whitby 42 sailboat review

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• By Tom Zydler
• Updated: January 12, 2009

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Whitby 42 368

Ted Brewer designed the Whitby 42 in 1971 for Whitby Boat Works in Canada. She has a 13-foot beam, 32-foot 8-inch waterline, and a moderate 5-foot draft. High freeboard allows a commodious interior, which in one of the two available cabin layouts boasts two swiveling armchairs, a spacious engine room, and a very comfortable aft cabin. Ample water tankage of 290 gallons provides for showers in two heads, and a 210-gallon fuel capacity assures good range under power. A cavernous refrigerator/freezer keeps perishables during an extended cruise, a locker for wet oilskins abuts the main companionway ladder, and a handy workbench sits in the passage aft by the engine room.

Some specifications listed a Volvo MD30A engine, but most Whitby 42s had a Ford Lehman 254 or Perkins 4-236, typically turning a propeller between 16 and 18 inches in diameter. This combination gives plenty of power for motorsailing, although with a generous sail area of 875 square feet, a long waterline, and well- designed underbody, these ketches sail remarkably well – several owners report speeds of 7.5 to 8 knots on a close reach. In the 1970s, the Whitby 42 Revelation collected a number of firsts while racing under PHRF in California.

Comfortable, seaworthy, and forgiving of a novice sailor, the Whitby 42 found a receptive clientele, and Whitby Boat Works sold 233 of them before ceasing production in 1987. In 1979, Fort Myers Yacht and Ship Building in Florida obtained a license to the design and built 32 boats of reportedly high quality. Fort Myers changed the design in 1983 to a 4-foot draft with centerboard and named it the Brewer 12.8. In 1987, it was again modified into the Brewer 44, which was produced until 1991.

Joe Cordoba has owned and cruised Eugenia, his Whitby 42 (hull number two) for seven years. In 1993, on a passage from Isla Mujeres Mexico, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Joe – an experienced sailor with a green crew – ran into the “Storm of the Century.” His engine quit; he continued to tack northward under reduced sail. After the reefed main blew out, Eugenia sailed on under storm jib and reefed mizzen, eventually making Key West. Joe’s improvements reflect his experience. He fitted a sturdy gooseneck on the mainmast to take a mainsail roller-furling system and can now reduce the mainsail and mizzen areas more than the old slab reefs allowed. Nevertheless, he retained the trysail track for good measure. Crew can clip their harnesses onto jackstays running along the side decks and across the stern. The mizzen sheets are now mounted farther inboard from the stern to avoid obstructing access to the dinghy and boarding ladder. Joe recently installed a robust stern arch combined with davits to hoist the dinghy high enough to clear the sea when the boat rolls or the bow climbs over a wave. The arch will also support antennas and three large solar panels. A permanent bimini roof rests on aluminum tubing, which also carries removable clear vinyl panels to enclose the cockpit. To provide more space for cruising paraphernalia, he located the forward tubes of the enclosure support and a new coaming a couple of feet forward of the original companionway coaming.

Monotonous hours at the wheel in the foaming Gulf Of Mexico revealed the importance of the mizzen as an aid to steering and tacking the boat in rough conditions. Eugenia’s mizzen withstood the storm, firmly supported by a triatic stay and runners, but three Whitby 42s that we’ve heard of have lost mizzen masts overboard. According to reports, in these earlier boats the bulkhead under the mizzen, which is stepped on the aft cabin roof, flexes enough in a seaway for the mast to jump out of its step. A taller, more substantial mizzen heel-fitting with a pin through the mast, additional rigging, and stiffening the floor support under the aft bulkhead should stabilize the mast.

Joe suspected during the storm that the rudder might need enlarging. At the next haulout he added 8 inches of laminate to the trailing edge. Steering improved dramatically.

I recently learned about two incidents of rudder stocks breaking after the recommended addition to the rudder area. The bronze rudder stocks sheared at the upper section where the stock enters the hull. Whitby 42 owners planning extended ocean cruises should examine the rudders and possibly replace the old rudder stocks with new ones fabricated from Aquamet 22, a highly corrosion-resistant propeller shaft stainless-steel alloy.

Eugenia’s interior has a classic look; Joe stripped the bulkheads, refinished them with semigloss varnish, and covered the factory-molded overhead liner with a high-density vinyl-coated foam attached with varnished battens. He converted the port transom seat in the main cabin to a slide-out double bunk and anchored new swiveling chairs to the floorboards. The varnished navigation table holds charts under the recently added hinged top, and across the cabin a new system runs the refrigeration in the U-shaped galley. Beneath shiny teak-and-holly floorboards are several water tanks. Most Whitby 42 owners report that original tank vents needed replumbing because of air locks. Joe had problems with water getting into the keel fuel tank (Whitby 42s have three fuel tanks), so he removed it, creating an accessible deep bilge that he fitted with a pump.

Losing electricity in the Gulf storm led Joe to install an independent generator in the engine room. Now he can run the new radar and not worry about discharging the batteries. He also installed an air conditioner, which makes life in the tropics more comfortable. Joe plans to cruise the West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, and Panama, and on to Central America.

Prices for used boats vary – expect to pay at least $70,000. Add 50 percent of the purchase price for updating, and you will end up with a first-class cruising boat. The 175-member Whitby 42/Brewer Owners Associations publish bulletins packed with information about problems, fixes, and boats on the market. Contact: c/o Bernard C. Boykin, 1919 Ruxton Road, Baltimore MD 21204-3510; phone: (410)828-5690 and (410)296-4322.

LOA 42’0″ (12.8m) LWL 32’8″ (9.96m) Beam 13’0″ (3.96m) Draft 5’0″ (1.52m) Ballast 8,500lbs. Disp 23,500lbs. (10660 kg) SA 875 sq.ft. (81.3 sq.m.) Ballast/Disp 36.2% Disp/Length 301 SA/Disp 17.1 Fuel 210 gal. (795 ltr.) Water 290 gal. (1098 ltr.) Holding retrofit Auxiliary Volvo MD30A, Ford Lehman 254, or Perkins 4-236 Designer Ted Brewer

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• Sailboat Guide

Whitby 42 is a 41 ′ 11 ″ / 12.8 m monohull sailboat designed by Edward S. Brewer and built by Ft. Myers Yacht & Shipbuilding and Whitby Boat Works Ltd. between 1972 and 1988.

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Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

From BlueWaterBoats.org :

The Whitby 42 is a rugged-looking, full keeled, heavy displacement cruiser designed by Ted Brewer in 1973 but lacking the “Brewer bite” that improved the performance of her sisterships, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44. Although the most commercially successful of Ted Brewer’s designs, and considered a good value, liveaboard shoal water cruiser, opinion is that the Whitby 42 is not as rugged as she might suggest. Although she has completed serious offshore passages, weaknesses in her construction mean that she is not the preferred choice for serious blue water sailors. Not renowned for performance under sail, the accommodations are perhaps the real attraction of this center cockpit cruiser as well as the 5′ draft which is excellent for shoal waters.

The first Whitby 42 splashed out of the yard in Ontario, Canada in 1973. Whitby Yachts, owned by Kurt and Doris Hansen, went on to build 200 hulls from 1973 to 1983. Previous to this, Whitby Boat Works had built the Alberg 30 and Alberg 37 . With the 42′ construction quality gradually improved until 1983. Production then shifted south to Fort Myers Shipyard in Florida where another 32 of these ketches were built along with the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44. The Myers versions have a reputation as having the highest quality construction. The 12.8 design substituted a cutter rig instead of the Whitby’s ketch rig, added a Brewer bite to the full keel and added a centerboard. The hulls are lighter and stronger, and the weight savings are used to increase ballast and stability. The Brewer 44’s are a stretch version of the 12.8’s.

Boat Configuration

The Whitby 42 has a modern center cockpit aft stateroom with walk through arrangement. Forward is a large V-berth. There is a forward head with shared shower. In the salon, a L-shaped settee dinette arrangement is offset by two swivel chairs. The swivel chairs illustrate that the Whitby 42 was geared more as a liveaboard than a serious offshore cruiser. A U-shaped galley is aft to port. The walkway has low headroom due to the cockpit lockers. The aft cabin has a full width bunk with en-suite head.

