Design and Construction
The Island Spirit 40 is designed and built in South Africa, and its construction speaks to a no-nonsense ethos: solid construction with hulls and deck built of hand-laid fiberglass vacuum-bagged over a balsa core. The interior is finished with a coat of white Awlgrip and has no hull liner, while a plastic laminate teak-and-holly sole promises durability and easy upkeep below. Varnished cherry accents lend warmth without the maintenance burden of full joinery, and the deck hardware is high quality. Systems throughout are simple, robust, and accessible — a philosophy that favors the owner-operator who must service gear at sea over the yard technician.
Rig and Handling
On deck, the sailhandling gear is safe and efficient, and the mainsheet/traveler system drew praise from test sailors who found the traveler runs across the coachroof, close at hand for the helmsman made for intuitive trimming without leaving the wheel. Sailhandling was trouble free in period trials, and the fractional sloop’s 893 square feet of 100-percent foretriangle area, paired with a sail-area-displacement ratio of 23, supported solid sailing performance. Even with 10 people aboard, testers logged decent speeds and the hull had no trouble carrying way through a tack — meaningful for a 119 displacement-length-ratio catamaran that might otherwise bog down when loaded for cruising.
Accommodations
Below, the boat reads as a roomy interior with wide and easy to navigate sidedecks leading aft to elongated transoms that make it easy to climb aboard from a dock or dinghy. The cockpit is comfortable, and stowage is excellent — a virtue period cabin reviews reinforced with good ratings for comfort, stowage space, headroom, and ventilation. From the helm, good visibility over the coachroof lets the driver keep watch on trim and traffic, while a stand-up nav station with a large chart table and ample room to mount electronics earned tester approval, though the same observers thought it would benefit from a proper nav seat. The beefy electrical system was designed with offshore passagemaking in mind, rounding out a livable, passage-ready interior.
Known Issues
The recorded source material notes no structural defects, osmotic complaints, or systemic failures for the Island Spirit 40. Every example is delivered on its own bottom from Cape Town and thus undergoes a rigorous sea trial before handover, a practice that surfaces functional problems prior to ownership. The only documented critique is the nav-station seat shortfall noted above; no drainage, flooding-path, or hardware-failure items appear in the source material.
Refits and Ownership
Ownership favors the pragmatic: with simple, robust, and accessible systems and high-quality deck hardware, the 40 is suited to owner maintenance rather than specialist refit yards. The white Awlgrip interior and liner-less hull simplify inspection, and the durable sole resists the wear that drives cosmetic refits. Twin 27-horsepower Yanmars and an 80-gallon fuel / 200-gallon water / 45-gallon waste capacity support extended cruising without immediate capital outlay.
The Verdict
The Island Spirit 40 is an attractive, comfortable offshore cruiser that just happens to have two hulls, and its South African pedigree under Phil Southwell’s design leadership produced a catamaran that is both livable and mechanically honest. For the buyer who values accessible systems and a roomy, well-ventilated interior over ultralight performance, it remains a coherent used-market proposition.
Pros
- Hand-laid vacuum-bagged balsa-core construction with no hull liner for easy inspection
- Safe, efficient sailhandling with helmsman-close traveler and trouble-free rig
- Roomy interior with excellent stowage and good cabin comfort ratings
- Simple, robust, accessible systems with high-quality deck hardware
- Delivered under own power from Cape Town with rigorous sea trial
Cons
- Nav station lacks a proper seat per tester observation
- Short production span (2003–2005) limits model-year choice
