Blue Water Boats

Subscriber Survey: Bristol 40 is dependable, not flashy

udging from our Subscriber Survey, seemed to have been jammed in as an Jthe venerable Bristol 40 is an attrac- afterthought under or near the compan- tive and dependable passagemaker ionway or cockpit box, making wash- with a few shortcomings one might ing dishes in a seaway a trial. Personal expect of a ‘70s-vintage CCA design Storage received high marks (many 9s), with long overhangs. The owner of a as did the main cabin table. The 1978 model summed it up eloquently: received rave reviews (“wonderful “Excellent, but slow, offshore, and a head,” “spacious head and shower”) classic design that looks great at the and 10s. The scores for Below-Decks mooring.” Plan for Living Aboard or Offshore Passagemaking Qualities: Bristol were good (7s and 8s) for living 40 owners obviously like to take their aboard and excellent (mostly 9s) for boats offshore, but none of our survey offshore. With excellent ventilation (8s respondents had recorded passages and 10s) and all those potential longer than 650 miles, and that was the seaberths, we can see why. Marion-Bermuda Race. Owners rated Performance Ratings: From the motion in a seaway good to excellent. Performance Under Power scores Cockpit protection and deck dryness (generally, from 3 to 6), you get the im- received good to excellent (scores of 8 pression that the boat steers like barge, and 9 on a scale in which 10 is per- which is understandable for a heavy- fect), but dinghy stowage was consid- displacement, full- design. Docking ered poor, with scores of 5 and 6. scores are consistently low (from 4 to Construction: Having been built by 6) —again, understandable— but one Bristol Yachts in Bristol, Rhode Island, master at maneuvering gave his Bristol between 1971 and 1986, you know the an 8. Forty’s hull is bullet-proof. Apparently, The Forty’s displacement/length ra- the owners know this, too, for scores Often available for less than $60,000, tio of 376 is really too high for overall ran between 7 and 10, with 8s and 9s the Bristol 40 is a seagoing boat that sailing excellence. Upwind Perfor- predominating. Ironically, the only 7s won’t break the bank. mance brought many scores of 8; Down- came from a skipper whose overall wind Performance averaged between comments about the boat were unabash- 6 and 7. The average Roll Factor score edly enthusiastic: “Over sixteen sum- about the overall rig is: “Very pleased was an even 6. Light-Air Performance mers, an overall excellent boat; very with the quality of the rig.” The stan- scores averaged between 5 and 6, and pleased.” Hey, over 16 summers, one dard rig was a sloop; interestingly, one these low scores are borne out by a low gets to accept a boat - warts and all. respondent - the owner of the Marion- sail area/displacement ratio of 16.4. One respondent gave 8s to all catego- Bermuda veteran - reported sailing a Tracking Ability ratings oddly ranged ries with the comment “excellent” -rigged Forty. from a low of 5 to a high of a perfect throughout. This is a conservative de- Accommodation: “It’s an old de- 10. The boat with a Marion-Bermuda sign, and owners are appropriately con- sign, but works well,” wrote one skip- race under its keel was given a 7 for servative in their scoring. The lowest per, and therein lies the secret of the Tracking Ability, which should hold score for a construction category was Bristol 40’s success below decks. Tra- water. Strong Wind and Storm Handling a rock-bottom 1 for shaft and prop, fol- ditional cruising layouts usually provided saw a preponderance of 8s, which is lowed by the comment: “Can’t remove a number of good sea berths. The not surprising, for these boats, when prop without removing shaft.” Bristol 40 was available in numerous properly reefed, love a breeze of wind. Rig & Rigging: The keel-stepped below-decks configurations: To port, Summary: The Bristol 40 is a clas- mast and partners received high grades, buyers had a choice of pull-out tran- sic that endures because of its stout hull as did the standing rigging and hard- som berth, pull-out double berth, con- construction, well-made rig and simple, ware. Most respondents had replaced vertible dinette, and quarter-berth, timeless and fail-safe design. With its the original traveler with Harken Big which they could add to the standard 27’6” waterline, she’s not going to reel Boat Travelers, a common upgrade starboard-side layout of pull-out tran- off many 150-mile days, but she’ll cross that garnered very high scores. One som lower and pipe berth over. A oceans in businesslike fashion with mini- owner apparently nurtures a love/hate simple, efficient living area could eas- mal crew fatigue and gear breakage. relationship with the original equipment, ily be configured. The weak link was And she’ll be a delight to view as you saying: “Useless traveler; old-type sys- the galley, which most respondents row away from her as she lies at her tem with lifting springs, but too expen- gave fair-to-middling scores, with 6s mooring after another relaxing passage. sive to replace.” A typical comment and 7s dominating. The sink always

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