Design and Construction
Cooper Yachts built the Maple Leaf 42 in fibreglass, with a solid hull and deck. Beneath the 42-foot hull is a fin keel.
Her figures describe a heavy, stable cruiser. She displaces 24,000 pounds and carries 9,000 pounds of lead ballast, giving her a ballast ratio of 37 percent. Her 13-foot beam produces a modest length-to-beam ratio of 3.21.
That combination of beam and ballast gives her a Motion Comfort Ratio of 32.3 and a capsize screening value of 1.82. Both figures indicate a boat aimed more at offshore steadiness than agility. Her displacement-length ratio of 250 puts her among what one design database calls “moderate racers.” That label fits a boat with a theoretical hull speed of 7.9 knots and about 47 m2 (505 ft2) of wetted surface.
Rig and Handling
The Maple Leaf 42 carries a masthead sloop rig with roughly 798 square feet of working sail when using the genoa. Her sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.3 based on the ISO reference sail, rising to 18.3 with a 135 percent genoa. Even so, a comparative review notes that she ranks above only 46 percent of similar sailboats, making her slightly underrigged in that context.
Her fin keel draws 6 feet, varying from 6.0 to 6.3 feet depending on load. She therefore needs substantial marina depth and won’t tuck easily into shallow anchorages. An immersion rate of about 1,597 pounds per inch reflects both the weight she carries and the steadiness that comes with it.
Rigging and Ownership
Period equipment data provide useful running-rigging dimensions for owners planning line replacement. The mainsail, jib, and spinnaker halyards are each 35 meters long and 12 mm in diameter.
The sheets are all 14 mm in diameter, with the following lengths:
- Jib and genoa sheets: 12.8 meters
- Mainsheet: 32 meters
- Spinnaker sheets: 28.2 meters
The kicking strap and clew outhaul are each 10.1 meters long and 12 mm in diameter. The cunningham is 5 meters long and 12 mm in diameter. These documented dimensions give a rigger a starting point for renewing worn lines without having to guess at the specification.
The Verdict
The Maple Leaf 42 is a serious, bluewater-minded cruiser from the Huntingford-Cooper collaboration. She’s heavy, comfortably proportioned, and built to a straightforward solid-fibreglass standard. She isn’t a light-air flyer, and her draft limits marina and anchorage choices, but her numbers describe a predictable, seakindly boat.
Pros
- High ballast ratio and comfort ratio for offshore stability
- Solid fibreglass hull and deck construction
- Generously documented rigging dimensions for straightforward renewal
Cons
- Draft of more than 6 feet restricts marina and anchorage access
- Slightly underrigged compared with similar sailboats
