Design and Construction
The 40 Cruising Ketch is a product of the late-1960s Morgan Yachts era, before Charley Morgan's 1972 departure from the company, and her numbers describe a boat built for offshore comfort rather than speed. The displacement-length ratio of 347.22 is squarely in the heavy-cruiser band, and the comfort ratio of 39.10 reinforces that this is a hull that absorbs sea state rather than skitters over it. The capsize screening value of 1.63 sits in the range associated with voyaging boats considered acceptable for bluewater use by period screening standards. Solid fiberglass throughout the hull and deck avoids the core-rot exposure of later cored construction, and the 8,000-pound lead ballast is encapsulated in that solid glass below a 4.17-foot Scheel keel.
Rig and Handling
As a masthead ketch the boat splits her 700 square feet of reported sail area across two masts, with a foretriangle height of 47 feet and base of just over 40 feet feeding a 348-square-foot foretriangle, while the mainmast carries a 294-square-foot mainsail on a 14.6-foot foot. The total 100-percent fore-and-main triangle area comes to about 642 square feet before the mizzen is counted, and the mast height is listed at 12.28 meters. The sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.77 is modest, consistent with a boat whose 21,000-pound displacement is meant to be driven by a steady breeze rather than a zephyr. The ketch configuration itself gives the cruising couple manageable sail splits when short-handed, and the shoal Scheel keel keeps her accessible to shallow anchorages without the violent trip of a full shoal fin.
Accommodations and Systems
Below, the design provides 200 gallons of fresh water capacity against 100 gallons of gasoline in the auxiliary tank, supporting extended cruising without constant resupply. The Universal-Atomic Atomic 4 gasoline engine of 40 horsepower moves the 21,000-pound hull at a measured pace and feeds from that 100-gallon gasoline capacity. The ketch's volume accommodates the systems and stowage a long-range cruiser needs, and the 30-foot waterline translates the hull's length into living space as well as a 7.34-knot theoretical hull speed.
The Verdict
The Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch is a thoughtfully proportioned late-1960s cruiser whose heavy-displacement hull, Scheel keel, and ketch rig answer the needs of a couple or small family voyaging at moderate latitudes. She is not a light-air performer and her gasoline Atomic 4 demands the fire-safety discipline any petrol auxiliarist accepts, but the solid-glass construction and balanced numbers make her a sane platform for the buyer who values steadiness over sparkle.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck avoid cored-structure rot paths
- 38 percent ballast ratio and 1.63 capsize screen suit offshore cruising
- Ketch rig splits sail load for manageable short-handed handling
- 200-gallon water and 100-gallon fuel capacity support long passages
Cons
- 14.77 sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air performance
- Gasoline Atomic 4 auxiliary requires strict fuel-system vigilance
- 4.17-foot shoal Scheel keel trades some upwind ability for draft
