Valiant Yachts 40-2
Cutter · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · 1981–1992
A Robert Perry-designed cutter built for offshore passage-making, featuring a skeg-hung rudder and a stiff, heavy hull
Designed by Robert H. Perry, built by Uniflite.
- LOA
- Beam
- Draft (max)
- Displacement
- Ballast
- Hull type
- Fin With Rudder On Skeg
See her sail
The Valiant Yachts 40-2, on the water
The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.
Footage from keeldragger
Is it for you?
Character
Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.
LivelyComfort 34Sea-kindly
CoastalCapsize 1.75Bluewater
LightD/L 256Heavy
EasygoingSA/D 15.5Powered-up
TenderBallast 34%Stiff
Built heavy and sea-kindly — a boat made to cross oceans and forgive a rough night.
- Heavier than ~82% of boats her size on file
Compared with 2814 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.
The living fleet
Sailed by the fleet
The channels sailing this model, and where they were last seen.
Seen 27 times across 5 channels of the fleet.
On the water
The Valiant Yachts 40-2 on video
Solo Sail to Avalon, Catalina Island (April 2026)keeldraggerDitching my outboard for Trolling Motor + WattCycle Lithium Battery (March 2026)keeldraggerMission Change - Redondo Beach and Catalina Harbor (March 2026)keeldraggerSailing to French Polynesia - Plotting My Course (Feb 2026)keeldraggerHow I use sailing instruments and data while course routing and real-time passagemaking (Jan 2026)keeldraggerAvalon, Catalina Island: Fog, Sea Sickness, and Island Fun (Dec 2025)keeldraggerSailing Solo to White Cove - It's been a year! (Oct 2025)keeldraggerSailing to Ensenada, Mexico for some boat work (August 2025)keeldraggerScenes Around Nuku Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia (April 2025)keeldraggerSailing to Two Harbors and Newport Beach (June 2023)keeldraggerShakedown Cruise to White Cove, Catalina Island (Oct 2022)keeldraggerAnchoring at White Cove, Catalina Island. Tough decisions about what's next....keeldragger
Also on YouTube
- Single-handed sail to Two Harbors, Catalina Island (June 2026)keeldragger
- Sailing Solo To White Cove, Catalina Island (March 2026)keeldragger
- Boat Shopping LIVE! With Andy & August59° North Sailing
- OPB: Catalina Morgan 440 Tour - sv Blue Aweigh (March 2026)keeldragger
- OPB: Sailing Across the Sea of Cortez in a Pearson 40 (Feb 2026)keeldragger
- OPB: Pearson 40, svMarbella, Boat Tour (Feb 2026) - For Sale!keeldragger
- OPB: Islander Freeport 41 sailboat tour and sail to Catalina Island (Dec 2025)keeldragger
- Meeting up with three other sailboats at Catalina Harbor (November 2025)keeldragger
What broke, what changed
Gear aboard, as the crews told it
Moments from individual boats of this model that the fleet has filmed — one crew, one piece of kit, one day on the water. Not a review of the class, and not a count of anything.
InstalledGarmin
All new electronics, including the chart plotter, are Garmin.
aboard keeldraggerseen March 202610:13
WorkingHighfield
A friend used his new Highfield dinghy to take the speaker to a shipwreck.
aboard keeldraggerseen August 20268:12
WorkingOrca
The sailor used the Orca app for navigation and sail routing, noting its effectiveness for motoring and testing its sail routing capabilities.
aboard keeldraggerseen April 20260:36
WorkingPredictWind
The sailor uses PredictWind to check routing and wind forecasts.
aboard keeldraggerseen March 2026watch
WorkingVictron
The nav station features a Victron Cerbo GX for monitoring various systems.
aboard keeldraggerseen March 2026watch
WorkingSunbrella
The genoa has a new Sunbrella UV strip.
aboard keeldraggerseen March 202613:49
WorkingBalmar
A Balmar alternator is part of the charging system for the batteries.
aboard keeldraggerseen March 2026watch
WorkingStarlink
Starlink provided reliable communication for weather updates and allowed a call with Mike.
aboard keeldraggerseen February 202610:49
WorkingB&G
The speaker has a B&G Vulcan 12 chart plotter at the helm, which is part of their navigation setup.
aboard keeldraggerseen January 2026watch
Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Valiant Yachts 40-2 may be fitted out entirely differently.
What they go for
Market signal
Where the fleet has seen this model for sale, and the asking prices that came with it.
1seen for sale
2channels looked into buying
$120,000Median asking
A Valiant 40, fresh from the Caribbean, is for sale in Florida for $120,000, prompting a review of the model
from Lady K Sailingseen October 20250:13
From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.
The record
Full specifications
The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.
Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
34.2%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Cutter
Ratios
SA / displacement
15.5
Displacement / length
255.6
Comfort ratio
34.3
Capsize screening
1.75
Hull speed
7.8 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1498
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
1981–1992
Designer
Robert H. Perry
Builder
Uniflite, Valiant Yachts
Boats like this, on the water
More boats like her, on the water
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.
Hans Christian Christina 4012.14 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA fin-keeled cutter with a skeg-hung rudder, offering a more modern underwater profile for the Hans Christian fleet
Dufour Yachts 405 Grand Large12.17 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 12-meter cruiser featuring a 2.03m fin keel and a balanced displacement-to-ballast ratio for stable coastal passages
O'day 4012.06 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 12-metre masthead sloop featuring an extended sugar scoop stern and a taller rig on later production models
Beneteau Oceanis 4012.15 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA spacious fractional sloop from Berret-Racoupeau featuring a versatile optional shallow draft keel
Cal Boats 4011.99 mSame hull family0.2 m shorterA legendary offshore racer with 160 built, featuring a light displacement and a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio
J/40 Classic12.19 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 12.19-metre masthead sloop with a 1.98m draft, balanced for offshore cruising and production stability
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.
Valiant Yachts 40 (101-199)A Robert Perry-designed cutter with a skeg-hung rudder, built as a robust cruiser for offshore passagesValiant Yachts 40 (200-235)A heavy-displacement cutter produced in both Washington and Texas, known for its transition from Uniflite to semi-customValiant 40 PHA Robert Perry-designed offshore cruiser featuring a reconfigured deck and mast position for improved balanceValiant Yachts 42A Robert Perry-designed offshore cutter featuring a skeg-hung rudder and a heavy displacement hull for blue-water stabilityValiant 47A Robert Perry-designed cutter with a skeg-hung rudder, built for offshore passage-making and later evolved into the 50Valiant Yachts 39A Robert Perry-designed cutter evolved from the Valiant 37 with an updated deck, coach roof, and bowsprit
Keep asking
The fleet has more to say
Search what's been said about the Valiant Yachts 40-2, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.
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