Construction

The hull has balsa cored topsides like many Canadian manufacturers of this vintage. Below are alternating layers of mat and woven roving with polyester resin. The hull and deck is secured on most by pop rivets. Enlaid is a molded liner to stiffen the hull and provide interior structure though at the expense of hull access. She has a ketch rig. The engine was a great 67 HP Ford Lehman that provides plenty of punch.

Sailing performance, though better than a Westsail 42 , is still a bit of a weakness. Not only does she have a rather full keel with connected rudder, but her buttocks are more rounded so she is more tender than her rugged looks and heavy displacement might suggest. Without a bowsprit she has wicked weather helm. Otherwise she is a stout boat for the trades with her shoal draft of 5-feet able to access the shallowest of harbors.

Buyers Notes

Owners advise buyers to examine the water tanks which are oddly fiberglass with an aluminum top plate. Another problem is the keel fuel tank which sits down deep in the bilge. The hull to deck is often secured by stainless steel rivets although many took up the option of through bolts. The mizzen mast does not have a solid glass radii and is prone to compression. Look for 42’s with a bowsprit to reduce weather helm and increase performance.

Links, References and Further Reading

» Kretschmer, John. “Whitby 42.” Used Boat Notebook. Pages 164 – 167. » Hornor, Jack. “Whitby 42.” Boat US. » The Whitby – Brewer Sailboat Association. The Whitby Owners Forum

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The Whitby 42 Sailboat Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Whitby 42 is a renowned sailboat, designed by the esteemed naval architect, Ted Brewer, and built by Whitby Boat Works in Ontario, Canada. The production of this model commenced in 1972 and concluded in 1988, during which period a total of 200 boats were produced.

The Whitby 42 was produced with or without a bowsprit, according to the owner's preference. However, it's worth noting that without a bowsprit, it is known to have a wicked weather helm. This means that the boat has a tendency to turn into the wind during sailing.

Adding a bowsprit moves the sailplan and thereby the center of effort forward, which can help balance the boat and reduce weather helm. So, while not all Whitby 42s were produced with a bowsprit, it could be added based on the needs and preferences of the owner.

No aft-cockpit versions were produced.

Published Specification for the Whitby 42

Underwater Profile:  Long keel

Hull Material:  GRP (Fibreglass)

Length Overall:  42'0" (12.8m)

Waterline Length:  32'8" (10.0m)

Beam:  13'0" (4.0m)

Draft:  5'0" (1.5m)

Rig Type:  Ketch

Displacement:  23,500lb (10,659kg)

Ballast:  8,000lb (3,629kg)

Performance Predictions based on the Design Ratios

• The Whitby 42 sailboat, with a Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 17.1, suggests a moderate cruising speed.
• The Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 34.0 indicates a good stability and stiffness, enabling the boat to carry a reasonable amount of sail.
• The Displacement/Length Ratio of 301 implies a moderate performance, particularly in light wind conditions.
• The Comfort Ratio of 33.6 suggests that the boat has a comfortable motion at sea, making it suitable for long-distance cruising.
• Lastly, the Capsize Screening Formula of 1.82 indicates that the Whitby 42 has a relatively low risk of capsize, which is an important safety feature for offshore sailing.

Overall, the Whitby 42 is a reliable, stable, and comfortable cruising sailboat.

The Designer

Ted Brewer is a highly respected yacht designer known for his significant contributions to the sailing world. Apart from the Whitby 42, Brewer has designed numerous other sailboats that have gained popularity among sailing enthusiasts.

Some of his notable designs include the Aloha 28, the Brewer 44, and the Cape North 43. Additionally, he designed the Whitby 55, a larger sibling to the Whitby 42.

Brewer's designs are renowned for their stability, seaworthiness, and comfort, making them ideal choices for long-distance cruising and liveaboard lifestyles.

The Builder

Whitby Boat Works is a Canadian boatbuilding company that was established in the 1960s in Whitby, Ontario. The company was renowned for its production of sturdy and reliable cruising sailboats, which were designed by notable naval architects such as Ted Brewer.

Apart from the famous Whitby 42, the company also built other popular models like the Whitby 55 and the Alberg 30. Despite its significant contributions to the sailing world, Whitby Boat Works ceased operations in the late 1980s and is no longer in business.

However, not all boats in the Whitby or Brewer range were produced by this builder. The Whitby and Brewer sailboats were built at both Whitby Boat Works in Whitby, Ontario and Fort Myers Yacht and Shipbuilding in Ft. Myers, Florida from 1972 until 1990. This includes the Whitby 42 and 55, Ft. Myers' Whitby 42, Brewer 42, 44, and 12.8. So, while Whitby Boat Works did produce a significant number of these boats, they were not the sole builder.

In Summary...

The Whitby 42 is a spacious and sturdy cruiser. It features a 13-foot beam, a 32-foot 8-inch waterline, and a moderate 5-foot draft. The high freeboard allows for a commodious interior, which includes two swiveling armchairs, a spacious engine room, and a very comfortable aft cabin.

The Whitby 42 has been praised for its ample water tankage of 290 gallons, which provides for showers in two heads, and a 210-gallon fuel capacity that assures good range under power. It also features a cavernous refrigerator/freezer to keep perishables during an extended cruise.

In terms of performance, the Whitby 42 is described as having respectable speed on reaches and runs, particularly in moderate to heavy air. However, it can be a bit sluggish through tacks in light air. Its windward performance is acceptable but not outstanding. The addition of a mizzen stay sail and spinnaker can help improve light air downwind performance.

Owners have reported that the Whitby 42 sails remarkably well, with several reporting speeds of 7.5 to 8 knots on a close reach. They have also praised the boat's comfort and seaworthiness, as well as its forgiving nature for novice sailors.

Overall, the Whitby 42 is well-regarded as a solid bluewater cruiser with good room and middling sailing performance. It's an excellent choice for those looking for an affordable long-term cruiser that is safe, comfortable, and sails reasonably well.

I wrote this article using GPT-4, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model, as a research assistant to develop source material. I wrote the final draft in its entirety and believe it to be accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Dick McClary, creator and owner of sailboat-cruising.com

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Boat Gallery

Whitby 42 - A many-faceted boat known by many names

© Ed Lawrence This article originally appeared in the September / October 2005 issue of Good Old Boat magazine. 

E ver have one of those conversations during which you wonder if you and other participants are speaking the same language or discussing the same topic? Actually, those can be fun when you're speaking with someone whose pronunciation makes “hail" sound like the place in which sinners reside.

I recently endured such an experience while discussing the attributes and merits of the Whitby 42 with several owners.

“What I really like is the bowsprit and cutter rig," one says. “My boat doesn't have a bowsprit," another responds.

“Well, I really like the centerboard because it allows me to get into shallow anchorages and improves performance to weather," a third voice adds.

Brian Stewart's Whitby 42, Pilgrim, awaits the return of her crew, above.

“Centerboard! What centerboard? My boat has a full, shallow-draft keel that only draws 5 feet," adds a fourth.

