Challenger Bravo Buyer's Guide
The Challenger Bravo is a Jacques Gaubert-designed French cruising sloop launched in 1980 and built through 1984. At roughly 26 feet overall with a beam near 2.9 meters, she is a compact fin-keel coastal cruiser rather than a bluewater boat. Shoppers will find a simple solid-fiberglass hull, six berths, and a manufacturer unsinkable rating — but should judge every system on condition after four decades.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Bravo was offered as a habitable cruising sloop with six berths inside a beamy hull. The manufacturer's "sans jupe" version measures 7.90 meters overall, while the Super Bravo "avec jupe" stretches to 8.80 meters with the same 2.95-meter beam and 36.50 square-meter sail plan; both share Gaubert's unsinkable, five-person, second-category certification. Used buyers will mostly meet the standard Bravo, with the longer Super Bravo a less common variant of the same hull logic.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The Bravo may carry an inboard engine, with no named make or horsepower, so a used buyer should treat propulsion as a condition item first. Beyond confirming a working inboard and serviceable standing rigging sized to the 10 mm sheet spec, the rest is owner-dependent. Focus your survey on whether the engine, electrical, and hull penetrations have been maintained, not on factory options.
What to Inspect
Begin with the hull's unsinkable certification and solid fiberglass build: look for undocumented repairs or added through-hulls that could compromise the original buoyancy logic. Check the fin keel joint and ballast, since the 38 percent ballast ratio already leaves heeling resistance below average and any lost ballast would worsen it. Confirm the draft range of 1.85 to 1.95 meters matches the waterline load and inspect the keel stub for stress. Verify the rigging matches the 10 mm jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker sheet diameters and that the sail area of 36.50 square meters is intact. Note the capsize screening value of 2.28 means the design was never meant for ocean racing, so probe for any offshore modifications that exceed her brief.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in France.
- Confirm hull penetrations are few and well-sealed
- Check keel-to-hull joint for cracks or movement
- Verify rigging diameters match original 10 mm spec
- Test inboard engine and electrical under load
- Review sail plan for missing or resized area
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Challenger Bravo. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 | 1 | $6,760 | — |
| May 26 | 2 | $5,828 | -13.8% |
Where they're listed
Challenger Bravo listings appear across 1 country. France has the most listings with 3.
Country view
3 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | $5,828 | 3 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol 29.9 | 29.92' | $ 12,000 | 13 | 3 |
| Challenger BravoYou are here | — | $ 5,828 | 3 | 0 |