I am replying to your request for an opinion of the Vagabond 42.
I have owned a 1979 Vagabond 42 for over two years now and I first must admit that I bought it on impulse. I fell in love with the
lines and that was that. I have sailed it at every oportunity in both light and high winds. I have found it performs much better in winds from 20 to 25 kts and is easy to manage in winds up to 35kts. My boat is the Ketch Cutter
rig and I have removed the inner stay in order to make the boat easier to tack. There has been a trade off on down wind performance but since most of my sailing is done close to shore and I spend more time tacking than I do on long reaches, it's worth it. In light winds of below 8 kts, it's slow down wind and would benefit from a spinaker. Off shore in seas and chop I was told to expect it to hobby horse and to expect the fore deck to be a rough place to be but maybe I just haven't been out in rough enough seas ( 4 to 6ft) because I have always found it stable and solid.
Don Hallmon
Linear Mode
