Only 22 boats were built. The design was aimed squarely at the singlehanded transatlantic circuit, specifically qualifying for the 1988 OSTAR/CSTAR race. A sistership soon proved the concept by becoming the first production multihull to finish that event.
The Condor 40 differed from many cruising multihulls of its era. It was neither a stripped-out racer nor a bloated coastal weekender, but a light-displacement, daggerboard-equipped offshore boat with a 28-foot-2-inch beam and a sail plan built for speed.
Design and Construction
Condor Limited built the 40 in Annapolis as a solid-fiberglass trimaran with a spade rudder and daggerboard keel. It displaces 6,800 pounds on a 35-foot waterline.
A capsize ratio of 5.95 and a displacement-to-length figure of 70.8 put the Condor firmly in the light, performance-oriented camp rather than the heavy-cruiser class. Its sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 27.86 helps explain the speed owners came to expect.
The business plan behind the boat was written from late 1984 into early 1985. The inaugural Condor Limited newsletter included descriptions of the owners and boats for the first dozen hulls. The builder’s brochure boasted that the Condor 40 presents an enviable silhouette to the rest of the fleet—from behind.
Rig, Draft, and Performance
The fractional sloop rig carries 625 square feet of sail. With the daggerboard raised, draft is 1 foot 10 inches; lowered, it increases to 7 feet 8 inches. That range lets the boat skim through shallow estuaries while still standing up to windward with the board down.
The Condor 40’s race record reflects its OSTAR design brief. On May 12, 1988, Man-o-War took a crushing hit from a Russian freighter 400 miles off the English coast. The collision tore 10 feet from her starboard ama and crumpled her bow, yet she then sailed the remaining 400 miles to England. She was fully repaired within a week.
Another boat, Aiki (Condor #6), finished first overall and corrected in the 1990 Galveston-to-Progreso 500-mile race, a course run 500 miles to windward. These weren’t gentle harbor trials; the boats were being asked to do exactly what the design intended.
Accommodations and Factory Outfitting
The Condor 40 was sold by the factory in “full loaded, sailaway condition.” Sails, engine, and a long list of installed hardware were included, leaving color as the buyer’s only real choice.
Factory literature provided an extensive catalog of the original hardware. If a buyer didn’t want an included item, such as radar, it could be deleted from the price. As a result, a Condor 40 on the used market is rarely a bare shell: the specification sheet effectively defined the complete boat.
Damage History and Individual Surveys
Two well-documented boats suffered serious damage from external events.
Midnight Oil, owned from new by John D. Williams, was torn from her mooring by Hurricane Fran on September 6, 1996. She was driven several miles upriver and into the trees—a reminder of the violence a trimaran can suffer ashore.
The collision involving Man-o-War is the more telling case. A freighter strike removed 10 feet of ama and crushed the bow, yet the boat returned under sail. Both damage events were discrete and external. Even so, hurricane or collision damage on a particular hull calls for a careful individual survey.
Ownership and Provenance
The race-proven boats tended to remain in committed hands. Scott McDiarmid took ownership of Endangered Species, the first Condor built, in early 2004.
The early newsletter records named owners for the first 12 boats, including Jack Hunt’s Crystal Catfish IV (hull #3) and Roy Church’s C Plath Shooter. With such a small production run, each surviving boat carries a relatively traceable story. The Annapolis building location also anchors a domestic paper trail that later owners can often reconstruct.
The Verdict
The Condor 40 Tri is a purpose-built offshore trimaran with a verified racing pedigree. Its light displacement and daggerboard reward sailors who want speed without giving up the ability to explore shallow water.
The production run of just 22 boats keeps the model rare. Still, the account of a badly damaged hull sailing 400 miles after a freighter strike stands as a genuine testament to the structure.
Pros
- Light 6,800-pound displacement and a 27.86 sail-area-to-displacement ratio deliver real performance
- Daggerboard provides draft flexibility from 1 foot 10 inches to 7 feet 8 inches
- First production multihull to finish the OSTAR; also a winner of a 500-mile windward race
- Sold fully equipped by the factory, simplifying specification comparisons
Cons
- Only 22 were built, so finding one takes patience
- The 28-foot-2-inch beam limits some marina and haulout options
- Hurricane and collision damage to specific hulls requires careful individual surveys
