Captiva 240 Buyer's Guide
The Captiva 240 is a 24-foot American trailerable sailboat built by Captiva Yachts of Clearwater, Florida between 1984 and 1988, with 140 completed before the builder shut down. On the used market she presents as a light-displacement racer-cruiser with a centerboard stub keel, a fractional sloop rig, and a five-berth interior—a rare combination in this length that rewards buyers who want both launchability and overnight capability.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Captiva 240 shares the same core layout: a fixed stub keel with a centerboard giving 4.67 feet draft down and 2.0 feet up, a deck-stepped fractional mast, and a tiller on a transom-hung rudder. Below, the bow V-berth, starboard settee, and port convertible dinette sleep five with 67 inches of headroom. The sliding galley and portable head are standard. Because the run was short and the design unchanged across the production window, buyers are not choosing between layout generations—only between individual boats' care and added equipment.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Factory equipment centered on trailering and safety: a 3 to 6 hp outboard for docking, bow and stern pulpits with lifelines, and a bow anchor locker. The most consequential buyer-side additions to look for cluster around power and energy—a larger outboard or auxiliary charging—and sail handling, where a furling jib or upgraded winches would build on the 280-square-foot fractional rig. Navigation and comfort upgrades such as a chartplotter or enclosed head conversion are possible but were not standard; the original head remains a portable unit under the berth.
What to Inspect
Construction invites specific attention. Hulls, decks, and liners were built by Custom Fiberglass Products under contract, and the boat is predominantly fiberglass with wooden trim—so inspect the wooden trim for degradation where it meets fiberglass, especially around the companionway and transom. The centerboard trunk and stub keel joint deserve a close look for wear from the board's repeated cycling, and the deck-stepped mast partners should be checked for compression or water ingress given the rig loads on a light hull.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Captiva 240 was built only in the United States, and the small 140-boat population means examples appear infrequently rather than in volume. For a shopper, the takeaway is straightforward:
- Confirm centerboard and trunk condition before purchase
- Check wooden trim and fiberglass joints for rot or separation
- Verify outboard horsepower and mounting integrity
- Expect a portable head and compact galley as standard
- Budget for sail-handling upgrades if racing is intended