Buying a used Manta: two different boats sharing one name
A used "Manta" could be either of two entirely unrelated designs: a small Austrian-designed trailer-sailer built in the 1970s under a UK licence, or a Florida-built cruising catamaran from a completely separate company decades later. The first task for any buyer is confirming which boat, and which builder's history, they're actually looking at — condition and construction era matter far more here than brand reputation, since two boats sharing the same nameplate can be radically different craft.
Which era to target
Trailer-sailer shoppers are looking at a narrow, well-documented window: UK-licensed 19s came from a limited run of about 200 boats, built to the Austrian design under licence by Blakes Marine at Hoylake in the early-to-mid 1970s.
Catamaran shoppers should think in terms of three build generations rather than model numbers alone. The earliest hulls date to a St. Petersburg, Florida start (1993 design, 1996 production, on one account, versus a broader late-1990s-into-late-2000s building window on another); a middle stretch carries the enlarged 40- and 42-foot molds; and hulls from 2002 onward, starting at hull No. 82, were built as the 42 MkII at the company's relocated Sarasota facility, distinct from the earlier hulls built at the original St. Petersburg yard. A pre-purchase survey should also nail down keel configuration rather than assume it from the model number: most of the range came with stub keels, but some later hulls were built with daggerboards instead.
Navigating the lineup
Treat this as two separate size bands, not one continuous lineup: a pocket-cruiser pair built for trailering (the 16 and 19, both well under 20 feet) and a cruising-catamaran range built for coastal and offshore use (38 through 42 MkII, all in the neighborhood of 40 feet). Given how little these two families share beyond a name, moving between them means shopping an entirely different boat rather than stepping up or down within one line — the full model directory on this page breaks out the specific models and dimensions.
Where they're listed
Manta listings appear across 6 countries. United States has the most listings with 41 (87.2%), followed by Australia and Fiji.
Country view
47 listings · 6 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $219,900 | 41 | 5 | 87.2% |
| Australia | $310,238 | 2 | 0 | 4.3% |
| Fiji | $199,500 | 1 | 0 | 2.1% |
| United Kingdom | $3,670 | 1 | 0 | 2.1% |
| Malaysia | $200,000 | 1 | 1 | 2.1% |
| Poland | $7,297 | 1 | 1 | 2.1% |
All Manta models
1 model grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.
30–40 ft 1 model
- Manta 4014