New Dawn

Why a Valiant?

08/16/06

New Dawn

    She was built in Texas in 1989 with the hull number, 280.  We are her third owner.  We found her on the internet.  Trucked her up from San Diego, California to Bellingham, Washington and have finished the major portions of her refit in Port Townsend, Washington.  She is set with new sails, new rigging, a new engine, a new dingy and updated electronics.  We are ready to set sail!

A few stats ...

Length Over All: 39' 10", Length of Water Line: 34' 6",    Beam: 12' 6",  Draft: 6',  Displacement: 24,000 lbs. Cruising speed: 8 knots.   She carries 140 gallons of fuel and 120 gallons of water. 

What drew our attention to this boat?

        New Dawn is a Valiant 40 sailboat designed by Bob Perry in 1973.  The Valiant 40, labeled as a "performance cruiser, was made for blue water cruising.  She offers fast passages as well as an easy motion that delivers her crew rested and better for the journey.   All Valliant's were designed with a cutter rig, a cutaway forefoot, a modified fin keel and a skeg-hung rudder.  She offers a handsome pedigree that includes induction into the American sailboat hall of fame in 1997.  Valiants' have more documented ocean crossing miles than any other single design of sail boat ever built.  She is also dang beautiful.

A little history ...

      Nathan Rothman built the original Valiant 40's at his Uniflite yard in Bellingham, Washington.  Production started with hull number 101.  The company turned out 159 boats between 1975 and 1984.  Somewhere between the hull numbers 120 and 249, Uniflite started using a fire retardant resin specified by the U.S. military for use in gunboats in Vietnam.  This resin tends to produce blisters in the gel coat.  I very ugly sight.  law suits followed and the molds for the boat was sold.   Rick Worstell purchased the company and molds in 1984.  Worstell moved the company to Lake Texoma, Texas where he resumed production with hull number 267.  Exactly 200 Valiant 40's were produced before the design was modified and replaced by the Valiant 42 in 1993.