Martin 242 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Built by Martin Yachts of Richmond, B.C., the design showed its pace early. The prototype was already winning races in 1980. In 1983, a 242 finished second in the ARK one-design regatta in British Columbia, racing in a mixed fleet of five major designs from 24 to 30 feet. A year later, the type placed fifth overall and was the top Canadian boat at the MORC Internationals.

Canadian Boating described the Martin 242 as a lightweight, maneuverable speedster that will perform for you on the racecourse and tolerate you for a weekend. That’s a fair summary of a boat whose racing DNA and weekend-camping interior have always been in tension.

Design and Construction

The 242 has a narrow hull, fine entry, and wide sections aft. Canadian Boating pointed to the boat’s knuckled forefront and wide, slightly racked transom as features that suggest speed and power. A high-aspect keel and deep inboard rudder give her the bite and balance of a thoroughbred racer rather than a pocket cruiser.

The hull and deck are balsa-cored, and both have full liners. The hull-deck joint is an outboard rolled flange bonded together. Radiused edges and canted side decks give the crew a practical place to sit out while sailing.

At 2,500 lbs displacement, with 930 lbs of lead ballast and an 8-foot beam, the whole package is tuned for responsiveness rather than accommodation.

Rig, Cockpit, and Handling

The tall fractional rig with its huge main leaves little doubt about the boat’s purpose. The intended inventory pairs it with a small 110 per cent roller-furling jib and a symmetric spinnaker.

Sailing World called the rig simple. All sail controls lead aft along the cabin top to either side of the companionway, allowing the crew to trim from the cockpit. The cockpit itself is huge and divided by a mainsheet traveler spanning the seats. That arrangement works once you’re used to it, while the bench seating is comfortable at the dock.

With a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 24.32 and a PHRF rating of 150–160, the 242 is quick in the right hands and rewards clean boat handling.

Accommodations and Equipment

As befits an ultralight racer, the interior is stark. Canadian Boating noted a very basic layout with two quarter berths and a V-berth. Sailing World gives the quarter berths as 6 feet 6 inches long, with molded storage lockers beneath and behind them in the main salon. Forward, there’s a matching 6-foot 6-inch V-berth, along with molded lockers and space for a toilet.

An optional portable galley, comprising a stove and sink, slides out from beneath the cockpit. Standard equipment includes bow and stern pulpits, lifelines, spinnaker gear, an electrical package, cushions, and the three sails.

Known Issues

Canadian Boating identified one basic comfort problem: the quarter-berth backrests are too far outboard. Your head meets the cabin side before your back is supported.

Owners have also reported rot in the balsa core on the foredeck and down the gunwales. This is a consequence of the cored construction that any survey should examine closely.

Variants, Production, and Fleets

Buyers who wanted to race under the more demanding offshore rule could specify a factory MORC variant with inboard shrouds, added hull stiffening, and inboard genoa tracks.

Most Martin 242s are in the West, where the boat has a solid one-design class on the West Coast. In Ontario, the boats race under MORC and PHRF, but a local class had not formed as of the Canadian Boating report.

That account put production at about 150 boats. Later reporting says more than 350 were sold after MG Marine of Marina del Rey, California, resumed building the design.

The Verdict

The Martin 242 is a purist’s ultralight: a one-design racer with enough berths to endure a weekend and a hull that rewards attentive ownership. She’s no cruiser, but as a small-boat speedster governed by strict class rules, she remains a coherent concept.

Pros