Martin 243 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Martin 243 means chasing a rare bird: only fourteen were built from 1998 by Martin Yachts Ltd. of Canada, with Don Martin as designer. She is an ultralight 24-foot fractional sloop on a lifting keel, and the used boats you meet will be racing-oriented 1,450-pound hulls with 430 pounds of lead ballast and a 450-square-foot rig.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every Martin 243 shares the same essential plan: a 24-foot waterline matching her length overall, 8.25-foot beam, and 5.75-foot draft with the keel down. The lifting keel is the defining layout feature for a buyer, allowing trailing or drying where a fixed-keel 24-footer could not go. Interior arrangements are not separately specified, and headroom, berth, and cabin counts are unknown, so treat any used 243 as a racer with shelter rather than a weekender.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The Martin 243 records one engine of unknown make and power, with unknown fuel capacity, so a used boat's propulsion is best verified in person. Beyond the rig itself, a buyer should focus on the lifting-keel mechanism and the fractional rig hardware as the items with real consequence, rather than expecting listed creature comforts.
What to Inspect
The Martin 243's known constraints are about behavior under capsize, not documented faults: she shows weak self-righting once overturned and a capsize factor of 2.92. Inspect the lifting-keel trunk and pivot for wear, and confirm the fractional rigging is sound, since the design's limits are performance-based.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Given the fourteen-unit production, expect to wait for a used Martin 243 to appear.
Checklist:
- Verify lifting-keel operation and trunk condition
- Confirm rig and keel hardware match a racing 24-footer
- Accept unknown accommodation and engine specs as built
- Sail within the boat's capsize and righting limits
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Martin 243. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.