[TSOJOURNER]

Hi,
I am considering purchasing a Passport 41. Any feed back good or bad thoughts would be great!

 

[tdw]

Nice boats, generally speaking highly regarded.

In his book Bob Perry reckons the ketch was a better choice than the sloop.

Yoou should get his book if you are thinking of buying a P40/41 but also a google search should bring up plenty of links to this design.

LaBatt , one of the <cough> old timers here has one and is worth talking to.

There is also a Passport 40 Owners site out there somewhere.

In the older models you need to watch out for teak deck problems and iron tanks. While it's not a Perry design we recently went through the procedure of looking to buy an old (1980) P42 and ran away from her because of those very problems. Cost of rectification was horrendous. I'd also prefer one that had a Yanmar engine.

Otherwise , and presuming that by now some of the slightly dodgey Taiwanese hardware has been replaced, they have absolutely beautiful interiors, a nice hull shape and no major vices as far I know anyway.

 

[erps]

We looked at some Passports. I thought they were a pretty boat too. I found lots of information about them on the web. In the end, we found a comparable boat for a lot less money so we went with a Fraser instead.

 

[tdw]

We looked at some Passports. I thought they were a pretty boat too. I found lots of information about them on the web. In the end, we found a comparable boat for a lot less money so we went with a Fraser instead.

Erps,
I don't suppose you have an interior layout of the Fraser do you ? I've got a few image files off the web but nothing that shows sleeping quarters. If you have I'd appreciate the info.
Thanks

 

[harryrezz]

Hey, Mustang - I'm posting a reply for two reasons: I know these boats fairly well and your user name is one of my absolute FAVORITE songs! Was the theme somg of a blues group I used to play with!
PP40/41 is a great boat. Strong, comfortable and forgiving. Close friends of ours have been living aboard for several years now and they love their boat. Only problem I know of they've had is a chainplate let go two years ago under very nasty conditions between Grenada and Carriacou. They replaced it with no problems - and went on to replace all the rest while they were at it ... not unusual in a boat over 20 years of age!
Great layout for liveaboards - solid and comfortable. They are a bit underpowered, however - more engine would be good if you are planning to be in an area where motoring/motorsailing will be fairly frequent.
If the price is right and she's in good shape, buy it!

 

[erps]

Many of the Frasers were owner finished, so the floor plans vary. Ours is one of four that was finished by a boat yard. One of her sisterships has a name like Ardmarchree or something like that and is down there in your neck of the woods around New Zealand. It has a separate shower stall and tub off the head that is different from the typical layout. I just checked the web and found another for sale over in Singapore named "No Komis". No Komis has been all over the Pacific and down to Cape Horn. I'll see if I can find a layout in our paperwork.

This is one of the floor plans. Ours has an aft cabin and the separate tub/shower off the head.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Hey, Mustang - I'm posting a reply for two reasons: I know these boats fairly well and your user name is one of my absolute FAVORITE songs! Was the theme somg of a blues group I used to play with!
PP40/41 is a great boat. Strong, comfortable and forgiving. Close friends of ours have been living aboard for several years now and they love their boat. Only problem I know of they've had is a chainplate let go two years ago under very nasty conditions between Grenada and Carriacou. They replaced it with no problems - and went on to replace all the rest while they were at it ... not unusual in a boat over 20 years of age!
Great layout for liveaboards - solid and comfortable. They are a bit underpowered, however - more engine would be good if you are planning to be in an area where motoring/motorsailing will be fairly frequent.
If the price is right and she's in good shape, buy it![/Q

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Thanks for your reply. We are very impressed with layout. The one we are looking at does not have teak decks. We would rather not have teak decks anyway. Fuel tank is iron but incased in fiberglass. It is located up and way from bilge that makes it little better. They seem to be well built and good quality. But we need to continue to due research before we make the move. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Faster]

We have friends that bought a late '80s P40 and in the past two years have been busy refitting and equipping her for a serious passage. She is a beauty,the interior layout (theirs is not the head-in-forepeak layout) is good, the table and dinette very comfortable. Finish is quite amazing.

After adding solar, wind vane, SSB and other myriad essentials and nice-to-haves they departed this past August and are now in the Catalina Islands/LA area on their way to Mexico for the winter.

By all accounts the boat is perfoming well despite a couple of engine (Perkins) related glitches, now solved, mostly relating to overheating.

While not a boat we can afford, or would necessarily want for coastal cruising, I think its an ideal candidate for what they are up to.

 

[tdw]

Ray ,

Thanks for that, much appreciated. Any further pics you find don't hesitate to send. I can supply you with email address if that makes it easier for you.

Not many of these about I realise but I'm always interested in investigating any likely boat in the 40 odd foot range. As you see the Fraser as a Passport alternative it piqued my interest.

Cheers

Andrew

 

[TSOJOURNER]

Mustangsally - We will have a video review of a Passport 40 in an upcoming episode of the show. It was done with John Kretschmer (part of a "Used Boat Notebook" series of reviews). John said that the PP40/41 is one of his all time favorite boats for a couple to do long distance cruising/passagemaking.

I'll probably finish editing the review in the next couple of weeks. Don't know if it will help you at all, but when it's done I can upload to YouTube and post the video here.

 

[labatt]

As a P40 owner, I'd love to see the video. We're leaving to cruise on ours with our two kids next week! I always like to see how other P40's are outfitted. We absolutely love ours!

 

[Valiente]

A good, solid, "get you home" boat. Won't win races, but you aren't racing, right? The owners speak highly of the ones that have had the teak decks taken off...teak is a great idea if your boat never moves and you have a crew of detailers...

 

[labatt]

Actually, Valiente, I beg to differ. We competed in a "pursuit race" this past summer on Champlain. The way a pursuit race is run is that everyone starts at a different time based upon their PHRF rating. The idea is that everyone finishes close together, allowing for an exciting finish for spectators. There were two classes - spinnaker and non-spinnaker. PHRF ratings for non-spinnaker boats were adjusted upward to compensate for the two classes, allowing non-spinnaker boats to finish at the same time as spinnaker boats. It was blowing 15-20 - perfect for us, bad for a lot of lightweight racers. Pelican, Passport 40 #76, was fifth overall across the line and first in the non-spinnaker class. The rating used was the generally accepted rating used for Passport 40's plus the same amount all other non-spinnaker boats had. We proved the - "It's not the boat, it's the people" - theorem since we had two racers on board with us, continuously tweaking our trim. There's nothing like a 12-13 ton cruising boat coming in first! We were also first around every mark. So... easy there with your "won't win races" comment!

 

[erps]

Boat Models

 

[Faster]

Great link, Ray... having crawled around, and through a friend's P40 I can attest to much of what the last poster pointed out. (note, though, that the post is dated 2001 - so anyone reading it today should keep that in mind)

Good tech data for the OP, essentially from a builder!

 

[JimsCAL]

Friends have a '99 Passport 41 that they bought new. Have cruised extensively including two trips from Long Island to the Carribean via Bermuda. The one major problem was a fuel tank failure on the first trip that dumped gallons of diesel into the bilge. It was an obvious faulty (cold) weld and the Passport dealer refused to do anything. Lied through his teeth when taken to court. Great boat but the dealer stinks.