Passport 40 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Passport 40 means considering a Robert Perry design built in Taiwan between 1980 and 1991, with 148 hulls produced. These are world-class cruising boats that blend offshore ruggedness with elegant joinery, and the used fleet rewards a careful look at a few known trouble spots rather than any broad market scarcity.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. About half the boats left the factory with a head-forward arrangement followed by a Pullman berth, while the other half carried a traditional V-berth with a head and separate shower. All examples have a double quarter cabin aft and a saloon built around a U- or L-shaped settee. Some later boats fold the table against the galley bulkhead for more saloon room. The coachroof extends well forward, which leaves a quite small foredeck, and the cockpit seats are wide but not long enough for stretching out.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Power and navigation systems on these boats commonly include radar, chartplotter, solar, and AIS as standard modern fitments. Often-seen cruising gear runs to autopilot, bimini, dodger, dinghy davits, freezer, hot water, and life raft, with spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker and a dodger frequently present. A short-handed setup appears as a less common owner upgrade. The original black iron fuel tanks held 105 gallons and the Perkins 4108 diesel remains easy to support, so energy and propulsion are rarely the deciding factor; the bigger buyer question is whether deck-core and tank encapsulation work has already been done.
What to Inspect
Early Passport 40s were built with marine plywood cored decks, and most boats carried thick five-eighths-inch teak side decks bedded in Thiokol; as that bedding ages, water can migrate into the core, so probe the side decks for softness and look for staining or bubbling in the teak margins early plywood cored decks. Later hulls switched to Airex foam coring, but the same teak overlay path applies. The original fuel tanks were black iron wrapped in fiberglass to block corrosion, which can conceal external rust and slow diesel leaks at the welds, so inspect the locker and bilge beneath the tanks for any fuel smell or rust streaking black iron encased in fiberglass. Blisters are uncommon even on tropical boats, but a survey still should sound the hull below the waterline. Check the hull-and-deck joint for any bulwark separation since it is through-bolted on an inward flange.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States, Australia, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, and Antigua and Barbuda. Before committing, walk the side decks and press for core softness. Sniff and look under the fuel tanks for rust or diesel. Confirm which engine the boat has and whether tank encapsulation is intact. Verify hatch origin and deck coring type by hull era. Survey the hull-deck joint and bulwark for separation.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Passport 40. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 13 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 1 | $75,000 | — |
| May 25 | 2 | $80,000 | +6.7% |
| Jun 25 | 2 | $102,000 | +27.5% |
| Sep 25 | 3 | $79,000 | -22.5% |
| Nov 25 | 2 | $76,500 | -3.2% |
| Dec 25 | 2 | $119,000 | +55.6% |
| Jan 26 | 6 | $127,286 | +7.0% |
| Mar 26 | 4 | $121,226 | -4.8% |
| Apr 26 | 5 | $115,000 | -5.1% |
| May 26 | 1 | $38,000 | -67.0% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $35,000 | -7.9% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $99,000 | +182.9% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $77,900 | -21.3% |
Where they're listed
Passport 40 listings appear across 5 countries. United States has the most listings with 11 (42.3%), followed by Australia and Mexico.
Country view
26 listings · 5 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $77,900 | 11 | 3 | 42.3% |
| Australia | $135,572 | 9 | 0 | 34.6% |
| Mexico | $64,450 | 4 | 0 | 15.4% |
| Guatemala | $115,000 | 1 | 0 | 3.8% |
| Panama | $79,000 | 1 | 0 | 3.8% |
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' | $ 159,000 | 52 | 19 |
| Passport 40You are here | — | $ 99,000 | 27 | 4 |
| Caliber 40 | 40.92' | $ 169,000 | 26 | 8 |
| Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 40 | 41.67' | $ 157,312 | 20 | 5 |
| Siltala 40 | 39.37' | $ 129,900 | 16 | 2 |
| Tartan 40 | 40.25' | $ 89,900 | 13 | 3 |