Design and Construction
Brewer conceived the Olympic 42 as a heavy-displacement cruiser with a generous sail plan that gives her excellent light-air capability anchor. The hull and deck are fiberglass, with the deck built as a sandwich construction said to improve the indoor climate anchor. The interior is of mahogany, in keeping with many production cruisers of the period. Her capsize screening value is 1.77 and her Motion Comfort Ratio is 35.0, figures that sit comfortably within the envelope of a stable offshore hull. The wetted surface of the underwater body is about 441 square feet. Sources differ on displacement and related dimensions.
Rig and Handling
The ketch rig is the most commonly referenced configuration for this hull, and it is well matched to the boat's purpose anchor. The two-masted layout offers easier sail handling and multiple sail combinations for varied conditions, with balanced performance that makes the boat well suited to shorthanded or long-distance passages. The standard ketch sail plan carries a 316-square-foot mainsail, a 367-square-foot jib, a 568-square-foot genoa, a 150-square-foot mizzen, and a 126-square-foot storm jib. With the ISO reference sail the sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 16.0, rising to 18.5 with a 135 percent genoa — modest numbers that reflect the heavy hull rather than a racing bias, yet enough, with the generous canvas, to keep her moving when the breeze is thin.
Accommodations and Cruising Character
Good Old Boat describes the model as emphasizing bluewater-capable cruising with spacious accommodations, solid construction, and good seakeeping anchor. The mahogany interior and the boat's beam support that roomy brief. With a draft around five feet dependent on load, she can enter most marinas, and the limited production run means each example carries the cachet of a limited-production boat rather than a mass-market product.
Propulsion and Performance Under Power
Two engine options appear in the record: a Volvo Penta and a Perkins, each driving through a shaft drive. Calculated maximum speed is about 7.5 knots for the Volvo Penta and 7.3 knots for the Perkins, while the theoretical maximum speed of a displacement hull of this length is 7.7 knots. The immersion rate is about 1,494 pounds per inch, a measure of how deeply she loads for a given weight — relevant to anyone provisioning her for an ocean crossing.
The Verdict
The Olympic 42 is a limited-production, Ted Brewer-designed heavy-displacement ketch built for serious bluewater cruising rather than dock-side posing. Her generous sail plan and two-masted rig make her manageable offshore and in light air, while her comfort and capsize numbers confirm the stable, seakindly character the design brief intended. She is not a fast boat by modern standards, but she was never meant to be.
Pros
- Heavy-displacement Brewer cruiser with strong comfort and capsize-screening figures
- Ketch rig eases sail handling for shorthanded or long-distance work
- Generous standard sail plan supports good light-air performance
- Fiberglass sandwich deck and mahogany interior reflect considered cruising construction
Cons
- Limited production means fewer examples and thinner support network than mass-market boats
- Modest sail-area-to-displacement ratios suit passage-making more than spirited sailing
