Ross 40 Buyer's Guide
The Ross 40 is a Murray Ross-designed fiberglass sloop from the early 1980s, a 40-foot performance cruiser whose light displacement and tall fractional rig make her a distinctive find on the used market. She is not a heavy offshore passagemaker by the numbers, but her high ballast ratio and brisk light-air speed reward a buyer who values sailing ability over motion damping.
Layouts on the Used Market
Production of the Ross 40 began in 1981, and the known configuration is a solid-fiberglass monohull with a fin keel, spade rudder, and fractional sloop rig on a roughly 40.7-foot overall hull with a 35.5-foot waterline. The 12-foot beam and 7-foot draft define the footprint you will be berthing.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The fractional rig originally specifies 130.5-foot, half-inch halyards for mainsail, jib, and spinnaker, and 0.55-inch sheets up to 101.7 feet for the mainsheet, so a buyer should confirm whether those lines and their deck hardware remain original or have been upgraded for short-handed sailing. A 135 percent genoa lifts sail-area-to-displacement to 29.6, meaning a furling genoa and updated sheet leads are the consequential additions to look for.
What to Inspect
The capsize screening value of 2.19 means the Ross 40 would not meet ocean-race acceptance thresholds anchor, so a survey should weigh intended use against that limit. Her Motion Comfort Ratio of 16.0 is more comfortable than only 4 percent of similar designs, a point to verify against your own sea-trial tolerance. Check the solid fiberglass hull and deck for the usual osmotic or impact concerns, and confirm the fin keel stub and spade rudder bearings.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
For a buyer, the checklist is brief:
- Confirm fractional rig and 135% genoa setup for the light-air speed advantage
- Verify hull and deck are solid fiberglass with no hidden core
- Survey keel stub and spade rudder for structural integrity
- Accept the capsize screening and low comfort ratio if coastal or light-air sailing is the plan
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pogo 40 | 39.96' | $ 185,457 | 18 | 4 |
| Jeanneau Sun Fast 40 | 40' | $ 167,690 | 13 | 2 |
| North End 40 | 39.83' | $ 29,000 | 7 | 0 |
| Bavaria Yachts Cruiser 40 S (Farr) | 40.52' | $ 145,564 | 5 | 1 |