BoatsNorth Star 80/20

North Star 80/20

Masthead Ketch · Long Keel · First built 1973

A Sparkman & Stephens masthead ketch with a long keel, also produced as the Hughes 40 and the Korean-built Swift 40

Designed by Sparkman & Stephens.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Long Keel

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a moderate beam gives 36 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 36
CoastalBluewater

1.84 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.84
LightHeavy

369 — very heavy for her waterline, a serious load-carrying cruiser.

Displacement / length 369
EasygoingPowered-up

12.3 — modest power for her weight; easygoing rather than lively, and happier with a breeze.

Sail area / displacement 12.3
TenderStiff

37% of her weight is ballast — moderately stiff, a middle-of-the-road stability.

Ballast 37%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

  • Heavier than ~79% of boats her size on file
  • Beamier than ~92% of boats her size on file

Compared with 377 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
36.6%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Ketch
Ratios
SA / displacement
12.3
Displacement / length
368.6
Comfort ratio
35.8
Capsize screening
1.84
Hull speed
7.5 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1477
Hull
Hull type
Long Keel
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1973
Designer
Sparkman, Stephens
Builder
North Star Yachts Ltd, Hughes Boat Works

Boats like this, on the water

Nobody has filmed this one — but these are close.

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Cape George 3610.97 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterA heavy-displacement cutter with a long keel, designed by Atkin and Monk for offshore stability and steady passage-making
Cabo Rico 3811.58 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterAn aft-cockpit evolution of the Tiburon 36, offering a heavy-displacement cutter platform for stable blue-water sailing
Tayana 3711.18 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA Robert Perry-designed long-keel cutter with a heavy displacement and a production run of nearly 600 hulls
Downeaster 3811.58 mSame hull family0.6 m shorterA 1974-era cutter with a 35.4 comfort ratio, built for stable, long-distance voyaging on a heavy-displacement hull
Westsail 4213.08 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA William Crealock-designed long-keel cutter sharing its hull mold with the aft-cockpit 43 for heavy-weather stability
Morgan Yachts Out Island 4112.57 mSame hull family0.4 m longerA prolific long-keeled masthead sloop designed by Charles Morgan Jr. that became a staple of the global charter trade

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Keep looking

Nothing filmed of this one yet

Two ways to keep looking — both search what the fleet has actually recorded.

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