These sailors were all singing from the same songbook, but they were on different pages. This sailboat, a 42-foot ketch designed by Ted Brewer, did have a bowsprit . . . or didn't, depending upon an owner's preference. Though in theory a production boat — one that initially was constructed at the Whitby Boat Works in Whitby, Ontario — if the orders were accompanied by a negotiable instrument (read: dollars), buyers were allowed some latitude in their boat's configuration. “If you want a bowsprit, we'll build a cutter ketch," the company's marketing materials said. Doug Stephenson was a member of the company's marketing team, also consisting of builder Kurt Hansen and his wife, Doris, president of the firm. Today Doug, who specializes in reselling Whitbys, says, “Ted Brewer chafed at the term 'cutter ketch,'" preferring that it be referred to as a double-headsail ketch. (For more on this subject from Ted's point of view, see the March 2005 issue.) Made in Canada Of the history of the boat, Doug says, “Hulls #1 to #200 and #301 to #333 were constructed in Canada and known as Whitby 42s." After hull #200 was completed, construction was moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where boats were built until 1990. Doug says, “Hulls #201 to #300 were built in Fort Myers, but there is some duplication in numbers. Hulls #301 to #307 were placed on boats built both in Canada and Florida, although the alpha part of the numbers differed," so owners of boats with those numbers may unknowingly have identical twins under sail. To confound amateur historians, the moniker attached to hull #234 (or thereabouts) through #307 of the boats built in Fort Myers was Brewer 12.8. “Some were built with a modified fin keel and skeg-hung rudder. Others, with an extended transom, were called the Brewer 44," Doug notes. The latter was 2 feet longer, significantly increasing the space in the aft cabin, narrowing the stern section, and having a reverse transom. “Other modifications were also in evidence, but many of the similarities are very apparent as being from the same tooling and builder-design concept," he adds. Right. Fort Myers also built maybe eight yachts with the mast moved aft and a tall sloop rig for a yacht club on Long Island, New York, which raced them as one-designs. We're not done yet. The vital statistics displayed on Page 6 are those of the original boat. Those built in Florida may have an additional foot or three of waterline and 6 inches of beam. Thankfully, the hull, deck, and accommodations of all models are essentially the same — except to the extent that an owner requested significant modifications during the building process. Tradition and technology There is one item of which reviewers have no doubt: the Whitby 42 (by any name) married new technology (fiberglass) to a traditional design. The result was a seaworthy yacht having a surfeit of space belowdecks that provides the offwatch with room in which to lounge or sleep and the galley slave and navigator spacious areas in which to operate. From an aesthetic standpoint, this boat fits well in the niche occupied by the likes of Garden, Alden, and Hinckley and will never be confused with a Farr 40. However, she carried a middle-class price sticker and was, therefore, well received in the marketplace. These days used Whitbys sell for $80,000 to $140,000, depending upon age and condition. When viewed from abeam she displays a sheer that tapers slightly downward to max beam. Newer boats have a dark sheer strake and two-tone decks that greatly enhance her appearance by softening an otherwise all-white shape. Ted Brewer managed to elevate the main cabin, center cockpit, and aft stateroom enough to produce voluminous space belowdecks without disrupting her appearance with an unappealingly high deck profile. To my eye, her tallish mast and mizzen balance her profile, in the process providing sections onto which 875 square feet o f canvas may be hanked. Owners were provided with the keys to a Lehman Ford 4-254 diesel that pro-duces 67 hp, enough to power her at 7?knots at 1,800 to 2,000 rpm. She carries enough fuel — 20 0 to 300 gallons — to claim a range of 1,200 to 1,500 miles. This will come in handy when the wind speed drops below 5 knots, as it did during our test sail in Seattle.

Whitby 42 Designer: Ted Brewer LOA: 42 feet 0 inches LWL: 32 feet 8 inches Beam: 13 feet 0 inches Draft: 5 feet 0 inches Displacement: 25,000 pounds Ballast: 8,500 pounds Tankage : 300 gallons fuel, 300 gallons water (varies) Sail area: 875 square feet

On a more conventional note, the helm station is the centerpiece of a rectangular area surrounded by teak seating that may be a magnet for visitors during happy hour. The space is large enough that a singlehander will need a wheel brake when it's necessary to trim jibsheets or the mainsheet, which is located atop the aft cabin in front of the mizzenmast. A neat touch is a hatch next to the companionway that will ventilate the galley while driving the deck crew nuts when savory aromas escape. Cockpit storage is in a seat locker to port that could double as a doghouse for a Saint Bernard, and two propane tanks are located in stern lockers.

Exterior shots of Mike Curry's boat

Interior shots of the V-berth and cabin of Mike Curry's Whitby 42. Celestial Sea, owned by Scott and Cheryl Young, shows off her lines both above and below the waterline.

© Ed Lawrence Thank-you Ed Lawrence The article originally appeared in the September / October 2005 issue of Good Old Boat magazine.  Reprints (pdf renditions) are available.  Be sure to check out the magazine for lots of tips and techniques pertinent to maintaining our Whitby and Brewer boats.

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Bluewater Sailboat – Whitby 42

The Bluewater Sailboat Whitby 42 designed by Ted Brewer is a heavy displacement cruiser with a full keel and a tough exterior, but she lacks the “Brewer bite” that enhanced the performance of her sisterships, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44.

The Whitby 42 is not as hard as she might seem, despite being the most commercially successful of Ted Brewer’s designs and regarded as a good value liveaboard shoal water cruiser.

Despite having successfully completed challenging offshore voyages, she is not the first choice for proficient blue water sailors due to construction flaws. This centre cockpit cruiser isn’t known for its sailing prowess, but the accommodations and 5′ draught, which is ideal for shoal waters, and are possibly the real draws attraction.

• LOA:42′ 0″
• LWL: 32′ 8″
• Beam: 13′ 0″
• Draft: 5’ 0″
• Displacement: 25,500 lbs.
• Sail Area: 875 sq. ft.
• Fuel Tankage: 210 US Gal.
• Water Tankage: 290 US Gal.
• Designer: Edward S Brewer
• Year Introduced: 1973
• Year Ended: 1990

In 1973, the first Whitby 42 emerged from the yard in Ontario, Canada. Kurt and Doris Hansen’s Whitby Yachts went on to produce 200 hulls between 1973 and 1983. The Alberg 30 and Alberg 37 were previously created by Whitby Boat Works. The 42″s construction quality gradually improved until 1983.

The Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44, along with an additional 32 of these ketches, were then constructed at Fort Myers Shipyard in Florida as the production line moved south. The Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44, along with an additional 32 of these ketches, were then constructed at Fort Myers Shipyard in Florida as the production line moved south.

The topsides of the hull are balsa cored, much like most Canadian builders of this era. Below, layers of mat and woven roving with polyester resin are alternated. Pop rivets are most often used to secure the hull and deck. A molded liner that has been inlaid is used to reinforce the hull and offer interior structure, but at the price of hull access. Her ketch rig is there. A fantastic Ford Lehman engine with 67 HP supplied plenty of power.

Now you can also precisely calculate the expenses related to boat ownership to make smart choices based on your budget and sailing needs. Use this bluewater Sailboat Calculator to explore different options and make the best decision.

The versions made by Myers are known for their superior build quality. The 12.8 design added a centerboard, a Brewer bite to the full keel, and a cutter rig in place of the Whitby’s ketch rig. As a result of the hulls’ lighter and stronger construction, ballast and stability have been increased. A stretch version of the 12.8 is the Brewer 44.

The Bluewater Sailboat Whitby 42 features a walk-through arrangement in the contemporary centre cockpit aft stateroom. There is a big V-berth up front. A shared shower is located in the forward head. Two swivel chairs are placed opposite an L-shaped sofa dinette in the salon. The Whitby 42 was more of a liveaboard than a serious offshore cruiser, as evidenced by the swivel chairs. Aft to port is a galley with a U shape. The cockpit lockers cause the walkway to have a low headroom. The rear cabin has a full-width bunk and an attached bathroom.

 Performance

Although better than a Westsail 42, sailing performance is still a little bit of a drawback. In addition to having a somewhat full keel and a linked rudder, she also has more rounded buttocks, making her more delicate than her hard shell and substantial displacement might suggest. She possesses winter weather helm without a bowsprit. She is a sturdy Whitby boat for the trades anyway, and with to her shoal draught of 5 feet, she can enter even the smallest of harbors.

Quick Notes

The water tanks, which are bizarrely made of fibreglass with an aluminium top plate, are advised to be examined by buyers. The keel fuel tank, which is located deep within the bilge, is another issue. Although many chose via bolts, stainless steel rivets are frequently used to connect the hull to the deck. The mizzen mast is susceptible to compression and lacks a strong glass radius. In order to improve yacht performance and lessen weather helm, look for 42s with a bowsprit.

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Brewer 12.8/44

The venerable whitby 42 has evolved into these two blue-water cruisers, both good, solid values..

The Brewer 12.8 and the Brewer 44 are developments of the Whitby 42, a cruising boat from the board of Ted Brewer. Brewer is one of the great modern cruising boat designers. His boats are well-mannered, attractive and practical.

According to the designer, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44 use the same basic hull and deck as the Whitby 42, a boat that was designed in 1971. Hull changes to the Whitby 42 were made by cutting out the long keel and attached rudder, replacing them with a more modern short keel and skeg-mounted rudder. This eliminated a lot of wetted surface, improving the light-air performance.

To improve windward performance, a high aspect ratio centerboard extends through the bottom of the 12.8s shallow keel. Since the board is not ballasted, it does not affect stability, but can be used when reaching to shift the center of lateral resistance.

