Shannon 38 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Shannon built the 38 as a semi-custom boat, so no two are quite identical, but two principal interior arrangements account for nearly all the examples you will encounter. The distinction that matters most is the location of the head compartment. In one layout the head sits aft, just off the companionway, with a wet-gear hanging locker tucked behind the toilet and the navigation station oriented outboard with a freestanding chair. In the other, the head moves forward near the forepeak, freeing the companionway area for an athwartships navigation table on the port side, a quarterberth extending under the cockpit seat, and improved overall stowage volume. The forward-head arrangement gives a cruising couple more working space and a better offshore bunk; the aft-head layout offers immediate access to the head without threading through the saloon. Both share the same quality of joinery — matched teak throughout in most of the older builds, with a teak-and-holly sole and solid teak overhead handgrips at arm's reach from every bunk.

The rig configuration is another key variable. The majority of Shannon 38s were delivered as cutter-rigged ketches, with two parallel headstays and a staysail on an inner forestay. A smaller portion left the yard as cutters without the mizzen. The ketch is the more commonly seen arrangement on the used market, optimized as it is for downwind trade-wind passages; the cutter offers a marginal advantage to windward. Both rigs share the parallel double-headstay arrangement, which is worth understanding before you buy.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Because the Shannon 38 was aimed at offshore voyagers from the start, boats that have actually been used for that purpose tend to arrive on the market already equipped for it. Solar panels and a bimini are among the most commonly fitted additions, reflecting the liveaboard and passage-making use that most of these hulls have seen. Dodgers, heating systems, autopilots, chartplotters, and radar are similarly found across a wide swath of available examples — the electronics generation has been updated on most active cruisers, though older installations should be treated as candidates for replacement rather than assets.

Teak decks appear frequently, contributing to the classic aesthetic but requiring careful scrutiny (see below). Owner upgrades that appear less universally but often enough to factor into your comparison include wind generators, inverters, AIS transponders, spinnakers, dinghy davits, and — on a handful of liveaboard-configured examples — air conditioning. A bow thruster is an uncommon but occasionally encountered addition on boats fitted out for singlehanding or marina-heavy itineraries. Early production boats were built with Westerbeke or Perkins engines, while later models left the yard with Yanmars; engine provenance and service records are worth verifying carefully regardless of build year.

What to Inspect

The Shannon 38's construction quality was exceptional for its era, and that quality is the reason hulls from the 1970s and early 1980s are still making blue-water passages. But age introduces known vulnerabilities that a pre-purchase survey must address with care.

The parallel double-headstay arrangement creates chafe on the furling sail at certain wind angles, and the masthead crane that carries both headstays is subject to stress that can cause cracking of masthead welds. Any Shannon with the original or long-standing two-headstay rig should have the masthead crane inspected with particular care — ideally a mast-head inspection aloft, not just binoculars from the dock.

The centerboard trunk on the Shannon 37 variant is below the waterline, which means repair requires a haul, and early trunks were sealed with permanent sealant that made them nearly impossible to open. The full-keel Shannon 38 avoids this issue entirely, which is one practical reason many blue-water buyers prefer it over the centerboard 37.

Deck leaks are a persistent area of concern. The traditional teak and frosted Plexiglas hatches, while handsome, tend to leak over time, and the sea-hood on older boats is similarly prone to water intrusion and will need rebuilt with extra gasketing material to be watertight. The teak toerail traps water on deck, and the scuppers can struggle to clear a big sea quickly. On some hulls, the diesel tank breather exits through a fitting in the side of the cockpit seat, making it vulnerable to flooding if the cockpit is pooped — trace this fitting early in your inspection.

Through-hull fittings deserve close attention. Shannon used proper bronze seacocks below the waterline, but many of the above-waterline fittings, including those for the deck scuppers, were PVC or nylon and are prone to brittleness with age. A thorough survey should catalog every through-hull and assess condition independently of the sales listing.

Cockpit locker water intrusion can affect the battery bank on Shannon 37s, where batteries were sited in the locker; on the 38 they live under the quarterberth. In either case, verify that battery installations are sound and that the locker gaskets are in good condition. The stainless steel centerboard pendant and bronze sheave on Shannon 37s have shown electrolysis problems on boats where mixed metals were used inside the trunk; if you are evaluating a 37, request the full maintenance history of the board and pendant.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

The Shannon 38 is primarily a North American boat — examples are most consistently found in the United States, with a secondary presence in Mexican waters reflecting the cruising routes its owners typically follow. Pacific and Caribbean sightings occur, as would be expected of a bluewater circumnavigator, but the concentration of the used fleet is firmly on the US East and Gulf Coasts and in the Pacific Northwest. European availability is limited; buyers seeking a Shannon 38 in the Mediterranean should expect to search a wider geographic radius.

These are not quick-sale boats. Shannon owners tend to be knowledgeable, the community is tight-knit, and the boats change hands deliberately. Budget adequate time for the search and be prepared to travel.

Pre-purchase checklist:

• Confirm rig variant (cutter-ketch vs. cutter) and inspect masthead crane welds aloft
• Inspect all hatches and sea-hood gaskets for leaks; budget for replacement if uncertain
• Trace diesel tank breather routing; verify it does not exit through the cockpit seat
• Survey every through-hull: bronze below the waterline, assess any remaining PVC/nylon fittings above
• Verify cockpit locker seals and assess water sensitivity of equipment stored inside
• Confirm battery location and installation condition
• On Shannon 37s: inspect centerboard trunk, pendant, and sheave for electrolysis damage
• Verify engine make, hours, and service history; confirm cooling system condition
• Assess teak deck condition — refastening or replacement is a major cost item
• Request any original builder correspondence or specification sheets for the hull