Tartan 40 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Hull No. 46, built in 1988, demonstrated the design’s passagemaking credentials on a 1,500-nautical-mile voyage from the West Indies to New England. She completed the trip in under 11 days, averaging 140 miles per day in winds that averaged 10 knots, and handled a frontal passage with gusts to 40 knots with aplomb.

Design and Construction

The Tartan 40’s hull uses unidirectional fiberglass, balsa coring, vinylester resin in the skin coat, and isophthalic NPG gelcoat. The result is a blister-resistant structure with weight and strength placed where they belong.

Her numbers reflect the cruiser-racer brief. A sail area-to-displacement ratio of 17.1 supports genuine light-air capability, while a displacement-to-length ratio of about 250 indicates a hull with enough interior volume to carry voyaging provisions without compromise.

On deck, wide surfaces are edged by substantial teak toerails and finished with a hard-core molded nonskid pattern that earns its description.

Rig and Handling

The Tartan 40 is a masthead sloop with 727 square feet of sail area, 17,250 pounds of displacement, and a 31.58-foot waterline. Deep-fin and keel/centerboard configurations were available at launch. A Scheel-keel version, drawing 5 feet 1 inch, was added later for shallower waters.

For offshore use, period test sailors noted that the mast would benefit from an inner forestay and runners to support its upper sections. That’s a worthwhile consideration for anyone planning extended trade-wind or high-latitude passages.

Accommodations

The Tartan 40 debuted with three interior layouts, each drawn by Tim Jackett in collaboration with S&S and intended explicitly for going to sea.

Standard Plan A has an aft-facing navigation station to port of the companionway and four hanging lockers. Testers considered it the most seamanlike arrangement, with three good sea berths: the port and starboard saloon settees and the quarter-cabin double.

Plan B replaces the Standard layout’s navigation station with a wet locker and additional stowage, then places a forward-facing navigation station ahead of the quarter cabin. Plan C adds a second head in the quarter cabin.

Throughout the interior, handholds are plentiful. The teak cabinetry has solid yet forgiving chamfered surfaces to break a fall in a seaway. The U-shaped galley, to port of the companionway, has two opening ports for strong ventilation.

In the Standard layout, the single head sits just forward of the dinette. It’s cramped, but also bright, well ventilated, and easy to clean. One awkward detail is the aft navigation station: despite an opening port to the cockpit well, it gets minimal airflow, so a fan would be a sensible addition.

Cockpit and Deck Storage

The large cockpit has extremely comfortable coamings. A single deep vertical locker to port can hold a four-person life raft, bosun’s chair, dock lines, and fire extinguisher while keeping them dry. Two deep, dry lazarettes provide ample space for cruising gear.

Access is the trade-off. Reaching the steering quadrant through the vertical lazarettes and locker would be a real challenge in a seaway. Cutting an access panel into the after bulkhead of the quarter cabin would make maintenance and repairs easier.

The Verdict

The Tartan 40 is a thoughtfully engineered S&S-Tartan passagemaker. Her seakindly interior, credible light-air performance, and robust, blister-resistant hull make her a serious bluewater candidate.

With only 72 boats built, the Tartan 40 is seldom seen on the market. Those who find one, however, get a design proven on a 1,500-mile passage in modest winds as well as through a front with 40-knot gusts.

Pros