Contest Yachts 41 Yacht Wing Keel GRP

1985 Contest 41 centre cockpit wing keel GRP

Location: The Whitsundays


https://drive. Google. Com/drive/folders/1UL0orj7urKEGls_aM4Q QFtvsbN_c-Pb2

This sale is for the boat which is currently on the hard stand in a liveaboard section with water and toilets available.

Reason for Sale//
I bought this boat at the start of 2025 and sailed it from Cairns to Airlie where I lived and worked as a skipper/engineer. Unfortunately I have had a very unexpected situation with my Visa (I am English) after being here for 7 years, which means I have had to move to the remote Daintree Rainforest for full time work. The boat needs about 2 weeks of work to get it back in the water and sailing and liveable in water, but realistically to restore the functionality and beauty of this boat fully, there is about 3-6 months of work to get her in tip top condition as a full Bluewater cruiser permanently on board, this is 2 local shipwrights opinion and also my own. This was my plan that I cannot now complete as there is no marina or handstand or even sheltered mooring within 2.5 hours here where I'll be for the next 3 years, hence the unfortunate sale of my dream, this boat's pedigree is not your average cruiser and she will be that again for someone.

I lived aboard from Jan 2025 to Feb 2026, firstly on a mooring then in the stand, the boat is completely liveable currently, running water from its own tank, solar system, beds, storage, lights and comforts, everything you need. In this time I didn't to much work at all to the boat because I was waiting on the visa to be accepted before I start taking things apart on the boat and then risk having to sell a boat that cannot go back in the water. It turns out my precautions where justified as I now am in this position.

I will list everything I know about the boat's condition, which after a year aboard and a lot of sailing around I think is a good evaluation.

First a list of some of the things that the boat has to offer:

The ENTIRE rig was replaced by the previous owner, with receipts, in 2017 this means new mast, boom, chain plates, main sail, Genoa, asymmetrical spinnaker, standing rigging, running rigging, mast winches, instruments and screens, literally the whole rig, including a heavy canvas cover that completely covers the deck, custom made to fit around all stays and the like. The rig came down in 2016 due to a failed chain plate tang on STBD side. This cost, as the receipt shows, over $70,000, the previous owner who at the time was over 70 years old, did not use the boat more than a few times after this huge replacement due to health issues. Again all receipts and documents are on board for this. The sails are in amazing condition as you would expect.

Before you read on, I suggest you have a quick google about these boats, they are not common in this country as much as they are in the northern hemisphere but are made by an extremely reputable manufacturer who still make luxury yachts today. A serious offshore cruiser with 500L of fuel tanks and 500L of water tanks built in - truly a yacht that will take you around the world.

There is about 30kgs of paperwork on board as it seems the previous owner, the old fella, who had her for 25 odd years, was very keen on writing and storing every piece of information about the boat.

The engine - a Yanmar 4JH3-TE runs very well and was majorly overhauled by a Yanmar mechanic but this was a while ago now, I haven't spent a huge amount of time going over the engine, but I did a full service - Impeller, fuel and oil filters, strainer, a few hose clamps, flushed out the heat exchanger and some other bits and did an exterior inspection prior to the sail down from cairns, I put about 100 hours on it in total and it didn't miss a beat besides from the turbo likely needing a rebuild or replacement as since then has unfortunately given up.

Has all the comforts you would expect from a luxury yacht manufacturer of offshore cruising boats including an autopilot, bow-thruster, macerating head, very large tanks and black water tank, gas storage locker, generator void (generator was removed), storage galore etc.

When I purchased the boat I had a reputable surveyor and a shipwright come and take a look in cairns, I was initially going to get a complete survey, the comments from the surveyor for this to be done where mostly of the nature of replacing corroded hose clamps, replacing the PSS seal, and some other things that to be totally honest I cannot remember but where not structural or major - I opted to not complete the entire list and pay $800 to receive the official survey as I knew once I got back to Airlie I was going to haul it out and begin work on it either way, after which I would need another survey upon completion anyway. During this survey we lifted the water tanks and inspected the keel bolts, which where in very good condition, he tapped the entire hull to inspect the coring, which we found 2 spots of concern, one next to the anchor locker which I paid there and then to have removed and repaired, and another on the port beam which was a bad repair from when the mast came down and damaged the topside, this one I did not get repaired yet and will need to be done, but it is above waterline and only about 400mm across.

The teak deck I suspect is the original, it needs to be removed as it has worn down very thin and actually shows the GRP underneath in some places. My intention here was to remove the teak and re-fair the deck and not bother relaying new teak. The surveyor looked at this also as my concern was for damaged coring here too, he commented that the deck is still very firm and that the deck screws have been sealed from the coring and not to worry too much about it - I called Contest in Holland and spoke to an engineer who has worked there since they built this boat, he told me that the coring in the deck is confined to the broad sections of the deck, and the edges against the gunnels, hatches, anchor locker and deck house are solid glass, which you can confirm by inspecting the areas behind the internal roof panels, which gave me confidence in this matter. I have removed some of the teak at the stern to seal some of the leaking fittings and some other sections too that were leaking to make her as watertight as possible until was time to go over the entire deck.

The chine, keel and rudder surround, transom and top section of the topsides above the rubbing strip are all solid glass, the rest is end grain balsa. Again this was my first thing to inspect and almost the whole boat, besides from the above mentioned, tested dry. The factory where this boat was built was renowned for using top quality balsa and in the driest environment, as you'll see upon researching. There is no osmosis at all in the glass. I have a coring sample on board, where you'll see there is 6mm of glass either side of the coring, that's 12mm off glass, almost double what a lot of solid glass boats of this size will use today, this boat is an absolute tank and why she weighs 15 tons. The glass is hand laid in the factory and again, do some research on this manufacturer as I did prior to my purchase.

In the last few years that she sat unused in Yorkeys Knob Marina in Cairns she suffered a few problems. Leaks were not seen to (most of them have been now) and so there is some water damage in some areas, luckily in areas that are reasonable to replace - some of the floor boards around the compression post, the FWD head door, and around the old generator void in the STBD quarter, this is where most of it is. Also some of the wiring has perished and will need replacing, some lights, the cockpit windless remote and some other bits, fortunately these do not effect the liveability or sail ability of the boat currently and the majority of it still does work. Some re-varnishing was done a few years back but some more will be necessary after replacing the damaged timber.

There is a whole lot more information that I can give I'm sure but this is about everything that comes to mind. I know the boat very well so will be able to answer most questions hopefully.

The boat is very suited someone who will move straight onto it for cheap rent, and fix it up over the coming months with all of the tools and spares etc that come with the sale.

I understand it's harder to sell a boat that's not in the water, I took her out to do everything that it needs to be perfect in one big go with the convenience of the hard stand, however, right now to go into the water, realistically she just needs some new seacocks, a hole in the underside glassed in or a skin fitting and sea cocks put in, some other more minor things and a coat of anti foul. I literally just don't have the time or money for this whith my visa situation and for me, staying in Australia is the primary objective here.

whilst it does require some work, in good shape you will not find one of these for less than $130k+ (have a look online yourself)


As mentioned, I currently live 10 hours north of the Whitsundays where the boat it. Inspections can be done via other commercial skipper friends of mine who still live there. If the interest is very serious with cash ready then I can fly down for a day to assist in any further needs.

Contact me on Call Seller - thank you!

Price has been dropped to 38,000 firm