Design and Construction
The Buccaneer 40 measures 12.34 meters LOA and has an unusually broad 8.38-meter beam. That width creates an enormous living and cockpit footprint, but it also explains the need for demountable construction. The boat uses aluminum beams to join the hulls for disassembly, a practical solution for a 27.5-foot-wide vessel built before easy wide-load transport.
Hull material is listed as fiberglass or plywood composite. Displacement is 4,309 kilograms, consistent with a plywood-cored, glass-skinned multihull.
The trimaran’s daggerboard replaces the permanence of a fixed keel with access to shoal water. Draft ranges from a minimum of 1.07 meters to a maximum of 1.83 meters.
Rig and Handling
The masthead sloop rig carries 99.59 square meters of sail area, giving the Buccaneer 40 a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 38.37.
Its capsize screening value is 5.20, well above the 2.0 threshold used to gauge offshore stability in monohulls. In this case, that figure reflects the inherent form stability of a wide trimaran.
The daggerboard can be raised for a 3.5-foot shoal draft or lowered to provide lateral resistance at a 6-foot draft. That range suits both gunkholing and windward work.
Accommodations
The 8.38-meter beam across three hulls provides volume that’s atypical of a monohull of the same length. It also allows for a particularly large cockpit footprint.
The nine-boat production run suggests that each Buccaneer 40 was finished to owner specification from plans rather than to a single production standard. The specific arrangement of the accommodation space must therefore be assessed hull by hull.
Verdict
The Buccaneer 40 is a rare, purpose-built Crowther trimaran. Its appeal lies in its light weight, broad beam, demountable aluminum-beam structure, shoal-draft flexibility, and strong sail-area-to-weight performance.
For a buyer comfortable with a one-year, nine-boat design and the variability of plan-built construction, it offers a distinctive multihull experience.
Pros
- Demountable hulls joined by aluminum beams ease transport and storage
- Daggerboard provides a 3.5–6 foot draft range for shoal or offshore use
- High sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 38.37 and capsize screening value of 5.20 indicate a lively, stable platform
- Exceptional 27.5-foot beam provides substantial volume and cockpit space
Cons
- Only nine were built in a single production year, 1972 — sparse support and limited parts commonality
- Construction by various yards from plans means finish and systems vary from boat to boat
