Design and Construction
Butler Achilles Ltd built the 840 with a solid fiberglass hull and a balsa-cored deck, a construction approach that keeps structure straightforward below the waterline while trimming topside weight. The 5,600-pound displacement carried 2,505 pounds of iron ballast on a fin keel with a skeg-hung rudder, giving the 24-foot 3-inch waterline a moderate 172 displacement-length ratio and a theoretical hull speed of 6.6 knots. Chris Butler's layout pushed beam and headroom beyond earlier Achilles models, and the 840 read as the roomiest of the breed without growing the length overall.
Rig and Handling
The boat's masthead sloop rig was configured explicitly 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, a choice that traded speed for solitude. Period reviewers noted that the central winch arrangement did not make for fast tacks, yet it did make the boat materially easier for one sailor to manage. With a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.18 and 354 square feet of canvas, the 840 was a reasonably successful distance competitor in events such as the AZAB, the Fastnet, and the OSTAR, proving the concept offshore even if she later struggled against sharper-handling rivals.
Accommodations
Below, the 840 offered five berths and a separate heads compartment amidships, a layout that distinguished her from prior Achilles boats. She carried a better galley and a generous chart table than her sisters, and the added beam and headroom made the interior a credible place to live during a passage. As standard, Butler Achilles Ltd fitted her out for serious offshore sailing with a long inventory and good quality equipment, so the boat arrived from the factory already provisioned for the kind of racing and cruising her hull was designed to attempt.
The Verdict
The Achilles 840 is the last of the Achilles range, a boat that delivered real offshore credibility in a 27-foot package but ultimately found it hard to compete with more forward-looking designs that offered better accommodation and sharper handling. The overall result was disappointing in the marketplace even as individual hulls proved themselves in demanding races. For the sailor who values 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 added beam and headroom over earlier models
- Five berths and a separate amidships heads with a generous chart table
- Single centrally-mounted genoa winch eases solo sailing
- Factory-fitted for offshore work with a long, quality inventory
- Proven distance-racing record in AZAB, Fastnet, and OSTAR
Cons
- Central winch layout sacrifices tacking speed
- Could not match later designs for accommodation or handling
- Commercial result was disappointing despite the boat's capabilities