The Brewer 44 is the same boat as the 12.8, with the stern extended slightly, increasing the size of the aft stateroom. This has the fortunate side effect of making the boat slightly narrower aft and reducing the size of the transom.

Both the Brewer 12.8 and the Brewer 44 are semi custom boats: you don’t go down and buy one from a dealer, you have one built. Eliminating a dealer network does away with commissions of approximately 20%-a significant saving to the customer on a boat this size.

Since the Brewer 44 is slightly larger-more boat for the buck-has a better aft cabin, and doesn’t cost a lot more to build, it has replaced the Brewer 12.8 as the standard model. You can still get a 12.8 on special order if you want a 42′ boat. Wed opt for the bigger boat because its better looking and has a much better aft cabin. Otherwise, the boats are virtually identical.

Absolutely the only advantage the 12.8 has over the 44 is that it is easier to lower a dinghy stowed in davits down the vertical transom of the 12.8. On the reverse transom of the 44, the dinghy tends to hang up as you drop it.

Its easy to get a little confused reading the specifications for the three boats. The beam of the 12.8 and the 44 is listed as 13′ 6″, while the Whitby 42 is 13′ wide. According to the designer, the difference probably comes from including the molded-in guardrails of the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44, since no change was made to the hull width.

Both the 12.8 and the 44 have 4′ 6″ standard draft, yet the 44 has from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds more ballast, from 2,650 to 3,650 pounds more displacement (depending on which ad you read), and a waterline from 1′ 3″ to 1′ 9″ longer. According to the builder, the 44 started out with 11,000 pounds of ballast, but that has gradually increased to almost 12,000 pounds.

Since there is no actual change in the keel depth or position in the two boats, it is reasonable to assume that the increasingly heavier 44 actually draws more than the advertised 4′ 6″. The extra displacement of the 44 probably translates into a base draft of about 4′ 9″. In practice, both the 12.8 and the 44 will draw even more in cruising trim, since owners of these boats frequently load them up with heavy items such as generators and bigger-than standard batteries.

The 12.8 and the Brewer 44 are built by Fort Myers Yacht and Shipbuilding. The yard has built 40 12.8s, and 24 of the 44′ version have been sold. The yard also built 33 Whitby 42s under license from the Canadian builder.

The 12.8 and the 44 were conceived as good performing, long distance livaboard cruisers. The members of the original syndicate which commissioned the Brewer 12.8 were experienced racing and cruising yachtsmen who wanted the livability and layout of the Whitby 42, coupled with a higher performance hull and rig configuration.

Hull And Deck There is nothing fancy about the construction of the Brewer 12.8. The hull is a conventional layup of mat and roving, with balsa core from just below the waterline up to just below the sheer.

The hull-to-deck joint is formed by a glass hull bulwark with an inward-turning flange. The outward-turning bulwark flange of the deck molding overlaps this, and the hull and deck are bolted and bedded together. This is a good, solid joint. It is capped with teak.

A fiberglass rubbing strake is molded into the hull just below the sheer. Its a toss-up between a molded fiberglass rubbing strake and a bolted-on wooden one. Certainly maintenance will be easier with the fiberglass strake, but a wooden strake might absorb a little more impact without damage to the hull, and would probably be easier to repair or replace. In any case, a rubbing strake is a good idea on a boat that may well be laid alongside primitive docks in far-off places to load fuel or water.

Some of the construction details strike us as a little light for a serious cruising boat of this displacement. The shroud chainplates, for example, are 1/4″ stainless steel. If this were our own boat, and we were planning serious offshore cruising, wed want those chain plates to be 3/8″ material.

Likewise, rig specifications call for 9/32″ wire for shrouds and backstay, plus a 5/16″ headstay. Wed rather see at least 5/16″ shrouds, plus a 3/8″ headstay. The specified wire sizes are adequate, but we prefer a little more margin in an offshore cruiser. The lighter wire saves some weight and windage aloft, and a little money.

Some of the construction details are very good. Lifeline stanchions are 29″ tall, spaced closely together, and properly backed with aluminum plates. Some finishing details on the early 12.8 we sailed, on the other hand, were less satisfactory. For example, rather than using solid teak molding in the door frames, the Brewer 12.8 had glued-on veneer edging. Likewise, aft of the settee backs there are access hatches to storage areas. These access hatches are merely cutouts in the plywood, and the edges were not even sanded smooth before painting.

The Brewer 44 we looked at was a totally different animal in finish detail. Doorways have solid teak edge moldings; detailing is much better throughout. Where the early 12.8 rates only average production boat in the detailing category, the 44 detailing is very good production boat in quality. When we looked at the 12.8, we figured it needed another 200 hours of detailing to match its potential. The 44 is just about there.

Rig The standard rig of both the 12.8 and the 44 is a well proportioned, modern, high aspect ratio cutter. The mainsail area of 368 square feet is about the maximum size conventional mainsail that a retired couple would want to handle. If the boat is going to be a longterm retirement home, wed consider going to a roller-reefing mainsail such as the Hood Stoway or Metalmast Reefaway. This type of decision should be made when the boat is built, since a retrofit is an expensive proposition involving replacement of the spar.

The mast is by Isomat, with Lewmar halyard winches mounted on the spar. The rig is stepped through to the keel.

Engine And Mechanical Systems Standard engine for the Brewer 44 is a 62 hp Perkins 4-154. A larger 85 hp Perkins is optional. Either engine is more than adequate power for the boat. We prefer the smaller engine for its better fuel economy, but if you want a real motorsailer, the bigger engine is a reasonable choice. The Brewer 12.8 used the 62 hp Lehman Ford engine.

With the standard 135 gallons of fuel and the smaller engine, range under power is about 700 miles. This is just about what youd want in a big cruising boat that sails well.

Plumbing and wiring systems are good, but the standard batteries are too small for the boat. Although the standard equipment list is reasonably thorough, a lot of equipment you’d want for serious cruising is optional. The basics such as hot and cold pressure water, propane for cooking, fuel tank selection system and fuel filters are standard, and well executed.

Handling Under Power The Brewer 12.8 with the Lehman diesel motors comfortably at 6 knots at about 1700 rpm. This is a very economical cruising speed. Both of the Perkins engines are capable of pushing the boat faster, but when you’re cruising, fuel economy is more important than how quickly you get there. The boats have a lot of windage. A major criticism of the Whitby 42 was that it was difficult to handle at low speeds when docking, particularly in a crosswind. Both the 12.8 and the 44, with their more cutaway underbodies, maneuver substantially better. This is still a big boat, and it will not spin on a dime like a smaller boat.

One change that would dramatically improve both speed under sail and handling under power would be to install a feathering prop such as the Maxprop instead of the standard solid prop. The 44 we looked at had a three-bladed Maxprop, and the owner wouldn’t have it any other way. A feathering prop gives full thrust in reverse-unlike either fixed or folding props-yet offers little more resistance under sail than a folding prop.

Midships cockpits with engine rooms below can be noisier both on decks and belowdecks. These boats have fairly good sound insulation in the engine room; you know the engine is running, but it’s not obtrusive.

Handling Under Sail The Brewer 12.8 sails as well as you’d want for a cruising boat. The boat is extremely well balanced. In about 12 knots of true wind-16 knots or so over the deck-we could trim the sails for upwind sailing, then walk away from the helm without even setting the wheel brake. In smooth water, the boat tracks and holds course well.

In puffier conditions, the boat tends to round up sharply when close reaching with the board fully extended. This is not much of a surprise, since most beamy boats do this.

With a large-diameter steering wheel and mechanical pull-pull steering, response and feel are excellent.

The boom on the 12.8 we sailed was very high off the deck. We ended up climbing onto one of the halyard winches to hook up the main halyard. This is a disadvantage, particularly if the crew is older and less agile.

Furling the main is also complicated by the high boom. You can reach the boom for furling at the mast and atop the aft cabin, but its difficult to do it over the center cockpit. Likewise, with the big dodger up, you can’t get to the boom over the main companionway. The boom is probably placed this high to clear a Bimini top, but it sure makes it a chore to set and furl the mainsail.

In contrast, the boom of the new 44 we examined was just enough lower to make hooking up the halyard and furling the mainsail a straightforward proposition.

