Vancouver 42 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Vancouver 42 means considering a Robert Harris cutter built by Ta Yang from 1982 onward, a 41-foot 9-inch canoe-stern cruiser with a long fin keel and skeg-hung rudder. These are serious offshore boats, and the used fleet reflects both private and ex-charter histories, with owner three-cabin layouts more common but two-cabin versions also available.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Vancouver 42 was built semicustom, so owners had freedom in accommodations and even movable bulkheads. On the used market, owner three-cabin arrangements predominate, though both layouts appear. Ex-charter examples are a common sight and worth a careful survey for wear. About 130 of the roughly 200 hulls were aft-cockpit cruisers with two house designs, and around 70 were center-cockpit boats, giving buyers a choice of cockpit position alongside the cabin plan.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Buyers will frequently find boats fitted for extended cruising. Power and energy systems commonly include solar, lithium batteries, inverters, and watermakers, meaning many listings can sustain off-grid living. Canvas and sail-handling upgrades often pair a dodger and bimini with asymmetric spinnaker gear and dinghy davits for tropical use. Navigation is typically modern, with chartplotter, autopilot, AIS, and radar aboard, while comfort clusters bring air conditioning, heating, and a washing machine on commonly fitted boats.
What to Inspect
The black-iron fuel tanks can rust if their external paint is chipped, so check tank surfaces and paint integrity anchor. Some older boats have suffered corrosion on chainplates and their belowdecks attachment bolts, a structural point demanding close inspection. Teak decks fitted to most hulls can allow water intrusion into the core, so probe deck seams and fastenings. Bonded hull-to-deck unions and severe gelcoat blistering have not commonly arisen as defects on this model.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats routinely appear in the United States, Grenada, and Sweden. For a shopper, the priority checklist is: confirm fuel-tank paint and rust status, inspect chainplates and bolts for corrosion, test teak deck for core moisture, verify engine and rigging condition, and match cockpit and cabin layout to intended use. The Vancouver 42 remains a robust semicustom cruiser for offshore-minded buyers.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Vancouver 42. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 2 | $107,366 | — |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $199,000 | +85.3% |
| May 26 | 1 | $94,950 | -52.3% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $94,950 | 0.0% |
Where they're listed
Vancouver 42 listings appear across 2 countries. United States has the most listings with 2 (66.7%), followed by Grenada.
Country view
3 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $94,950 | 2 | 0 | 66.7% |
| Grenada | $199,000 | 1 | 0 | 33.3% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
9 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tayana Vancouver 42 | 41.75' | $ 119,995 | 45 | 3 |
| Belliure 41 | 41.01' | $ 100,787 | 22 | 6 |
| Slocum 43 | 42.5' | $ 98,500 | 20 | 4 |
| Hans Christian Christina 40 | 39.83' | $ 115,000 | 16 | 4 |
| Oyster Yachts 435 | 43.42' | $ 109,000 | 14 | 4 |
| Moody 42 | 41.79' | $ 64,949 | 14 | 3 |
| Vancouver 34 Classic | 34.25' | $ 82,478 | 10 | 4 |
| Swan 42 | 42' | $ 111,426 | 8 | 6 |
| Vancouver 42You are here | — | $ 94,950 | 3 | 0 |