The Warrior 40 Sailboat

The Warrior 40 is a 12-meter cutter designed by Bill Dixon and Angus Primrose. It has been built by Trident Marine Ltd since 1988. This sturdy offshore cruiser caters to serious, long-distance cruising. With its robust design and attention to construction detail, the Warrior 40 often exceeds sailors' expectations for a reliable and capable vessel on the open ocean.

'Summerbird' a Warrior 40 sailboat on a mooring ball in the River Yealm, near Plymouth, UK.

The Warrior 40, a flush-decked long-distance cruiser.

Published Specification for the Warrior 40

Underwater Profile: Fin keel and skeg hung rudder
Hull Material: GRP (Fiberglass)
Length Overall: 39'4" (12.00m)
Waterline Length: 31'3" (9.53m)
Beam: 13'0" (4.0m)
Draft: 5'0" (1.52m)
Rig Type: Cutter
Displacement: 18,739lb (8,500kg)
Designer: Angus Primrose & Bill Dixon
Builder: Trident Marine (UK)
Year First Built: 1988

The Warrior 40 has a water capacity of 156 gallons and a fuel capacity of 50 gallons, and has a spacious and practical layout that can accommodate up to six people in three cabins. The forward cabin has a double berth and a hanging locker, while the aft cabin has two single berths and a locker. The saloon has a U-shaped settee that can convert into a double berth, a large table, and plenty of storage space. Twin diesels were available as an option.

Published Design Ratios for the Warrior 40

The Warrior 40 sailboat exhibits characteristics that can be inferred from the given design ratios, each revealing different aspects regarding performance, stability, comfort, and safety. Here's an analysis based on those ratios:

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio (15.0): This ratio suggests that the Warrior 40 has a modest power-to-weight balance. A ratio of 15.0 places it below the threshold for high performance, which starts around 16. This means the sailboat is not particularly overpowered and should be adequate for cruising purposes, providing a good balance between sailing performance and handling ease.

Ballast/Displacement Ratio (44.1): This high ratio indicates that the boat is capable of withstanding considerable lateral forces from wind, making it stiffer and potentially more stable in heavy wind conditions. However, it's critical to note that without information on the distribution and concentration of the ballast, it's challenging to make a definitive judgment on its actual impact on stability. A boat with concentrated ballast in a deeper keel typically offers better resistance against capsizing than one with shallow draft ballast.

Displacement/Length Ratio (411): Falling in the ultraheavy displacement category, the Warrior 40 is a heavily built boat, implying that it might be slower but more stable in rough waters. Boats with such a high displacement-to-length ratio tend to have ample storage and are built for lengthy passages and heavier seas, albeit at the price of lower speed and agility when compared to lighter boats.

Comfort Ratio (41.6): This ratio places the Warrior 40 in the category of boats with a motion associated with heavy bluewater cruisers. It suggests that occupants can expect a relatively gentle and stable motion in most sea conditions, favorable for long voyages where comfort and reduced fatigue are crucial.

Capsize Screening Formula (1.7): The low score in this ratio indicates good stability and a reduced likelihood of capsizing in rough waters, corroborating its suitability for ocean passages. This is consistent with the boat's robust build and design, aimed at enhancing safety and seaworthiness over long distances.

While these ratios provide valuable insights, they do have their theoretical limitations. For example, the Ballast/Displacement Ratio does not account for how the ballast is distributed within the hull, which is a critical factor in assessing the true stability and performance under various sea conditions. A deeper keel might confer additional stability compared to a similarly weighted but shallower one.

Furthermore, Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio tends to favor traditional heavy cruisers with their narrower beam and longer overhangs, which are not always reflective of modern yacht design trends that include wider beams and lighter materials. This shift in design philosophy might render the comfort ratio less indicative of actual comfort experienced by the crew in newer yacht models.

In summary, the Warrior 40 appears to be a robustly built cruising sailboat suitable for heavier seas and designed with a preference for safety and comfort over speed, making it an excellent candidate for long voyages and bluewater expeditions. Yet, potential buyers or users should always consider complementing these theoretical assessments with practical evaluations, including sea trials and reviews from other sailors to get a comprehensive understanding of the boat's performance and capabilities.

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.

Press Reviews for the Warrior 40
Yachting Monthly says: "The Warrior 40 will give you no thrills on the wind but she is clearly a weatherly boat, carrying a lot more sail than, say, an equivalent- sized Hallberg-Rassy in such conditions. That’s because she’s heavy – 14.83 registered tons, which goes up to 16 tons when she’s in cruising mode. She sets a 135% genoa, an in-mast furling mainsail and a self-tacking staysail without a boom. Her deck-stepped mast has two sets of cross-trees and a pair of forward-facing jumper struts, tensioned via an adjustable backstay. There are Lewmar 44 winches for the sheets and 40s for the halyards." Read more...