Mason 43 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Mason 43 means looking at a Ta Shing-built, Al Mason-designed offshore cruiser produced from 1978 to 1986, a long-keel yacht whose solid fiberglass hull and encapsulated ballast have earned a reputation for surviving groundings that would sink a fin-keeler. These are boats originally commissioned by Pacific Asian Enterprises, and the surviving fleet ranges from lightly equipped early cutter-rig examples to heavily cruised ketches with years of owner-added systems.
Layouts on the Used Market
The 43 was built primarily as a cutter, with a staysail-ketch version available that shorthanded couples favored for dividing the sail plan into manageable chunks. Below, the off-center starboard companionway leads to an expansive interior for the 31-foot-3-inch waterline: double cabins fore and aft, a pilot berth in the saloon, and an aft cabin widely regarded as one of the best ever fitted to a cruiser of this size, with a closing door, full bulkheads at the bunk heads, and its own locker and cupboards. The cockpit is necessarily shallow to preserve after-cabin headroom, and early interiors are dark, heavy teak.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Aboard Mason 43s on the market, watermakers, air conditioning, hot water, bimini, dodger, radar, autopilot, spinnaker, freezer, and cockpit shower are commonly fitted, speaking to boats readied for extended living and passage work. Less uniformly, buyers will sometimes find heating, solar, lithium batteries, inverter, wind generator, chartplotter, or evidence of a completed transatlantic crossing as owner upgrades. For a serious shopper the consequential clusters are power and energy — watermaker, air conditioning, and sometimes lithium or solar meaning less generator dependence — and navigation and self-steering, where radar and autopilot are near-universal while a chartplotter may be a later addition. Canvas and sail handling matter too: a dodger and bimini plus a spinnaker tell you how the boat was sailed and sheltered.
What to Inspect
The engine sits below the saloon floor and well under the waterline, so confirm there is no history of flooding and check the raw-water loop for back-siphon risk; understand that impossible when hot and access is poor even cold. On older boats with plywood-cored decks and laid teak, walk the deck and probe for softness where screw heads penetrate — moisture in the core rots both laminate and core, and the fix is resin infusion and re-sealing of the punky sections. Where early-model furniture was built over plumbing and wiring, trace how any seller-demonstrated systems could be reached before you commit to a repair.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Mason 43s typically appear in the United States and Mexico. Before you buy:
- Check the chainplate and deck-core screw penetration for softness.
- Confirm engine access and any flooding history below the saloon floor.
- Verify the rudder and full keel for collision damage.
- Test the prop walk in reverse during a docking trial.
- Inspect early joinery for hidden plumbing and wiring routes.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Mason 43. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 7 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25 | 1 | $55,000 | — |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $75,000 | +36.4% |
| Sep 25 | 3 | $89,500 | +19.3% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $79,900 | -10.7% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $29,000 | -63.7% |
| Apr 26 | 2 | $79,900 | +175.5% |
| May 26 | 2 | $49,950 | -37.5% |
Where they're listed
Mason 43 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 9.
Country view
9 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $79,900 | 9 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slocum 43 | 42.5' | $ 105,000 | 27 | 0 |
| Swan 43 | 42.78' | $ 92,552 | 15 | 2 |
| Contest Yachts 43 | 42.65' | $ 185,104 | 11 | 3 |
| Mason 43You are here | — | $ 79,900 | 10 | 1 |