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 an 11.8-meter fractional sloop designed by Bruce Farr and built by Premier Composite Technologies, featuring a lifting keel and displacing 3919 kg. The model has been in production since 2010. A Farr 40, a design related to the Farr 400, was scheduled for exhibition at the Annapolis Sailboat Show.6:16 Another Farr 40 design was observed leading the President's International Yacht Race on the Bosphorus.13:50

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
Ultrasonic Anti-Fouling Test: Will the Seaflo System Deliver?1:32from Sailing Zephyr IV
O'day 329.63 mSame hull family2.2 m shorterA 9.6-metre masthead sloop with a deep-draft keel-centreboard configuration designed for versatile coastal cruising
Walking the Boat Yard With a Pro Sailor11:00from The Mariner
Ovni 3711.90 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Philippe Briand-designed aluminium cutter featuring a centerboard and a stern scoop extension for versatile cruising
Compact bluewater cruiser from Ovni0:15from SEILmagasinet
Tartan Marine 34 C10.49 mSame hull family1.3 m shorterA Sparkman & Stephens masthead sloop featuring a keel-centerboard hull designed for shoal water and IOR competition
Gentleman don't sail upwind!! It was a great sail!from Sailing Adventure Can't Wait
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 110from SVN solovelanet
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
The ONE Thing We Disagreed on This Entire Refit | Step 494from Sailing Uma

The family

Boats like this

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

Farr 740 SportA high-performance fractional sloop from Bruce Farr featuring a lifting keel for versatile shoal-water accessFarr Phase 4A Bruce Farr-designed masthead sloop built for performance with a fin keel, bulb, and spade rudderFarr 7500A 1979 trailerable fractional sloop with a 1.8-metre draft, designed for agile handling in a light 1,150kg packageFarr 40 One-DesignA Bruce Farr-designed fractional sloop built for pure one-design racing with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratioFarr 395A high-performance fractional sloop by Bruce Farr featuring a light displacement and aggressive sail area for competitive racing

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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