Most of the standard winches for the boat are marginal in size, particularly if the boat is to be used for retirement sailing. Standard genoa sheet winches, for example, are Lewmar 52 self-tailers. These are approximately equivalent to the Barient self-tailing electric 28s that were on our test boat. Larger Lewmar primaries are optional, and should be chosen. Wed pass up the optional electric primaries at over $6,000, unless its the only way you can trim the sails.

The main halyard on the boat we sailed-one of the original eight Brewer 12.8s-had a poor lead: from a block at the base of the mast, through a deck mounted cheek block, through the dodger coaming, to a stopper and winch atop the cabin just forward of the cockpit. The turning block at the base of the mast was too high, allowing the halyard to chafe at several points, particularly on the cheek block. In fact, we could barely crank up the main using the Lewmar 30 halyard winch. This is easily corrected, but it was annoying to see the same poor lead on the brand new 44 we examined. In fact, the owner of the 44 had ordered a larger than standard main halyard winch to overcome the friction in the system.

Our test boat was rigged as a cutter. Staysail sheet winches are self-tailing Lewmar 30s mounted on the forward end of molded winch islands just outboard of the cockpit coamings. With a large cockpit dodger in place, it is difficult to impossible to use these winches: they’re actually hidden outside the dodger, and the dodger side curtains have to be unclipped to trim the staysail.

The primary headsail sheet winches are also awkward to use. The winch handle swings through the lifelines. This is a function of the wide, midships cockpit; sail handling has been compromised to create cockpit room.

There are properly through-bolted aluminum genoa tracks mounted atop the bulwarks. On our test 12.8, there was also a shorter inboard genoa track, which could be used to advantage going to windward, since the main shroud chainplates are set inboard of the rail. In practice, few of these boats will be equipped with a deck-sweeping genoa, so the inboard track is probably superfluous.

The 12.8 we sailed had large Schaefer turning blocks aft for improving genoa sheet leads to winches. However, these blocks were mounted almost flat on their welded winch islands. Since the winch is higher than the turning block, the lead from the block to the winch is not fair, which can cause chafe on the sheet and increased friction in the system. The blocks should be angled upward slightly to correct this, which could be done with shims or with a slight redesign of the mounting weldments.

On the Brewer 44, aft turning blocks are not standard. With a very high-cut genoa whose lead was very far aft, you could end up with an awkward sheet angle at the winch unless turning blocks are installed. This is a disadvantage of sail handling from a cockpit in the middle of the boat.

A full-width mainsheet traveler is mounted atop the aft cabin. Our 12.8 used a Schaefer traveler, while the 44 has a Lewmar unit. Controls for the Lewmar traveler cars are at the back end of the aft cabin. You have to climb out of the cockpit to adjust them. The original Schaefer traveler has car adjusters just aft of the helmsman, with stoppers and a Lewmar 30 winch. We’re at a loss to explain why a good setup was traded for a bad one.

The mainsail is trimmed by a Lewmar 30 self- tailer mounted atop the aft cabin, reasonably accessible to either helmsman or crew. This winch is powerful enough for a mainsail this size.

A double-headsail ketch rig with bowsprit is an option that will set you back about $7,000 by the time you buy the mast, sail and fancy bowsprit. Frankly, if you want a ketch rig because its easier to handle on a boat this size, you’d be better off spending that seven grand on a Stoway cutter rig, huge self-tailing sheet winches all around, and roller furling on both the genoa and staysail. It would probably be easier to handle than the ketch, and you’d keep the better performance of the single-masted rig.

Despite relatively shoal draft, the Brewer 12.8 is reasonably stiff. With full main and 150% genoa, the boat heels about 20 with 18 knots of breeze over the deck. With the optional deeper keel she would be a little stiffer, but the keel/centerboard combination is probably slightly faster on most points of sail, if a little tippier in heavy air.

We think the extra ballast in the Brewer 44 will make her an even better performer than the Brewer 12.8 in winds of over about 15 knots. Although the extra displacement and wetted surface will slow the boat slightly in very light winds, the standard rig is big enough to keep the boat moving in winds as light as most people care to sail in. When it’s too light, you can always turn on the engine. Most cruisers simply aren’t interested in squeezing out every ounce of performance in light air.

There are actually three different underwater configurations for the Brewer 44: a shoal fin keel; the same shoal keel with a high aspect ratio centerboard; and a slightly deeper-but still relatively shallow- fin keel.

The centerboard has become optional-it was originally standard on the 12.8-because a lot of people simply never bothered to use it. The boat sails fine without it; it just goes sideways a little more.

On Deck Sail handling limitations aside, the cockpit is just about ideal for a cruising sailboat. You can comfortably seat eight in the cockpit for idle hours at anchor.

An Edson wheel steerer dominates the cockpit. It has custom boxes with electrical switches for anchor windlass, autopilot-you can practically run the boat from here. We’re a little concerned about the proximity of all this wiring to the steering compass, however. When having the compass swung, be sure to operate every piece of electrical equipment on the steering console to make sure that nothing affects the compass.

A high molded-in breakwater makes installing a full-width dodger fairly easy. A good cockpit dodger is essential on a center cockpit boat. Without a dodger, a center cockpit is a wet place to live sailing or motoring to windward in a blow. Both of the dodgers we looked at, however, blocked access to the staysail sheet winches.

Side decks are very narrow due to the wide cabin trunk. This is a definite compromise. The shroud chainplates come down right in the middle of the side decks, yet there isn’t room to walk outboard of the shrouds. Instead, you must step up and over the cabin.

Although its a $1,500 option, most owners will choose the stainless steel stub bowsprit with twin anchor rollers. The 12.8 we sailed had a CQR plow in the starboard roller, and a Danforth stowed sideways in the port roller. It was not the best arrangement. The 44 we examined had plows in both rollers, and they fit, although it is a tight squeeze.

A lot of these boats are equipped with custom davits for carrying a dinghy off the stern. They’re a good idea, since theres little deck space for stowing a dinghy aboard.

At the same time, carrying a dinghy in davits offshore can be a risky proposition, particularly in a following sea. The skipper of one 12.8 had the dinghy fill with water during a rough passage- someone forgot to take the plug out-and was afraid the entire arrangement of davits and dinghy was going to be lost. For passage making, wed probably bring the inflatable aboard and break it down for stowage, as awkward as that may seem.

Fuel fills are located in the waterways at just about the low point in the sheer. Water fills are in the waterways forward. As we found, you have to be careful if you’re taking on fuel and water at the same time. We overfilled the water tank, sending water straight toward the open fuel fill. Quick hands-not ours-got the cap back on the fuel fill before water could pour into the tank. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to raise the fuel fill about an inch off the deck on a pad to reduce the chances of this happening.

Belowdecks Some of the compromises in sail handling and deck layout have been made for the sake of the interior. The wide deckhouse that makes for narrow side decks creates a huge interior volume, and the space is used very well.

Because the forward cabin is pushed well into the eyes of the boat, the forepeak anchor locker is small. You can lead the anchor chain aft to the locker under the berths in the forward cabin, which has the advantage of moving a lot of weight further back in the boat, where it has less effect on pitching moment.

The forward cabin has V-berths, with an insert to form a double. The berths are quite narrow at the foot, and are only comfortably long for someone under 6′ tall. Outboard of the berths there are storage lockers, and there are drawers below.

Ventilation in the forward cabin at anchor is provided by a large Lewmar hatch and Beckson opening ports. Offshore ventilation consists of a cowl vent in a Dorade box.

You can enter the forward head from either the main cabin or the forward cabin, since there are two doors. Unfortunately, the door to the forward cabin wipes out the space that would otherwise be used as the head dresser. Instead, you get a little sink with not much space for laying out the essentials of your toilette.

The forward door also means that the head sink is pushed fairly far outboard. With the boat heeled over on starboard tack, seawater backs up through it. One boat we looked at had a big wooden plug to stick in the drain, while the other owner had added a shutoff valve to the drain line just below the sink.

Ironically, the small head dresser is quite low, and could easily have been raised up another 4″ or so. This wouldn’t eliminate the problem, but the boat could heel over a little more before you’d have to do something about it.

Both the forward and aft heads use inexpensive, bottom-of-the-line water closets. Our experience is that cheap heads work fine for daysailing and coastal cruising, but are a curse for the serious livaboard cruiser. Wed rather see a Wilcox-Crittenden Imperial or Skipper on a serious cruising boat.

