The Hunter 40.5 Legend Sailboat
Specs & Key Performance Indicators

The Hunter 40.5 Legend, a shoal draft fractionally rigged sloop, was designed and built in the USA by Hunter Marine.

'Xenia II', a Hunter 40.5 anchored at Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe, French West Indies

A Hunter 40.5 Fractionally Rigged Sloop

Published Specification for the Hunter 40.5 Legend

Underwater Profile: Wing keel with spade rudder

Hull Material: GRP

Length Overall: 40'2" (12.4m)

Waterline Length: 35'4" (11.2m)

Beam: 12'5" (4.2m)

Draft: 4'11" (2.0m)

Rig Type: Fractional Sloop

Displacement: 20,000lb (8,940kg)

Designer: Hunter Design Team

Builder: Hunter Marine (USA)

Year First Built: 1991

Year Last Built: 1997

Owners Association: Hunter Owners Association

Published Design Ratios for the Hunter 40.5 Legend

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 16.6

Ballast/Displacement Ratio: 35.0

Displacement/Length Ratio: 202

Comfort Ratio: 29.3

Capsize Screening Formula: 1.8

Summary Analysis of the Design Ratios for the Hunter 40.5 Legend

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1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 16.6 suggests that the Hunter 40.5 Legend will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 35.0 means that the Hunter 40.5 Legend will have a tendency to heel excessively in a gust, and she'll need to be reefed early to keep her sailing upright in a moderate breeze.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 202, tells us the Hunter 40.5 Legend is a moderate displacement cruiser, which means she'll carry a reasonable amount of cruising gear without it having too much of an effect on her performance. Most of today's sailboats intended for offshore cruising fall into this displacement category.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 29.3 suggests that crew comfort of a Hunter 40.5 Legend in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a coastal cruiser with moderate stability, which is not encouraging news for anyone prone to seasickness.

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 1.8 tells us that a Hunter 40.5 Legend would be a safer choice of sailboat for an ocean passage than one with a CSF of more than 2.0.

More about the Hunter 40.5 Legend

The Hunter 40.5 Legend has a sleek and elegant profile, with a large cockpit, a wide beam and a spacious interior. The boat is easy to handle and sail, thanks to its fractional rig, B&R backstay-less mast, in-mast furling and self-tailing winches.

Accommodation
One of the main features of the Hunter 40.5 Legend is its generous accommodation. The boat can sleep up to seven people in three separate cabins and the saloon.

The owner's version has a large aft cabin with a queen-size berth, a vanity, a hanging locker and an ensuite head with shower.

The charter version has two aft cabins with double berths, hanging lockers and shared access to the aft head with shower.

The forward cabin has a V-berth, a hanging locker and an ensuite head with shower. The bright and airy saloon has a U-shaped settee with a dining table that can be lowered to create an extra berth. There is also a straight settee on the starboard side that can be used as a single berth or a navigation station.

The galley is located on the port side of the saloon and has ample counter space, storage and appliances, such as a double sink, a three-burner stove with oven, a refrigerator and a freezer. The boat also has a deck saloon with a sliding hatch that provides access to the cockpit.

Hull and Deck
The hull of the Hunter 40.5 Legend is made of fiberglass with balsa core for strength and stiffness. The deck is also made of fiberglass with balsa core and has molded-in nonskid surfaces for safety and traction. The boat has a wide beam of 13 feet 5 inches that provides stability and roominess.

The cockpit is large and comfortable, with high coamings, long seats and cushions. It has a single wheel or twin wheels steering system that gives the helmsman good visibility and control. It also has an instrument pod, a folding cockpit table, a bimini top and an arch that supports the mainsheet traveler and the dodger.

The deck also has plenty of features for sailing convenience, such as self-tailing winches, line stoppers, cleats, handrails and lifelines.

Mast and Rigging
The mast of the Hunter 40.5 Legend is deck-stepped and made of aluminum. It has swept-back spreaders and no backstay, which allows for more sail area and less interference with the cockpit. This is called the B&R rig, which was developed by Hunter Marine in collaboration with B&R Yacht Design. The rig also has in-mast furling for easy reefing and handling of the mainsail. The boat has a fractional rig with a 110% genoa that can be furled on the forestay.

Keel and Rudder
The winged keel of the Hunter 40.5 Legend lowers the center of gravity and improves stability and performance.

The rudder of the Hunter 40.5 Legend is a spade rudder that is balanced and responsive.

The above text was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material; we believe it to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.