Whiting 1/4 Ton Buyer's Guide
The Whiting 1/4 Ton on the used market is the production descendant of Magic Bus, the 1976 Quarter Ton Cup winner designed by Paul Whiting with sailor Murray Ross and originally intended for the South Pacific Quarter Ton series. Found abandoned and returned to New Zealand through the work of boatbuilder Dave Hurley and the Whiting family, the class carries a restoration story that matters to any buyer judging a specific hull's history.
Layouts on the Used Market
The 1/4 Ton's 25.58-foot length with a 9.12-foot flared beam and 2,271-pound displacement marks her as a lightweight fractional sloop rather than a cruising accommodation platform. Buyers should expect a quarter-ton racer's interior philosophy — systems minimised for weight and windage — not a voluminous cabin boat.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
A short-handed setup is commonly fitted across the class, the one equipment theme the market data supports for buyer consequence. The flagship example shows a new suit of sails — main, three jibs, and spinnaker — as the meaningful upgrade cluster, with original electronics and deck gear from the 1970s still present on that hull forty years later. A buyer should treat aged original deck hardware and instruments as suspect unless separately refurbished.
What to Inspect
The known failure points on these boats are concentrated in the composite structure and rig. Check the plywood foredeck and cockpit for rot, the mode that afflicted Magic Bus in neglected storage anchor. Press and sound the foam-and-glass hull for delamination, which the same yacht showed after years abandoned. Examine the mast closely: the original spar on Magic Bus was in a terrible state and needed a full rebuild by Trevor Berry, so a mast unbacked by documentation should be surveyed as unsafe until proven otherwise anchor. Confirm the spinnaker pole and rigging integrity, since a Chinese-gybe breakage forced replacement even after relaunch.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These yachts are typically found in Australia.
- Verify mast rebuild history before committing
- Sound plywood deck and cockpit for softness
- Test hull for delamination with percussion
- Confirm short-handed setup is properly installed
- Request sail inventory and age documentation
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Whiting 1/4 Ton. 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 26 | 1 | $9,683 | — |
Where they're listed
Whiting 1/4 Ton listings appear across 1 country. Australia has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $9,683 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |