Blue Jacket 40 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Instead of the attached rudders and full keels associated with the Island Packet line, the Blue Jacket 40 has a fin-and-bulb keel, a spade rudder, and a resin-infused foam-core hull that shed a couple of tons compared with its older sisters. The result is a performance-oriented cruiser that still meets CE Category A ocean-going standards.

Design and Construction

Jackett’s hull design uses a moderate, wedge-shaped canoe body, a plumb bow, and a long 35-foot waterline. Enough deadrise forward helps take the edge off the boat’s motion in a seaway.

Both the hull and deck come from one-part molds, which removed secondary bonds from the structure. The Divinycell foam core tapers to solid fiberglass where hardware is mounted and keel loads are concentrated. Hull-bonded liners, carefully fitted bulkheads, and molded interior components work with the core construction to provide stiffness.

J-shaped stainless-steel keel bolts are cast into the lead keel and fastened to an internal grid bonded to the hull. The boat has a CE Stability Index of 40, comfortably within Category A, which begins at 32.

Rig, Sailing, and Handling

The Blue Jacket 40 carries a fractional sloop rig on a 62-foot tapered Sparcraft alloy mast. Its double-headsail solent arrangement includes a roller-furling working jib set on a self-tacking carbon-fiber Hoyt boom, a feature that survived the design overhaul. A stainless-steel bowsprit provides tack points for both headsails and also serves as the anchor roller.

The full-battened mainsail runs on a Harken Battcar track and has lazy jacks. Mid-boom sheeting and a small traveler keep mainsheet gear out of the cockpit. The furlable reacher is powerful in light air on a close reach, although it isn’t intended for close reaching once the breeze reaches double digits.

The semi-balanced spade rudder steered smoothly without flutter. It does demand care in reverse: above a couple of knots, the powerful rudder may drive itself hard over.

Under power, test sailors recorded 7.2 knots on flat water with the 40-horsepower, three-cylinder Yanmar and Max prop.

Accommodations

The starboard galley is a substantial part of the interior. It has a centerline sink, ample acrylic counter space, a two-burner Force 10 stove, a microwave, and a drawer-style fridge-freezer beneath a hatch. A nonskid sole makes the area better suited to cooking underway.

In the saloon, the table folds against the bulkhead to open up the space, then drops down to seat diners on both sides. A navigation station sits to port beside the companionway. Engine access beneath the companionway ladder is adequate rather than roomy.

Forward, there’s a head with a shower and a sizable V-berth. Aft, buyers could choose either two side-by-side double cabins or a port cabin paired with a large locker to starboard.

Testers preferred the cabinhouse’s many smaller opening ports to a single large fixed pane. They also noted that the boat has no Dorade vents, while tankage and storage are minimal but adequate for its intended mission.

Known Issues

The rigid vang swings over the main saloon hatch, preventing the lid from opening fully while underway.

The spade rudder may drive itself to a hard-over angle when the boat is reversed at more than a couple of knots, so backing requires care. The reacher’s close-reaching limit in stronger winds is a handling caveat rather than a defect.

Verdict

The Blue Jacket 40 is a thoughtfully engineered break from Island Packet tradition. It trades ballast-heavy conservatism for a lighter, stiffer, ocean-capable platform and retains a clever self-tacking solent rig. Its minor ergonomic and handling quirks don’t undermine its standing as a capable performance cruiser.

Pros

Resin-infused foam-core hull built in one-part molds, with solid fiberglass in high-load areas
CE Category A rating, STIX 40, and ocean-going capability
Self-tacking Hoyt boom and solent rig suited to short-handed sailing
Smooth, positive steering and a powerful light-air reacher

Cons