Design and Construction
Butler Achilles Ltd built the 840 with a solid fiberglass hull and a balsa-cored deck. This kept the structure straightforward below the waterline while reducing topside weight.
The boat displaced 5,600 pounds and carried 2,505 pounds of iron ballast on a fin keel. She had a skeg-hung rudder, a 9-foot beam, and a 5-foot draft. With a waterline length of 24 feet 3 inches, she had a moderate displacement-length ratio of 172 and a theoretical hull speed of 6.6 knots.
Chris Butler’s layout provided more beam and headroom than earlier Achilles models. Without increasing overall length, the 840 became the roomiest boat in the range.
Rig and Handling
The masthead sloop rig was explicitly configured to simplify short-handed sailing. Genoa sheets ran to a single, centrally mounted winch as part of the scheme to make her easy to sail singlehanded. The arrangement traded speed for solitude: period reviewers noted that it didn’t make for quick tacks, but it did make the boat materially easier for one sailor to manage.
With 354 square feet of sail and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.18, the 840 became a reasonably successful distance competitor in events such as the AZAB, the Fastnet, and the OSTAR. Those results proved the concept offshore, even if the boat later struggled against sharper-handling rivals.
Accommodations and Equipment
Below, the 840 offered five berths and a separate heads compartment amidships, setting her apart from previous Achilles boats. She also had a better galley and a more generous chart table than her sisters. The additional beam and headroom made the interior a credible living space during a passage.
As standard, Butler Achilles Ltd fitted the boat for serious offshore sailing, with a long inventory of good-quality equipment. The boat therefore arrived from the factory already provisioned for the sort of racing and cruising her hull was designed to attempt.
Verdict
The Achilles 840 was the last boat in the Achilles range. She delivered genuine offshore credibility in a 27-foot package but ultimately struggled to compete with more forward-looking designs offering better accommodation and sharper handling.
Although the model’s marketplace performance was disappointing, individual boats proved themselves in demanding races. For sailors who value a purpose-built short-handed rig and a genuinely sea-kindly small hull, the 840 remains a coherent expression of late-1970s offshore thinking.
Pros
- Final and most spacious Achilles, with more beam and headroom than earlier models
- Five berths, a separate amidships heads compartment, and a generous chart table
- Single, centrally mounted genoa winch makes solo sailing easier
- Factory-fitted for offshore work with a long inventory of quality equipment
- Proven distance-racing record in the AZAB, Fastnet, and OSTAR
Cons
- Central winch arrangement slows tacking
- Couldn’t match later designs for accommodation or handling
- Commercially disappointing despite the boat’s capabilities