A solar-powered vent overhead provides exhaust ventilation, but we think in addition that every head should have an opening overhead hatch. A cowl vent in a Dorade box would also be a good idea. It’s impossible to have too much ventilation in a head.

The main cabin has a straight settee to starboard, an L-shaped settee to port. You can also have a pair of armchairs on the starboard side instead of the settee, but we see no advantage to this. The L-shaped settee has a drop-in section to convert it to a double, so that you can have three double berths on the boat, if you’re masochistic enough to want to cruise with three couples. The good thing is that the boat does contain three separate living spaces, with direct access from each of the spaces both to the deck and to a head compartment. Thats a tricky thing to do, and Ted Brewer has pulled it off as well as you can.

Aluminum water tanks holding 200 gallons are located in the bilge under the main cabin.

There is good locker space outboard of the settees in place of the more commonly-seen pilot berths that usually become useless catch-alls. One locker is designed as a large booze locker. When you think about the imbibing habits of a lot of sailors, this makes a lot more sense than stuffing one bottle here, another over there.

Ventilation in the main cabin is good for in port, less good for offshore. There are four opening ports in the main cabin. The standard ports are plastic, which we think is not an acceptable material for an offshore cruiser of this type. Stainless steel opening ports are an option costing $1,890. This buys you very good cast-frame opening ports, which we think should really be standard on a boat of this caliber.

There are also two aluminum-framed hatches over the main cabin. The hatches currently used are single-opening Lewmar hatches with extruded frames. The older 12.8 we sailed had double-opening Atkins & Hoyle cast hatches. A double-opening hatch allows you to open the hatch forward in port for maximum air flow, aft when sailing to keep water from getting below. We wish they had stuck with the more expensive cast hatches.

Two cowl vents in Dorade boxes are provided for sailing ventilation. Like the cowl vents on a lot of boats, the down take pipes into the cabin of the Brewer boats are improperly proportioned: they should never be smaller than the nominal pipe diameter of the vent itself.

The galley has undergone a lot of minor changes since the first boats in the Brewer 12.8 series were built. The early boat we examined had sinks that were too small, water fixtures that were too low relative to the sinks, drawers that were difficult to operate, and fiddles without corner clean outs. The 44 we examined had changed all of these things.

One thing has not changed. Between the sinks and the stove, there is a large dry well for storage. This is about the size and shape of a large grocery shopping cart. You wouldn’t want to have to dig to the bottom of a grocery cart for the cereal and crackers every time you wanted to use them, but thats pretty much what you have to do with this well. It should at least be divided with sliding shelves to make it easier to use.

At the aft end of the galley, there is a large refrigerator and freezer mounted athwartships. It is well insulated, and has a well-gasketed top.

Theres another big opening hatch over the galley, and it is properly placed behind the dodger breakwater, where it can serve as an exhaust vent in any conditions-as long as the dodger is up.

Standard stove is a three-burner propane stove with oven-just what youd want.

A big chart table is opposite the galley. While it has good storage for navigation books, there is no coherent arrangement for the mounting of the array of electronics that you find on the typical modern cruising boat. Since these boats are built on a semicustom basis, you could probably have the nav station modified to suit your particular electronics. These boats were designed before the contemporary electronics explosion, and some details have not been upgraded to reflect the state of the art.

Aft of the nav station, there is a passageway with stooping headroom to the aft cabin. On the starboard side of the passage, there is a huge workbench with chart storage and tool storage below. This is a great way to use this space, rather than trying to throw in another berth.

On the older boat we looked at, this same space was filled with a huge freezer and battery storage- an advantage of semi-custom flexibility. The big electrical panel is located over the workbench: out of the way, yet reasonably accessible. Opposite the work area, under the cockpit, is a real engine room. Theres room for the main engine, an optional generator, fuel filtration system, hot water storage tank, and batteries. Although you have to climb over the engine to check the batteries, everything is reasonably accessible. A real engine room is a rarity in a boat this size, and is only practical with the center cockpit configuration.

The aft cabin of the 12.8 has two quarterberths which can be joined by a drop-in section to create a large thwartships double. The extra 2′ in the stern of the 44 makes it possible to have a big permanent fore and aft double berth. If you want, you can still get the two berth configuration.

A separate companionway at the forward end of the aft cabin gives access to the cockpit without going through the passageway. This companionway has a slatted drop board, and since it faces forward, it is vulnerable to spray. For offshore sailing, it should be secured with a tight-fitting canvas cover. In port, it will provide good ventilation at the expense of some privacy. There is also another aluminum-framed hatch over this cabin. It suffers from the same limitations as the hatches over the main cabin.

You can get a sit-down shower stall in the aft head, or have a more conventional arrangement using the entire head as the shower compartment. A sit-down shower may be easier to clean, but you give up a lot of head dresser space to get it.

There is excellent locker space throughout the boat, including three hanging lockers and a foul weather gear locker. Instead of packing in extra berths, the designer and builder have chosen to limit the number of berths and maximize storage. It was a wise choice.

With the exception of the under-cockpit passage, headroom is well over 6′ throughout.

Conclusions Since the Brewer 44 is a lineal descendant of the Whitby 42 and Brewer 12.8, a lot of the shortcomings of those boats have been ironed out over the years. Finishing details have gradually improved, and have generally kept pace with the boatbuilding industry trend toward better detailing.

At first glance, the sail away price of just under $160,000 seems like a misprint. That price includes main and genoa, Hood roller furling on the headsail, propane, refrigeration, basic electronics and pumps. Theres also a long options list. The kicker is that a lot of the things on the options list should be standard on a high-quality cruising boat. For example, the bigger primary sheet winches that we think are required cost an extra $1,800. A teak and holly cabin sole is another thousand; two tone decks (rather than plain white) add $670. Lightning grounding costs $720, an anchor platform $1,500.

Although the boat was designed as a cutter, staysail rigging, winches, and the sail itself add $2,600.

Standard batteries total only 225 amp hours capacity. For batteries the right size, add $400. For metal ports rather than plastic, shell out almost $1,900. Even the centerboard in a boat that was designed as a keel/center boarder adds $2,600 to the sail away price.

With the options that we think are really essentials, the sail away price jumps by about $15,000.

What do you get for $175,000? You get a well designed, good-sailing, well-built ocean cruising home, a retirement cottage for every romantic port in the world. The boats are not as well detailed or equipped as higher-priced boats such as Aldens, Hinckleys, and Little Harbors. But they’re good, solid values, and they’ll take you to the same places as more expensive boats. In this day and age, thats not a bad recommendation.

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looking at a whitby 42 (1973). anybody have any comments, good or bad concerning them? ANY info is appreciated, at that point where I''m looking for any reason to buy or not... thanks heaps..styk  

The Whitby 42''s were venerable passage makers for that time. They offered reasonably comfortable motion and a very nice accomodations plan. I believe that they were only made in Canada in 1973. The Canadian Whitby''s tend to be a little cruder build quality and have less ventilation than the Florida built boats. In terms of sailing ability, the Whitby''s are quite slow compared to similar purpose boats like the Peterson 44''s but are certainly better sailing boats than a boat like the Morgan OI 41''s. While useless as sailboats in lighter conditions, the Whitby 42''s sail reasonably well on a reach and are reportedly pretty easy boats to handle. They do not do well upwind or dead downwind where their high wetted surface and the interation of their multimast rig really hurts their abilities. My father owns a Brewer 12.8 which is an updated, higher stability, cutter rigged, centerboard equipped version of the Whitby 42. I looked at a number of Whitby''s when he was looking for his boat. Many of the earlier Whitby''s that I looked at nearly 10 years ago now are really beat to death. The two mid-70''s and early 80''s boats that I looked at were very tired. Obviously the amount of wear depends on where and how the boats were used but the Canadian boats in particular looked really tired. Many of these boats have a lot of hard sea miles and that just plain wears out a boat. Regards, Jeff  

Go to the Whitby/Brewer Assoc: http://www.bcpl.net/~bcboykin/whitby_home2.htm AND Join the SailNet e-mail list for Whitbys. Lots of good info in the archives. The Whitby''s with bowsprits added are reported to sail better than the non-bowsprit version. They all are very well built, have lots of tankage, storage and are very livable. Will make a good liveaboard if your not part of the "go fast" crowd. Where are you located? Roger  

I have never owned or sailed one, however a slip neighbour I know used to own one and misses her dearly. He sailed from Toronto, to St. Johns Newfoundland, then down to the Caribean and back over a long sebaticle. He claims it was overbuilt, and easy to single hand. He sold it to buy a smaller yacht and a house. Apparently he''d trade both to get the old boat back in a heartbeat.  

thanks to all for the info. mostly we are looking for a safe, comfortable boat, certainly not a fast one. we will be living aboard off and on for a year or more here in Kodiak, Alaska while we get our collective stuff together, then...???  

