This is a no-nonsense bluewater design, with a sharp bow, canoe stern, and plenty of beam carried aft to create more room below.
Design and Construction
The Passport 42’s canoe stern recalls Robert Perry’s Valiant series, but Huntingford carried the 12-foot-10-inch beam farther aft than on those boats, opening up a roomier interior. The stern is also fuller and more hemispherical than the refined Nordic-style profile Perry favored.
Below the waterline, the hull is solid fiberglass; above it, the hull is foam-cored. The deck is laid with 4-inch teak squares intended to limit water migration. Inside, the boat is stick-built, with bulkheads tabbed to the hull. The teak joinery is impressive in the manner typical of Taiwanese yachts from this period.
Of the boat’s 25,500-pound design weight, 9,000 pounds is ballast. It is fully encapsulated in fiberglass, eliminating the need for keel bolts. A deep forefoot blends into a long-chord fin keel. An elongated molded strut carries the prop-shaft bearing, while a beefy skeg protects the rudder.
Rig and Sailing Qualities
The Passport 42 is cutter-rigged, a sail plan favored by cruisers with bluewater ambitions. The mainsail and foretriangle total about 765 square feet. That is a conservative amount of sail for a boat of this weight, reflected in a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 14.17, below the 16–20 range associated with reasonably sporty performance.
The hull also has considerable wetted surface, so the boat can feel sluggish in light winds and while tacking. Test sailors found her slow to accelerate and reported that she needed coaxing through some tacks, though she otherwise performed well. Owners say that when the wind builds, she really sings and shows no bad habits.
The weight that hinders her light-air pace off the wind also contributes to a confident, easy motion at sea. In a following sea, the canoe stern does a fine job of keeping water out of the cockpit.
Cockpit and Deck
The cockpit is small and secure. Behind the wheel, the helmsman stands on a raised section of sole for better visibility over the cabintop. The long cockpit seats are comfortable for reclining but aren’t long enough for sleeping.
Wide sidedecks make it easy to move forward, and the shrouds terminate near the toerail, leaving a clear passage. High double lifelines add to the sense of security on deck.
Steering is by wheel, using a chain-to-cable system and a heavy bronze quadrant.
Accommodations
The companionway is offset to starboard, making room for a portside aft cabin with a large double bunk and reasonable storage. A small hatch and two portlights provide light, keeping the cabin from feeling like a teak-clad cave. To starboard are a quarter berth and navigation station with a large chart table.
Forward of the aft cabin, the U-shaped galley is large enough to help the cook feel secure in a seaway. One tester’s spouse called it a two-butt galley. It has a centerline double sink and a huge refrigerator and freezer that can be accessed from both the top and side.
In the saloon, a roomy dinette faces a settee long enough to serve as a single bunk. The keel-stepped mast stands at the end of the dinette’s forward seat, near the head bulkhead.
The portside head is roomy enough for a small tub, although some sisterships replace it with a dedicated shower stall. Opposite, to starboard, are a hanging locker and additional stowage. Farther forward, the cabin has a portside double berth and a built-in seat to starboard.
Owners note the fore-and-aft staterooms, spacious galley, and enough headroom for someone with a 6-foot-2-inch frame.
Machinery and Tankage
The Perkins 4-108 diesel is mounted below the cabin sole near the sinks. That placement keeps its weight low, but it also increases the risk of exhaust water being drawn into the cylinders. Reaching the entire engine requires dismantling part of the cabinetry.
The two 55-gallon black iron diesel tanks can be pulled from beneath the cockpit sole. They can be removed through an aft-cabin locker door without disturbing the joinery, a rare concession to serviceability.
Tankage is nevertheless a known trouble spot. Sisterships have suffered leaks, the stainless steel freshwater tanks beneath the cabin sole can develop pinholes, and cracks have been reported in the fiberglass blackwater tank.
Known Issues and Refit Priorities
The teak decks and cabintop, ubiquitous on Taiwanese boats of this era, conceal a potential problem. The caulking that seals the teak bungs deteriorates, allowing water to follow the screws through the fiberglass layer and into the deck core. The resulting rot can leave the deck with a soft, spongy feel underfoot. Buyers and owners should budget for drying or repairing the core wherever the teak-bung caulking has failed.
The chainplates are glassed into the hull, a practice most builders abandoned in the 1960s. Glassing over stainless steel this way invites crevice corrosion, conceals the chainplates from inspection, and turns replacement into a major job. Many Passport owners have excavated the original plates and replaced them. This is the boat’s headline structural refit.
Tank replacement may also be required, given the reported problems with the freshwater and blackwater tanks, and leaky tanks on sisterships.
Ownership Perspective
Owners value the Passport 42’s robust hull construction, with thick fiberglass where it matters. Encapsulated ballast avoids keel bolts, the skeg protects the rudder, and the canoe stern helps keep the cockpit dry in a following sea.
The tradeoffs are equally clear. The boat’s conservative sail area and substantial wetted surface limit light-air performance, while the teak deck, glassed-in chainplates, low-mounted engine, and tankage problems can lead to demanding refit work.
The Verdict
The Passport 42 is a serious, weighty bluewater cutter from the height of the Taiwanese cruiser tradition. It is steady in a seaway, roomy for its length, and built with encapsulated ballast and a protective skeg. It isn’t a light-air sprinter and carries the era’s teak-deck and glassed-in-chainplate liabilities, but its bones are sound and its accommodation plan is genuinely cruising-friendly.
Pros
- Easy, confident motion at sea, supported by 25,500-pound displacement and 9,000 pounds of encapsulated ballast
- Roomy, three-cabin-style layout with a secure U-shaped galley and large chart table
- Solid fiberglass hull below the waterline
- Diesel tanks can be removed without dismantling the joinery
Cons
- Sluggish in light winds and through tacks because of substantial wetted surface and conservative sail area
- Failed teak-bung caulking can lead to deck-core rot
- Glassed-in chainplates must be excavated for inspection and replacement
- The engine’s position beneath the cabin sole near the sinks creates a risk of exhaust water being drawn into the cylinders
- Full engine access requires removal of cabinetry
- Diesel, freshwater, and blackwater tank problems have been reported
