Design and Construction
Both hull and deck are fiberglass, and Gibert Marine's late-1980s and early-1990s practice paired solid fiberglass hull laminates with balsa-cored decks — a construction era consistent with the 402's build window. The boat was offered with alternative keels, both iron: a deep keel drawing about 6.56 to 6.86 feet depending on load, and a shallow keel drawing about 4.92 to 5.22 feet. The deep-keel version limits her to major marinas, while the shoaler variant admits most harbor entrances. At 40.68 feet overall with a 12.63-foot beam and a length-to-beam ratio of 3.06, she is a beamy hull for her length, carrying a displacement near 16,534 pounds with a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 35 percent.
Rig and Handling
The 402 is a masthead sloop with a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 21.05 and a wetted surface of roughly 473 square feet. Her sail-handling rigging follows period norms: jib and genoa sheets specified at 39 feet with 14 mm diameter, a 97.5-foot mainsheet of the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets at 85.8 feet. The displacement-length ratio of 215 places her among moderate racers rather than heavy cruisers, and her theoretical hull speed is 7.6 knots. The capsize screening value of 2.00 and a motion comfort ratio of 24.9 describe a boat tuned for settled-angle stability rather than offshore survival margins, with an immersion rate near 1,441 pounds per inch.
The Verdict
The Gib'Sea 402 is a limited-production Joubert-Nivelt design from Gibert Marine's independent years, offered in keel drafts that let a buyer choose between deep-water stability and marina access. Her moderate-racer displacement-length ratio and beamy proportions signal a cruiser with some turn of speed, though the stability and comfort indices are modest for bluewater ambition.
Pros
- Fewer than 100 built, giving rarity among 40-foot cruisers
- Choice of iron keels with meaningfully different draft profiles
- Masthead rig with period-standard sheet specifications
Cons
- Capsize screening of 2.00 and comfort ratio of 24.9 suggest limited offshore margin
- Deep-keel draft restricts her to major marinas
