wondering if the LRC would be worth the very large difference in price.

Thanks for your comments.

[PBzeer]

I've been on a Caliber 40 LRC and I told the owner, I now had boat envy. It seems a well laid out design, with a good compromise between while underway and at rest. I can't say for sure, but I believe the LRC has more tankage than the earlier models, and I would also guess it's not as pricey as the Passport. But those are just my impressions.

[camaraderie]

The LRC is more than a sugar scoop if I recall correctly. Check the tankage and the cruising systems like the dual racor setup. It is an excellent cruising boat. The Passport 40's are also lovely boats and perhaps built even better and will sail better...but as you point out...getting a little long in the tooth and you'd want to find one like Labatt's where the hard work of bringing her up to date has been done. Hard to choose between them but I guess for cruising I would opt for the LRC.

[micksbuddy]

The Caliber got the sugar scoop transom when it went from the 38 to the 40 and it got the big tanks when it became the LRC('bout 96, I think). I was aboard a fellows new 40LRC in the Exumas this spring, very nice boat.

[TAK]

I was looking hard at a Passport 40 (my broker was talking to their broker) when the Calibers came into my focus. I Went with the Caliber. Mine is a 94, not LRC but does have the sugar scoop, 60g Fuel / 156g water with plenty of room to add more tankage so I don’t feel like I am missing too much there .. The Passport and Caliber were priced the same but the Caliber 40 was 10 years newer and very lightly used.. less than 300 hours on the 50 Yanmar. I also like the ventilation - 23 opening ports.., storage, no teak teaks, Pullman berth, Forward Head, w/ encapsulated bow, and quality equipment.

In the end I think I felt I was getting more – newer for the same price. The LRCs are nice – maybe one day the 47 but I like the boat I have

[Freesail99]

I thought putting the navagation station next to the stove was a bad idea.

[EscapadeCaliber40LRC]

My boat was built late in 1994 but is a 1995 model LRC. I bought it used in 2003 after it was quite well set up for world cruising. Tankage is two built-in diesel tanks totaling 230 gal, and water tanks also built-in total 180 gals split 100 and 80, holding tank is 80. The one drawback to the tanks are the diesel and water fill caps are all located in a row on the port deck. There is no separate or distinction between the water and diesel other than cap labels so you just have to be careful and know which ones are which, water's are forward. Other than that, these capacities are wonderful for long passage making until its time to reach for the credit card. The nav station is too small to be used well, but not a big pain. Some people complain about its ability to point well, but it rides nicely in significant seas. It is not a racing boat. The sugar scoup is nice for boarding as well as a swimming platform and there is a built in rinse hose accessable from the scoup. Ventilation is quite good with two large dorades forward and there is room over the forward deck to carry a decent sized dingy although this covers the forward dorade. The crew really loves the built-in shower in the forward head. The mast is keel stepped next to the pullman berth in the forward suite. Storage is an excellent feature.

[PalmettoSailor]

How do the Caliber's sail? Are the ok in light air? A big complaint I see about IP's is their lack of light air performance meaning a lot of motoring. How do the Calibers compare? The owner of the Calber 33 2 slips down from me mentioned he was looking to move to a larger boat with better light air performance. I like what I'm reading about the build quality of Calibers but haven't seen anyone really say much about how they sail.

[labatt]

Well, I don't know much about the Caliber's, but my Passport 40 is an incredible boat. We were sailing across Lake Champlain in 25kts of wind today and 4 foot waves and she just dug in and did her thing. We were doing 7.5knots with a double reef in the main and a single reef in the genny (the 6yo daughter doesn't like to heel). Her comfort is incredible and the build quality is excellent. It's hard to beat the quality of the woodwork done by the Taiwanese builders. She may be getting a bit old, but she's easy to update. There's a reason why a Passport 40 that's 10 years older than the Caliber is selling for the same price. I have heard excellent things about the Caliber's, but I think the Passport is a step up from what I've heard (once again - I've never set foot on a Caliber)

[bestfriend]

Didn't somebody on another thread state that the 40LRC was just the 38 with a scoop? I think he was a previous owner too. Can't quite recall.