BoatsColvic Craft Victor 40

Colvic Craft Victor 40

Masthead Ketch · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · First built 1978

A John A. Bennett-designed masthead ketch also known as the Blackwater 40, built for steady, comfortable passage-making

Designed by John A. Bennett & Assoc.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin With Rudder On Skeg

See her sail

The Colvic Craft Victor 40, on the water

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

Footage from A Son de Mar

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 34 — a sea-kindly motion in a seaway.

Comfort ratio 34
CoastalBluewater

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

Capsize screening 1.79
LightHeavy

280 — heavy for her waterline, built to carry stores and ride steadily.

Displacement / length 280
EasygoingPowered-up

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

Sail area / displacement 10.4
TenderStiff

45% of her weight is ballast — stiff, standing up well to her sails.

Ballast 45%

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

  • Heavier than ~80% of boats her size on file

Compared with 2742 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Colvic Craft Victor 40, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Colvic Craft Victor 40 is a masthead ketch designed by John A. Bennett and built by Colvic Craft from 1978 to the present. It features a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg, measures 12.2 meters LOA, has a 3.8-meter beam, a 1.8-meter draft, and displaces 9999 kg. A variant, the BLACKWATER 40, was fitted out by Swinton and Wilkingson in the UK.18:38 Aboard *Reversing Entropy*, a crew restoring a sailboat found that professional contractors often miss deadlines and overcharge.1:40 They also noted that boatyard management sometimes restricts owner access to electricity or workspace.19:18 This crew chose 120 meters of 10mm anchor chain for deep water safety, accepting the weight penalty.23:46

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Colvic Craft Victor 40 on video

The record

Full specifications

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

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
45.0%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Ketch
Ratios
SA / displacement
10.4
Displacement / length
280.2
Comfort ratio
33.8
Capsize screening
1.79
Hull speed
7.7 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1463
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1978
Designer
John A. Bennett, Assoc
Builder
Colvic Craft

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 Scott Sprague-designed cutter with a skeg-hung rudder, built for steady, comfortable blue-water passages
Running my Sailboat VERY agroundfrom Garrett’s Adventure
Moody 40 (Dixon)12.24 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA short-run 1990s cruiser featuring a fin keel and spade rudder, optimized for a balance of coastal performance
Ella Hibbert: solo sailing above the Arctic Circle8:47from Podcast Maré Sonora ®
Valiant Yachts 40-212.16 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Robert Perry-designed cutter built for offshore passage-making, featuring a skeg-hung rudder and a stiff, heavy hull
New Boat??? Haul out and Survey - Valiant 40 (Sep-Oct 2019)0:49from keeldragger
Dufour Yachts 405 Grand Large12.17 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 12-metre cruiser featuring a 2.03m fin keel and a balanced displacement-to-ballast ratio for stable coastal passages
Dufour 405from SVN solovelanet
Hunter Marine 40.5 Legend12.24 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA B&R rigged cruiser featuring a shoal-draft wing keel designed for stable, comfortable coastal passage making
Back on the Water in Texas! Buc-ee’s, Broken Brakes & Baby’s First Sail VLOG 280 4K16:23from Sailing Sunday
Hunter Marine 41 DS12.29 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA deck salon cruiser featuring a high-volume interior and a B&R rig for simplified handling
⚓ Hunter 41 DS vs Beneteau 411 – Sailboat Comparison ⛵0:47from Practical Sailor

The family

Boats like this

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

Colvic Craft Victor 34A John A. Bennett-designed masthead ketch with a long keel, sharing its hull design with the Canadian-built North Sea 34Colvic Craft 31A 1972 Colvic-built cruiser featuring a high comfort ratio and shallow 1.22-metre draft for versatile coastal workColvic Craft Countess 37A cutter-rigged cruiser by Ian L. Anderson featuring a fin keel and skeg-hung rudder for balanced offshore handling

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