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Review of Whitby 42

Basic specs..

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The boat is equipped with 1100.0 liter fresh water capacity.

The boat equipped with a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.

The Whitby 42 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.52 - 1.62 meter (4.99 - 5.29 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Whitby 42 is typically equipped with an inboard Ford Lehman diesel engine

The fuel tank has a capacity of 681.0 liters (179 US gallons, 149 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Whitby 42 is 1.81, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.7 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Whitby 42 is about 264 kg/cm, alternatively 1481 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 264 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1481 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 27m 2 (290 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Whitby 42 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

Whitby 42 Ketch The URL for this page is 42 Ketch Added 19-Jun-2024 © 2001-2024 ./)   . . ./)   . . Visit our Popular Forums Monohull Sailboats Multihull Sailboats Powered Boats General Sailing Antares Yachts Fountaine Pajot Lagoon Catamarans Cruising Business Boat Classifieds General Classifieds Crew Positions Commercial Posts Vendor Spotlight Life Aboard a Boat Provisioning: Food & Drink Families, Kids, & Pets Afloat Recreation, Entertainment, & Fun Boat Ownership & Making a Living Liveaboard's Forum Seamanship, Navigation & Boat Handling Seamanship & Boat Handling Training, Licensing, & Certification Health, Safety, & Related Gear Rules of the Road, Regulations, & Red Tape Engineering & Systems Const. / Maint. / Refit Product / Service Reviews Electronics: Comms / AV Electrical: Batts / Gen / Solar Lithium Power Systems Engines & Propulsion Propellers & Drive Systems Plumbing / Fixtures Deck Hdw: Rigging / Sails Aux. Equipment & Dinghy Anchoring & Mooring Photo Categories Member Galleries Life Onboard Sailing in the Wind Power Boats Cruising Destinations Maint. & Boat Building Marine Life Scuba Diving & Divers General Photos Recent Photos Listing Categories African Cats view more » Crew Wanted Crew Available Enhance Your Account Meet the Mods Meet the Advisors Signup for The Daily Cruiser Email   > > Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. 06-11-2015, 20:26   for next to nothing. She has been underwater and will need to be totally redone. Does anyone have experience doing this? I have lived on a sailboat for a year am 22 and am fairly handy with and mechanics. How much would I be looking at spending on the ? Is it even worth it or cost prohibitive? Also does anyone have any personal experience good or bad with these ? Thank you, Tommy 06-11-2015, 20:27   was sunk at one point unknown how long or whether the was pickled. You can see waterline in . 06-11-2015, 21:28   of a 42 ft . I have been at it for 2 1/2 years now. I would tell however long you think it is going to take you. Double that time and then triple it. Same goes for cost. I will tell you its a labor of love for me and if I didn't enjoy working on it.... I would have given up a long time ago. If you buy a like this, be sure you will get enjoyment on working on it and not just looking forward to the day you sail it. Also, don't get in a hurry. If you don't finish something as quickly as you think you will, know there is another day. Trying to stick to a schedule just stress you out. Hope this helps. Regards, Steve 06-11-2015, 23:24   is probably gonna set you back $20k but could maybe find a for less. Maybe you want a solid "blue cruiser"? You could easily spend five years of parttime labor and $50k and maybe still not be quite there. Maybe you want a nice that never leaves the ? Now you are talking a couple months of and a couple thousand dollars. Decent , have some friends who have one. 06-11-2015, 23:39   Boat: SAnta Cruz 27 07-11-2015, 07:52   Boat: Brewer ketch 44' . I also would imagine virtually all of the cabinetry will need to be replaced as that either will have been subject to (where plywood) or certainly extensive (from the appearance) involvement. A major issue will be the -- has that been in contact with ? Again, from the waterline, a significant part of the has been underwater and, if all that must be replaced, you are in for a major task. All that said, if you enjoy it, have and take the time to do it right, and can afford all the , you could end up with a very nice boat. You might want to search for and read about The Incredible , a Whitby 42 being extensively renovated. Doug would be an excellent person to talk with before you take the leap. 07-11-2015, 07:55   Boat: Baba 40 now, buy a boat in the . In the end you'll find you've spent that and more and missed out on years of sailing. If you're going to do a "pay as you go" type deal (and like working on stuff like that), might not be a bad idea. Don't buy the fancy stuff (electronics, etc.) until the end. That way nothing will be obsolete. There's a million little lessons... 07-11-2015, 08:05   Boat: President 43 Sportfish and mechanics... 07-11-2015, 08:43   Boat: Pearson 422 , itself, will require more skill and experience than most people get in their whole lifetime. Even if you were qualified to do all the labor, yourself, the material cost would likely exceed the of a lovely, used, 42' yacht in condition. And you would give up many years of your life why the smart money doesn't jump on abandoned wrecks. 07-11-2015, 08:57   Boat: Formosa 30 ketch 07-11-2015, 08:58   where it is tabbed to the hull, the cabinetry... same problem. Doors etc warping, all wiring is toast, engine is toast, foam and upholstery is toast. - Elmore Leonard 07-11-2015, 09:11   Boat: previous - Whitby 42 new - Goldenwave 44 from and then across the Pacific to over four years. We her and the new owner is currently in Britain on their way around the world. We loved the boat. She was safe, sea kindly, and had one of the most usable interiors I have ever seen on a boat of that vintage and size. A real engine room! Tons of . Big reefer. Good . The was TDF. Huge tankage. We had so many good times on that boat. She was not fast though and did not point well at all. But she had roller reefing for all and she was very easy to sell in challenging conditions. The owner prior to us had sailed her in the Pacific for eight years before we got her. She was well-used. He kept her up though but she was getting tired in many of her systems (except the Ford engine which never missed a beat). But her wiring was a mess - a "dogs breakfast" was the way the owner put it. The AC wiring showed evidence of a fire. The reefer needed major work. The were old, etc. etc. etc. But the hull was 2 1/2" thick at the step! Solid boats. Very solid. But I put thousands of hours in to a boat that was already in reasonable shape. I replaced every wire on her (AC and DC) except for one run of AC on the starboard side. New electrical . New meters. Thirteen new through-hulls. New from New Found Metals. New Andersen winches and blocks. New . New (using the old hydraulic system which was still good but leaked a little at the cylinder which I replaced in NZ). I replaced all the - hoses, toilets, all. But the port water tank leaked at the top where the top mated with the integral FG tank - a common problem on W42's. Honestly, the work ahead of you is huge. And enormously expensive. I worked at a boatyard where I got at wholesale + 10%. I knew how to do all the work myself so only paid for a few hours of help later on. And I had access to a complete boatyard and its . It would take you far longer and much more money and you would have more to do than I did. Can you do it? Sure. You will learn a lot and have pride in what you accomplished. I literally did not know anything about sailing or boats when we bought her so I was a and an apprentice at the boatyard. But you would learn on your own with from others. But honestly, unless you just want a hobby that you can spend all your money on and don't mind waiting for 5-10 years to put her in the water and actually , then go for it. You can get her in the water quicker but you will not be able to get the and her systems even close to going on any long voyages any time soon. It is really a shame when boats get to this point. I think you can find another W42, for much less than what you will spend on the sunken boat, that you can sail right now and still put hundreds of hours in labor and spend many boat bucks and get there quicker with better results. I was proud of what I did to our Whitby but I wouldn't do it again. Well, I may be doing part of it again with the new/old boat but much less than I put in to Maggie Drum. Go figure. If you do it, good luck. If you don't, good luck with the boat you get. 07-11-2015, 09:12   Boat: Corbin 39 engine that I replaced with 40 HP Nanni cost of engine was $9000 and about $1000 for system. Hull and was scrapped back to gel-coat, barrier coated and finished Yes was barrier coated cost of canned material $3000. and some deck work required west-system another boat dollar. Second and systems installed another boat dollar. Electrical wiring replaced existing reused another boat dollar. Interior fabrics replaced I learned how to sew another boat dollar. New wiring and switches lights another boat dollar. systems winches refurbished two new sails & lines $7000. After three years boat was launched BUT not complete. Went sailing commissioned sails and engine driveline. Nav maps, electronic used Panasonic tough-book PC`s another boat dollar. 