Morgan 42-2 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Morgan 42 Mk II means looking at a 1969-origin fin-keel cruiser/racer whose documented life spans club racing and bluewater passage-making alike. The boat is a shark-style fin-keel design of solid fiberglass construction with lead ballast, built as a CCA-rule competitor that later proved itself cruising on both coasts and across oceans. Buyers will find a vessel whose high ballast ratio and comfort numbers were praised in period review, but the available documentation focuses on the design's character rather than its market volume.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Morgan 42 Mk II is a masthead sloop of 42 feet overall with a 30.5-foot waterline and an 11.5-foot beam, carrying 8,700 pounds of lead ballast inside a solid fiberglass hull. The original brief was serious ocean racing with cruising as a sideline, so the accommodation plan should be read as a racing-oriented interior rather than a dedicated cruiser's layout. No alternative layouts, center-cockpit versions, or hull variants are documented for this model in the source material, so the used fleet should be understood as a single principal configuration.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The baseline specification includes a Universal-Atomic Atomic 4 gasoline engine of 30 horsepower, 30 gallons of fuel, and 70 gallons of water. Period equipment beyond the bare mechanical and rigging facts is not described in the available sources. Among owner-fitted additions, a spinnaker, autopilot, and chartplotter appear as sometimes-or-owner-upgrade items rather than standard or commonly fitted gear, meaning a buyer should expect to find these only on boats where a previous owner elected to add them.
What to Inspect
The authority documents for the Morgan 42 Mk II record no model-specific structural defects, drainage failures, or flooding paths. No quantified hull deviations, deck-core problems, or machinery faults are listed for this design. A buyer should still apply normal used-boat survey discipline, but the documentation provides no documented known issues to prioritize beyond the absence of cited problems.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical market for the Morgan 42 Mk II is the United States. Prevalence of specific equipment runs from sometimes-or-owner-upgrade categories such as spinnaker, autopilot, and chartplotter, with no items documented as commonly fitted or often seen. For a shopper, the takeaway is a proven CCA-era hull with no recorded systemic faults and a used fleet concentrated in U.S. waters.
- Confirm the Atomic 4 gasoline engine and 30-gallon tank are intact and serviced
- Verify the solid fiberglass hull and lead-ballasted fin keel show no undocumented modifications
- Expect spinnaker, autopilot, and chartplotter only as occasional owner additions
- Restrict search to the United States market per typical availability
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Morgan 42-2. 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 1 | $ 19,999 | — |
| Apr 26 | 3 | $ 19,999 | 0.0% |
| May 26 | 1 | $ 23,000 | +15.0% |
| Jun 26 | 2 | $ 23,000 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Morgan 42-2 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 6.
Country view
6 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 21,500 | 6 | 3 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
8 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42.2 | 41.99' | $ 77,827 | 25 | 2 |
| Morgan Yachts Morgan 44 | 44' | $ 95,000 | 23 | 8 |
| First First 42 | 42.92' | $ 49,500 | 21 | 9 |
| Palmer Johnson J/42 | 42' | $ 144,900 | 19 | 5 |
| Sabre 42 | 41.75' | $ 99,900 | 15 | 3 |
| C&C 40-2 | 39.58' | $ 31,340 | 10 | 8 |
| Morgan 42-2You are here | — | $ 21,500 | 6 | 3 |
| Baltic 42 | 42.43' | $ 69,500 | 5 | 1 |