Celestial 50 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Celestial 50 means looking at a 50-foot ketch from the board of Bryce Fuhriman in the early nineties, with hulls produced by Celestial Marine Ltd. in China. These are solid-fiberglass cruisers of serious displacement, and the used fleet reflects owners who fitted them for extended independent voyaging rather than coastal hopping.
Layouts on the Used Market
The design carries a fin keel drawing 6.5 to 6.8 feet by load, a skeg-hung rudder, and a ketch rig on a 40.5-foot waterline. The 13.5-foot beam and 32,400-pound displacement describe a vessel where sea-kindly motion was prioritized over maximum cabin width.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Boats on the market commonly carry a watermaker, solar, lithium batteries, an inverter, a bimini, AIS, and autopilot — a cluster that speaks to self-sufficient power and navigation for offshore use. For a buyer, that means most examples will already support extended anchoring and passage-making without immediate investment in energy or safety electronics, though the condition of each installed system still needs individual verification.
What to Inspect
The inspection centers on the boat's inherent constraints rather than known failure points. Confirm the loaded draft against your intended marinas, since the fin keel draws 6.5 to 6.8 feet and will exclude all but deeper harbors. Check the single Ford Lehman diesel for service history, as the 135-horsepower unit is the sole propulsion source and its condition governs both maneuvering and charging. Verify the ketch rigging against the listed lengths — halyards at 129.9 feet and mainsheet near 127 feet — since undersized or stretched replacements indicate deferred maintenance rather than a design deviation.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Celestial 50 typically appears on the used market in the United States and Italy. For a shopper, the practical short list is:
- Confirm loaded draft against your home marina depth.
- Review the Ford Lehman diesel service records.
- Inspect ketch rigging for correct lengths and wear.
- Test the installed watermaker, lithium bank, and autopilot.
- Verify AIS and solar integration with the inverter.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Celestial 50. 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 1 | $139,000 | — |
| May 25 | 1 | $124,900 | -10.1% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $230,223 | +84.3% |
Where they're listed
Celestial 50 listings appear across 1 country. Italy has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | $230,223 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shannon 50 | 50.92' | $ 209,000 | 16 | 0 |
| Gulfstar 50 Kth | 50' | $ 62,400 | 8 | 5 |
| Celestial 50You are here | — | $ 230,223 | 1 | 1 |