24v/120v, 3000watt two boat dollars. And the beat goes on!!!!! 07-11-2015, 09:39   Boat: None,build the one shown of glass, had many from 6' to 48'. 07-11-2015, 09:49   Boat: President 43 Sportfish : slip rent, , regular haul-outs for , sail , property tax, etc, are not for someone on a tight . "whatever spare parts you bring, you'll never need"--goboatingnow "Id rather drown than have computers take over my life."--d design Thread Tools Rate This Thread : Posting Rules post new threads post replies post attachments edit your posts is are code is are are are Similar Threads Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post pilotdave Sailor Logs & Cruising Plans 19 18-03-2013 13:31 westcoastgirl Dollars & Cents 1 25-08-2008 19:59 Woodsy Multihull Sailboats 1 06-05-2008 18:50 Flyer Engines and Propulsion Systems 29 22-04-2007 16:42 - - - - - - - Privacy Guaranteed - your email is never shared with anyone, opt out any time. 363 IMAGES Classic Plastic Whitby 42 Sailboat Review Classic Plastic Whitby 42 Sailboat Review Whitby 42 Whitby 42 Whitby 42 42' 1985 Whitby Yachts 42 Center Cockpit Ketch VIDEO Welcome to 24 Bannerman Ct, Whitby! Simon Parkes The 42 Yacht The 42 Yacht Amazing boat fits in a box Day 4 on this 42’ Sailboat!! Getting it prepped for our ultra signature ceramic coating!! #madsoaps COMMENTS Classic Plastic Whitby 42 Sailboat Review Add 50 percent of the purchase price for updating, and you will end up with a first-class cruising boat. The 175-member Whitby 42/Brewer Owners Associations publish bulletins packed with information about problems, fixes, and boats on the market. Contact: c/o Bernard C. Boykin, 1919 Ruxton Road, Baltimore MD 21204-3510; phone: (410)828-5690 and ... Personal experience with a Whitby 42? Look for an "option" boat! 2. The Brewer 42/2.8 is a very similar boat but built a bit better and a better keel. Look for those as well. 3. The boat is a solid bluewater cruiser with good room and middling sailing performance as one would expect. Hope this helps a bit. Condition will be the key of course. Whitby 42 Used Boat Review Under sail, the performance of the Whitby 42 is a bit sluggish through tacks in light air. Her windward performance is acceptable but not outstanding and she has very respectable speed on reaches and runs particularly in moderate to heavy air. The addition of a mizzen stay sail and spinnaker will help light air downwind performance. Whitby 42: Classic Cruiser and a Good Used Boat Buy This Whitby 42, currently listed for $68,500 in Charleston, SC, is a great example of a capable classic cruising sailboat. Whitby Boat Works in Ontario, Canada began building the Whitby 42 in 1973 and approximately 200 hulls were launched over the next 10 years. Construction then moved to Florida to the Fort Myers Shipyard where another 30-plus ... Southwinds Magazine: The Whitby 42 Boat Review The Whitby 42 — ... The Whitby 42 was at the top of a very short list. The one they now own is named Free N Clear. Designed by Ted Brewer in 1971, the Whitby 42 is a full-keeled, balsa-cored go-anywhere yacht. The first 200 hulls were built in Canada as center cockpit ketches. Production moved to Fort Myers for hulls numbered 200 ... WHITBY 42 Notes. The WHITBY 42 was available as sloop, ketch, or staysail ketch with bowsprit. It was first built by Whitby Boat Works of Ontario, Canada and later under license by Ft. Meyers Yacht and Shipbuilding. A later variation built in Fort Myers, was the BREWER 12.8, or BREWER 42 which featured a updated keel and rudder configuration and usually ... 116. Is This 42' Project Sailboat Worth It? [Full Tour ... The Whitby 42 and the Brewer 42 are both proven bluewater cruisers, but is this one a worthwhile project? You decide. Be sure to subscribe and ring that noti... Whitby 42 The Whitby 42 is a rugged-looking, full keeled, heavy displacement cruiser designed by Ted Brewer in 1973 but lacking the "Brewer bite" that improved the performance of her sisterships, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44. Although the most commercially successful of Ted Brewer's designs, and considered a good value, liveaboard shoal water ... Whitby 42 Specs & Key Performance Indicators The Whitby 42 sailboat, with a Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 17.1, suggests a moderate cruising speed. The Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 34.0 indicates a good stability and stiffness, enabling the boat to carry a reasonable amount of sail. The Displacement/Length Ratio of 301 implies a moderate performance, particularly in light wind conditions. Whitby 42 Of the history of the boat, Doug says, "Hulls #1 to #200 and #301 to #333 were constructed in Canada and known as Whitby 42s." After hull #200 was completed, construction was moved to Fort Myers, Florida, where boats were built until 1990. Doug says, "Hulls #201 to #300 were built in Fort Myers, but there is some duplication in numbers. Whitby 42 Overview. The Bluewater Sailboat Whitby 42 designed by Ted Brewer is a heavy displacement cruiser with a full keel and a tough exterior, but she lacks the "Brewer bite" that enhanced the performance of her sisterships, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44. The Whitby 42 is not as hard as she might seem, despite being the most commercially ... 1971 Whitby 42 vs. 1981 Mariner 39 The 1971 Whitby 42 (ketch) has been very well restored and is turnkey. New standing rigging, tanks, autopilot, repainted decks, generator, davits, solar, etc. Low hours on a rebuilt Perkins 65HP engine. The 1981 Mariner 39 Sloop (the one made in the US) is about half the price but needs a fair amount of work; she has great bones though. Whitby 42, Brewer 42, Brewer 12.8 Boat Review Forum. SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, ... There are significant differences between Whitby 42, Brewer 12.8, Brewer 42, and the Brewer44. The Whitby 42 is a mid-1970's, Brewer designed full-keeled, ketch. They were ... Brewer 12.8/44 Brewer is one of the great modern cruising boat designers. His boats are well-mannered, attractive and practical. According to the designer, the Brewer 12.8 and Brewer 44 use the same basic hull and deck as the Whitby 42, a boat that was designed in 1971. Hull changes to the Whitby 42 were made by cutting out the long keel and attached rudder ... PDF B REVIEW The Whitby 42 The new boat had to be substantially built, of moderate draft, and capable of being sailed by the weakest crew alone should the other be incapacitated. The Whitby 42 was at the top of a very short list. The one they now own is named Free N Clear. Designed by Ted Brewer in 1971, the Whitby 42 is a full-keeled, balsa-cored go-anywhere yacht. whitby 42 Boat Review Forum. SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, ... While useless as sailboats in lighter conditions, the Whitby 42''s sail reasonably well on a reach and are reportedly pretty easy boats to handle. They do not do well upwind or dead downwind ... Review of Whitby 42 The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Whitby 42 is about 264 kg/cm, alternatively 1481 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 264 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1481 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch. 1983 Whitby 42 Ketch sailboat for sale in Texas Active Captain features reviews from owners of the Whitby 42 Ketch, with many describing the boat as "well-built," "seaworthy," and "comfortable at sea." Some owners note that the boat can be slow in light winds, but is a solid performer in heavier conditions. ... 1983 Whitby 42 Sailboat. All Exterior teak just refinished with 2 Coats. West 105 ... Whitby 42 boats for sale Find Whitby 42 boats for sale in your area & across the world on YachtWorld. Offering the best selection of Whitby boats to choose from. Whitby 42: Bringing her back from the grave? We have a Brewer 44, successor to the Whitby. We love the boat -- solid, comfortable, and secure. As for the "project" you have in mind, I would count on the engine being pickled given the waterline inside the cabin.I also would imagine virtually all of the cabinetry will need to be replaced as that either will have been subject to delamination (where plywood) or certainly extensive (from the ... catamaran gulet motorboat powerboat riverboat sailboat trimaran yacht