Design and Construction
Bruce Farr's OD is a study in grand-prix restraint: a virtually plumb bow, a reverse transom, and a wedge-shaped deckhouse built from straight lines and right angles. The hull is a solid laminate of E-glass fibers, epoxy, foam composites, and wet prepreg fabrics, and the entire hull and deck are post-cured in an oven to lock in stiffness. The keel is a steel fin carrying a lead bulb coated in epoxy, with a loaded draft of 8 feet 6 inches. A carbon-fiber rudder stock carries a blade of epoxy, carbon fiber, and E-glass, and the wide, flat deck sits above a high-stability deep keel. With a displacement near 10,900 pounds and ballast around 5,100 pounds, the boat's ballast-to-displacement ratio of about 47 percent and D/L of 110 mark her as a light, stiff racer rather than a cruiser.
Rig and Sail Handling
The Farr 40 is free of running backstays, overlapping headsails, and expensive crews. She is fractionally rigged with discontinuous rod, a carbon-fiber mast from Sparcraft carrying double, swept-back spreaders angled 20 degrees at the chainplates, and an aluminum boom. The chainplates sit almost on the rail so the nonoverlapping jibs sheet inside the shrouds, and the loose-footed main carries a full top batten while the jibs take short leach battens. All sail controls are amidships, the European-style mainsheet runs aft and below deck to a traveler with internal tackle, and a hydraulic mast jack is standard. Harken winches are standard — 48.3 three-speed primaries and 44.2 STAs for mainsheet and halyards — with Harken spinnaker gear and a carbon pole, plus a Tuff Luff headstay; masthead spinnakers remain an option. A huge scooped wheel is optional and mounted well aft.
Accommodations
This is a racing boat with a rudimentary interior. A tiny galley lives on the port bulkhead with a two-burner stove and small sink, an icebox opposite, and two 21-gallon water tanks. Long crew berths run port and starboard with useful storage bins, but the nav station tucked under the cockpit sole offers not even sitting headroom. The 27-horsepower Yanmar diesel sits just forward of the nav station, centered in the boat and turned 180 degrees aft onto a saildrive, putting the prop immediately behind the keel. Fuel capacity is 20 gallons.
Known Issues
Test sailors powering up an early boat reported some vibration with the lower unit seeming a little out of alignment.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership centers on a one-design class where the amateur skipper rule and pro-crew limits keep campaigns accessible. Standard gear — carbon mast, Harken package, hydraulic jack — defines the spec, and the optional wheel, masthead kite, and below-deck mainsheet reflect common owner choices rather than wholesale redesign.
The Verdict
The Farr 40 OD is a purpose-built one-design that delivers grand-prix engineering to a Corinthian skipper. Her post-cured epoxy-E-glass hull, bulb keel, and carbon rig produce a stiff, light racer, while the minimal interior confirms her pure-competition brief.
Pros
- Amateur-skippered one-design with pro-crew limits
- Post-cured E-glass/epoxy/foam hull and deck for stiffness
- Fractional carbon rig with no runners or overlapping headsails
- Centered, aft-facing diesel on saildrive for clean prop placement
Cons
- Rudimentary interior with no sitting headroom at nav station
- Reported drivetrain vibration on a tested boat
- 8'6" draft limits some cruising grounds
