Tartan 43 Buyer's Guide
Shopping for a Tartan 43 on the brokerage market means chasing a one-year-only 1973 Sparkman & Stephens design that shared its tooling with the later Tartan 41. Few were built, and most change hands quietly, so a buyer needs to know the boat's limits and where the weak points hide.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Tartan 43 is a 43-foot masthead sloop with a lead fin keel and skeg-hung rudder, an extended traditional counter aft, and a 12.25-foot beam anchor. Each hull should be verified at inspection for its actual accommodation rather than assumed against a standard plan.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
In Grenada, where these boats are commonly offered, the typical used Tartan 43 will commonly be fitted with air conditioning, lithium batteries, a self-tacking jib, a freezer, a hardtop, and a swim platform. For a buyer, that cluster means serious tropical liveaboard energy and shelter upgrades are already in place — lithium banks and air con speak to a boat set up for off-grid heat management, while the hardtop and swim platform point to a cockpit reconfigured for warm-water lounging rather than cold-climate sailing.
What to Inspect
The Tartan 43 shows no structural defects, osmotic damage, or rigging failures specific to the model across her service history. The inspection should center on generic 1973 fiberglass-survivor checks: solid fiberglass hull and deck integrity, lead keel bonding, and skeg-rudder attachment. A buyer should still commission a survey, as the one-year build means no fleet-wide defect history guides a targeted look.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are commonly found in Grenada. Before committing, a buyer should:
- Confirm the hull is the 43 with extended counter, not a Tartan 41
- Survey the solid fiberglass hull and deck for age-related crazing
- Check lead keel-to-hull joint and skeg-rudder hardware
- Verify lithium and air-con installs are properly fused and drained
- Inspect the self-tacking jib track and hardtop mounting for deck leaks
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Tartan 43. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 26 | 1 | $230,000 | — |
Where they're listed
Tartan 43 listings appear across 1 country. Grenada has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grenada | $230,000 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
10 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanneau Sun Sun Odyssey 43 | 43.34' | $ 110,592 | 63 | 7 |
| X-Yachts X-43 | 42.42' | $ 264,445 | 42 | 18 |
| Saga 43 | 43.25' | $ 162,500 | 37 | 5 |
| Tartan 4000 | 40.67' | $ 299,500 | 22 | 0 |
| Tartan 4300 | 43.08' | $ 362,500 | 18 | 7 |
| Swan 43 | 42.78' | $ 92,857 | 15 | 2 |
| Tartan 40 | 40.25' | $ 89,900 | 13 | 3 |
| Baltic 43 | 43.34' | $ 145,516 | 9 | 0 |
| Catalina Morgan 43 | 43' | $ 55,000 | 5 | 3 |
| Tartan 43You are here | — | $ 230,000 | 1 | 0 |