Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch means looking at a 1969-origin Charles Morgan design built by Morgan Yachts as a solid-fiberglass masthead ketch with a Scheel keel and a 21,000-pound displacement carried on 8,000 pounds of lead ballast. She is a heavy, steady cruiser rather than a modern performance boat, and the used fleet reflects that heritage in both layout and equipment.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements are the more common configuration afloat, though two-cabin versions are also available, and ex-charter boats turn up frequently in the brokerage pool. Either layout works around the ketch's 40-foot hull and 30-foot waterline, with the 200-gallon water tank and 100-gallon gasoline capacity built into the original cruising brief. Buyers should confirm which cabin plan a given hull carries, since the ex-charter history can mean heavier wear on soft goods and galley gear even when the structure is sound.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The typical used Morgan 40 commonly carries a modern energy and comfort suite: solar, inverter, lithium batteries, air conditioning, hot water, and a freezer are usual fittings, with autopilot, chartplotter, and Starlink often present for passage-making and remote work. Canvas is well accounted for with bimini and dodger as standard cruising additions. A swim platform is often seen, while heating, dinghy davits, and cockpit shower appear as occasional owner upgrades rather than fleet norms. For the buyer, the lithium-and-solar cluster means many boats already support anchor-life power draws, but verify the age and fusing of any owner-installed electrical work before counting on it offshore.
What to Inspect
The known structural record shows the Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch was built in solid fiberglass construction with no cored hull or deck, which removes the common survey worry of delamination and core rot found in later boats. The Scheel keel and attached rudder should still be checked for impact damage and bonding integrity, and the gasoline Atomic 4 auxiliary demands close inspection of tank, lines, and ventilation given the inherent risks of petrol power on a 21,000-pound cruiser.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are typically found in the Dominican Republic and the United States. For a shopper, the checklist is short and concrete: confirm three- versus two-cabin layout and ex-charter history; verify the lithium-solar-inverter electrical cluster is properly fused; inspect the solid-glass hull for impact rather than core issues; and treat the gasoline engine system as the primary safety review item. The Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch rewards the buyer who wants a steady, shoal-draft ketch with serious tankage and a simple, rot-free hull.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26 | 2 | $38,000 | — |
| May 26 | 8 | $26,000 | -31.6% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $26,000 | 0.0% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $18,000 | -30.8% |
Where they're listed
Morgan 40 Cruising Ketch listings appear across 2 countries. Dominican Republic has the most listings with 6 (60.0%), followed by United States.
Country view
10 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominican Republic | $26,000 | 6 | 0 | 60.0% |
| United States | $26,000 | 4 | 0 | 40.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Packet 40 | 40' | $ 150,000 | 51 | 24 |
| Morgan Yachts Morgan 44 | 44' | $ 84,900 | 19 | 0 |
| Nauticat 40 | 39.37' | $ 129,314 | 18 | 7 |
| Hughes 40 | 40' | $ 129,950 | 16 | 0 |
| Morgan 40 Cruising KetchYou are here | — | $ 26,000 | 12 | 0 |
| Bayfield 40 | 45.5' | $ 98,500 | 7 | 1 |