Cartwright 42 Buyer's Guide
The Cartwright 42 is a Jerry Cartwright-designed, mid-seventies heavy cruiser of 42 feet overall, built as a one-piece glass hull carrying a full-length keel and a cutter rig. For a shopper on the brokerage market, she represents the straightforward end of the used-bluewater spectrum: a 23,500-pound displacement and 5.5-foot draft that demand a realistic view of what lifting and storing her will cost. The 11.83-foot beam and 3.55 length-to-beam ratio give her the volume of a true liveaboard, while the 32-foot waterline underpins a heavy-cruiser character suited to long independence afloat.
What to Inspect
The construction of the Cartwright 42 centers on solid fiberglass for both hull and deck, which leaves the ordinary fiberglass concerns intact anchor. On a specific hull, look hard at the long-keel-to-hull junction and the attached-rudder stock where the solid laminate meets hardware loads, since these are the points where a 23,500-pound boat transfers sail and sea forces into the structure. Check the cutter-rig chainplate landings and the 14 mm sheet runs — jib, genoa, mainsheet at 32 meters, and spinnaker — for chafe and fatigue at the turns, because the original sizing was generous and any undersized replacement will show wear early. The immersion rate of about 1,320 lbs/inch means a loaded boat sits measurably deeper than a lightly dressed one, so confirm the 1.68-to-1.78-meter draft claim against the actual waterline boot stripe on the hull you are viewing rather than the spec sheet.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
A Cartwright 42 on the market is a niche find rather than a volume listing, and the right pre-purchase discipline is structural and rig-focused. The capsize screening value of 1.65 and a comfort score of 38.3 mark a boat built for steadiness rather than pace, so judge any candidate on structural honesty over cosmetic shine.
- Inspect long-keel hull joint for cracks or repair
- Check attached-rudder stock for play
- Examine chainplate bedding for leaks
- Verify draft against boot stripe at load
- Confirm sheet sizes match 14 mm original
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Cartwright 42. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 3 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 1 | $75,000 | — |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $75,000 | 0.0% |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $75,000 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Cartwright 42 listings appear across 1 country. Mexico has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | $75,000 | 2 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valiant 42 | 42' | $ 299,999 | 18 | 4 |
| Moody 42 | 41.79' | $ 62,043 | 12 | 1 |
| Rustler 42 | 42' | $ 475,079 | 9 | 3 |
| Cartwright 42You are here | — | $ 75,000 | 2 | 0 |