Blue Jacket 40

[pjnyman]

Considering the purchase of a 2014 model, very lightly used. Has anyone heard good or bad about them? Most magazine reviews are positive, but not much real life info out there on the interweb...any comments will be helpful. Thanks all!

[Polux]

Originally Posted by pjnyman

Considering the purchase of a 2014 model, very lightly used. Has anyone heard good or bad about them? Most magazine reviews are positive, but not much real life info out there on the interweb...any comments will be helpful. Thanks all!

Few boats made. I had only heard nice things, except the fact that they were too expensive to be a comercial valid option face boats like the Arcona or the X yachts. But you are buying 2nd hand so it can change the picture in what regards price. Nice boat.

[Lost Horizons]

I have been to one on Lake Michigan. Typical very high IP quality, but the layout is not particularly great for a cruising boat, at least not for a long range cruising.

[Orion Jim]

I took this photo of a Bluejacket while I was in Bermuda. I would pull the rudders and inspect the shafts were I seriously considering a purchase. I was told they are carbon fiber.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

I took this photo of a Bluejacket while I was in Bermuda. I would pull the rudders and inspect the shafts were I seriously considering a purchase. I was told they are carbon fiber.

" I recall Bill Bolin showing me the carbon fiber rudder which I could lift with one hand."

I cannot imagine a rudder on a 40ft boat that can be lifted with one hand, carbon or not. That is really light...on a boat that is not really light. I find that a bit odd.

It seems that the rudder snapped alone without touching anything:

"We were double reefed using the 100% jib making 8 knots in 20+ knots of wind. And while loosing a rudder certainly was a surprise, at no time did I feel our lives were at stake. "

The story here, on the article and on the comments:
Jury-Rigged Rudder Steers Bailiwick for Last 100 Miles to Bermuda - Newport Bermuda Race