Overview
The C&C 40-2 is the second C&C 40, a C&C Design Group racer-cruiser from 1978, built from 1978 according to sailboatdata.com. Its place in this catalog rests on its ocean racing record: 2 different boats of the design have finished the Pacific Cup from San Francisco to Hawaii or the Newport Bermuda Race in the official results.
Design and Construction
sailboatdata.com lists the underbody as fin with spade rudder, 39.58 ft overall on a 31.5 ft waterline, with 12.67 ft of beam and 7 ft of draft. Displacement is about 17,000 lb with 7,910 lb of ballast, and the masthead sloop carries about 743 sq ft. Practical Sailor’s used-boat review calls it a well-built boat, in the same class as other C&Cs but not particularly high-tech, and recommends examining the hull bottom in the way of the keel and the attachment of structural components near the mast and rudder on boats that raced hard. A taller rig was also offered, usually paired with a 4-inch deep, 300-pound lead shoe on the keel, and a keel/centerboard version drew about 4 feet 9 inches with the board up and carried an extra 885 pounds of ballast.
Ocean Racing Record
Invictus (John Webb) finished the Pacific Cup and Newport Bermuda Race (1986, 2002). Night Train (Paul Moore) finished the Newport Bermuda Race (2006, 2008).
The review credits it with good all-around performance upwind and downwind in both light and heavy air, and a rudder deep enough to stay in the water in all but a flat-out broach. It entered production as a 1978 model, was phased out in 1983 in favor of the C&C 41, and about 200 were built. For shorthanded cruising the reviewer suggests a furling headsail of about 130 percent and, offshore, an inner forestay.
