When people argue about what the ideal long-range cruising boat looks like, they almost always end up describing something close to the Grand Banks 42. This is not an accident. Ed Monk's hull design — the double-ended, modified full-keel shape with the distinctive raised pilothouse — solved most of the problems that matter at sea with a directness that later, more sophisticated designs have been unable to improve upon.
The 1978 model year represents the sweet spot in Grand Banks production history. By then, the yard had worked out the early build quality inconsistencies that plagued the first few years. The hull layup is heavy — some would say excessively so — but that weight translates into a sea-keeping ability that lighter, more modern designs simply do not match in confused water.
This particular 42 has been in its current family's hands since 2008, and it shows the kind of maintenance history that reveals character. Not perfect — the teak decks were replaced with a synthetic that purists will note — but everywhere that matters, the right decision was made. The electrical system, often the Achilles heel of trawlers of this vintage, has been completely renewed with Blue Sea Systems components properly labeled and fused.
The Ford Lehman, rebuilt in 2015 by specialists, is the correct engine for this hull. It is not fast — 8 knots is a reasonable expectation — but it will run at that speed for the rest of your life on a fuel burn that would embarrass a modern highway car. Grand Banks 42s have been sailed to every corner of the navigable world on that engine, and this one has the range to do it again.
What you are buying here is not a project. You are buying a proven tool with known quantities and a history you can verify, offered by an owner who understood what he had.