Leopard 48 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Charter four-cabin versions are the more common on the used market, though the three-cabin owner’s layout with a full starboard hull is also available, and ex-charter examples are common. The saloon’s central glass doorway forward is unchanged across layouts, and both versions retain the large transverse aft passage that simplifies dinghy handling and inter-hull movement. Bow crew space is present regardless of cabin count.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Well-found examples commonly carry solar, lithium batteries, an autopilot, a watermaker, air conditioning, an inverter, a chartplotter, and radar — a cluster that speaks to self-sufficient anchoring and passage-making without shore power. Often-seen additions include a washing machine, dinghy davits, electric winches, AIS, a freezer, an asymmetric spinnaker, a cockpit shower, a life raft, and a spinnaker, which together suggest comfort and short-handed sail handling. Less common owner upgrades run to hot water, Starlink, a bimini, a code zero, an EPIRB, and heating. For a buyer, the meaningful questions are whether the energy cluster (solar, lithium, inverter, watermaker) is intact and the canvas and safety items (davits, AIS, life raft) are present and serviced.

What to Inspect

The hulls are vacuum-bagged with a balsa core, so check for any resin regulation or core condition at through-hulls and hatches, and confirm the shallow keels’ closed-cell foam remains sealed against water ingress. Verify the bow and stern sealed bulkheads are intact, since they are the boat’s defense against collision flooding. On deck, confirm the forward cockpit sliding hatch and bow steps operate, and that the flush side-deck hatches and mini bulwarks are sound.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These cats typically appear in the United States, Greece, Saint Lucia, New Zealand, the British Virgin Islands, and Australia. For a buyer, the short checklist is: confirm layout (four-cabin charter vs. three-cabin owner), verify the core energy and safety equipment are fitted and maintained, inspect keel foam and sealed bulkheads, and confirm the dinghy passage and forward cockpit gear are functional.