BoatsFarr 400

Farr 400

Fractional Sloop · Lifting Keel · First built 2010

A high-performance fractional sloop by Bruce Farr featuring a lifting keel and a high sail area-to-displacement ratio

Designed by Bruce Farr, built by Premier Composite Technologies.

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

See her sail

The Farr 400, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from The Mariner

Is it for you?

Character

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

LivelySea-kindly

Her light displacement on a narrow beam gives 14 — a quick, lively motion that feels every wave.

Comfort ratio 14
CoastalBluewater

2.19 — right around the 2.0 line, the edge between coastal and offshore.

Capsize screening 2.19
LightHeavy

80 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 80
EasygoingPowered-up

33.5 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 33.5
TenderStiff

56% of her weight is ballast — very stiff, carrying full sail in a blow.

Ballast 56%

Light and lively — happiest day-sailing and coastal-hopping in settled weather.

  • Lighter than ~75% of boats her size on file
  • Draws more than ~82% of boats her size on file

Compared with 275 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Farr 400, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Farr 400 is a Bruce Farr-designed fractional sloop with a lifting keel, built by Premier Composite Technologies since 2010. This 11.8-meter sailboat displaces 3919 kg, has a 3.4-meter beam, and a 2.9-meter draft. A lead boat in the President's International Yacht Race on the Bosphorus was a Farr 40 design.13:45 The Annapolis Sailboat Show, an annual event for cruisers preparing for Caribbean passages, has featured a Farr 40.6:16

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 3 times across 3 channels of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Farr 400 on video

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.

  • FailedRaymarine

    The autopilot was intermittently disengaging due to a damaged wire in the lazarette.

    aboard The Marinerseen July 20250:19

  • InstalledGoPro

    The autopilot control head was jury-rigged onto a GoPro mount.

    aboard The Marinerseen July 20251:56

  • WorkingPredictWind

    The speaker uses this software for polar data, though with a different boats polars.

    aboard The Marinerseen July 2025watch

Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Farr 400 may be fitted out entirely differently.

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
55.6%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Fractional Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
33.5
Displacement / length
79.9
Comfort ratio
14.4
Capsize screening
2.19
Hull speed
8.1 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1460
Hull
Hull type
Lifting Keel
Construction
Carbon Fiber
Ballast type
Lead
Production
Years built
First built 2010
Designer
Bruce Farr
Builder
Premier Composite Technologies

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.

Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 3510.67 mSame hull family1.1 m shorterA Marc Lombard-designed fractional sloop featuring a lifting keel and twin rudders for versatile shoal-water cruising
Ovni 3711.90 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Philippe Briand-designed aluminium cutter featuring a centerboard and a stern scoop extension for versatile cruising
Southerly 11010.82 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA Rob Humphreys-designed fractional sloop with a swing keel that allows for shallow-water exploration and drying out
Southerly 35RS10.82 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA Rob Humphreys-designed swing keel cruiser built for shoal water access with a versatile fractional rig
Pearson Yachts 3510.67 mSame hull family1.1 m shorterBoasting the longest production run of any Pearson model, this keel/centerboard sloop remained largely unchanged for 14 years
Ovni 37011.95 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA modern lifting-keel cruiser with a versatile Solent rig, designed for shallow-water access and offshore capability

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Farr 400, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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