Design and Construction
Robertson and Caine built the Leopard 42 around a foam-cored vacuum-infusion hull topped by a one-piece cabinhouse, a clear departure from the three-section tops worn by its predecessors anchor. Structural integrity comes from a stainless-steel "H" frame central to the whole boat, which lets the builder minimize bulkhead intrusion, and where bulkheads do appear they are molded fiberglass rather than GRP-covered plywood. Forward of the sleeping cabins, the bows carry crashboxes with watertight bulkheads, a sensible safety measure for a voyaging multihull. The deck and hull are carbon-reinforced fiberglass, and the transoms are deliberately blunt to make dock boarding easier. At 23 feet 1 inch of beam and 27,485 pounds displacement, the boat carries a D/L ratio of 179 and an SA/D of around 21 to 22, figures that place her firmly in the cruising-cat middle ground rather than the ultralight racer camp.
Rig and Handling
The rig is a fractional sloop carried on an aluminum mast with a full-battened, deeply roached, square-topped Ullman main of 1,256 square feet including the square-top. Leopard avoids the self-tacking jib track and instead flies a powerful overlapping 110-percent headsail of 501 square feet, tacked traditionally, with German bridle-style sheeting controlling the main and a vang whose job is to keep the boom off the cabintop when the sail is dropped without a tensioned topping lift. The boom stays at normal height, so the boat escapes the tiered "wedding cake" profile of some rivals. Sea trials near Fort Lauderdale in 20- to 25-knot easterly chop saw her truck along at 8.5 knots closehauled and flirt with 10 on a screaming reach, while a separate test recorded 9 knots in a 25-knot gust at 60 degrees apparent; on flat water in blustery conditions testers still managed 6 to 8 knots on varied points of sail. A performance package with upgraded rigging and folding props is said to add 1 to 3 knots of sailing speed over the standard rig and fixed props found on hull #1.
Accommodations
Below, the flush-level cockpit flows straight into the saloon, which keeps the standard Leopard back-to-back settees, a galley set forward to starboard, and a navigation desk beside the glass door to port that also gives forward access from the saloon. Headroom in the saloon is 6 feet 7 inches, and the "Driftwood" finish borrowed from the 53 powercat gives the interior a lighter, contemporary tone. The three-cabin owner's version places the master suite across the entire starboard hull, notably free of obscuring structures so the berth enjoys a clean sightline to the shower; a pair of staterooms sits to port, while an alternate four-cabin, four-head layout serves charter fleets. Up top, a staircase to port with floating steps leads to an L-shaped lounge above the cabinhouse, preserving cockpit sightlines, and the helm is integrated into the starboard cabinhouse under a hardtop with a skylight. Twin Vitrifrigo drawers sit by the aft sliding door, and the galley sink tap purifies rather than merely filters water.
Equipment and Power
Standard propulsion is twin 45 hp Yanmar diesels with saildrives, turning the 42 at a calm-sea cruising speed of 8 to 9 knots, with engine hatches that open inboard for safer access. The boat carries 158 gallons of diesel and 174 of water, and a 6 kW genset can live in the cavernous forward stowage beneath the giant sunbed. Raymarine digital switching cuts panel clutter, lithium batteries are an option, and a genset is available but unnecessary for most house loads if air conditioning is left off. Charter versions come with watermakers as standard.
The Verdict
The Leopard 42 is a versatile family-cruising cat that distills the brand's recent learning into a coherent, well-structured package. The one-piece cabinhouse, central H-frame, and watertight bow crashboxes speak to thoughtful construction, while the owner's-layout master hull and uninterrupted saloon flow make life aboard genuinely pleasant. She sails with real verve for a cruiser of her displacement and rewards the buyer who specs the performance package.
Pros
- Foam-cored vacuum-infusion hull with one-piece cabinhouse and central stainless H-frame
- Watertight bow crashboxes ahead of sleeping cabins
- Strong sailing performance: 8.5 knots closehauled, near 10 reaching in trial conditions
- Flush cockpit-to-saloon flow with 6 ft 7 in saloon headroom and Driftwood interior
- Owner's version master hull free of obscuring structures
Cons
- Overlapping headsail instead of self-tacking jib limits short-handed ease
- Genset advisable if air conditioning is specified, adding weight and cost
