Valiant 40: Reshaping the Cruising Hull

The Valiant 40 has a long history. In 1972, Nathan Rothman decided to start a boatbuilding business and approached old friend Bob Perry to design the ultimate cruising yacht. At that time, Rothman and Perry were young, poor, relatively inexperienced and full of ideals. Perry accepted the offer without even asking to be paid right away.

The decision to make the Valiant a double-ender was a marketing one based on the skyrocketing success of the Westsail 32. The Westsail had just been featured on the cover of Time magazine; double-enders were “in.” Rothman sent Perry a photo of Aage Nielsen’s Holger Danske and said, “Let’s have a stern like that.”

“So I took that fanny,” said Perry, “and with all my experience on race boats, I designed a high-performance cruising boat.” Rothman contracted with Uniflite to build the boats in Bellingham, WA, and the first Valiant was launched in 1973.

In the late ‘70s Rothman sold Valiant to Sam Dick Industries, who continued to build the boats under contract with Uniflite. Uniflite eventually bought the company from Sam Dick Industries. Finally, in 1984, Rich Worstell, one of Valiant’s most successful dealers, bought Valiant Yachts, and began building the boats on Lake Texoma.

In 1992, Worstell began building the Valiant 42, which featured a new deck, new keel, more ballast and three different interior configurations. PS reviewed this boat in December 2006.

Until closing up shop in 2011, Worstell also manufactured the Valiant 32, 37, Pilothouse 40 and 47. Every boat was semi-custom and each Valiant buyer was encouraged to come to the factory at least three times—once to decide exactly which options they wanted, once to oversee the building and once to commission the boat.

“We like every customer to shake his boat down at our lake facility so any problems can be fixed right here at the factory,” said Worstell.

Over the years Valiant has gained a considerable reputation. Veteran singlehander Francis Stokes sailed his Valiant 40 Mooneshine to victory (first American monohull) in the 1980 OSTAR; in 1983 Mark Schrader sailed a Valiant 40 safely around the world singlehanded, and again, in 1986-87. Schrader’s Valiant 47 Lone Star completed the BOC.

Although proud of the design’s offshore record, Perry points out that it’s not the boat for everyone. “If I were going to hang out in St. Tropez or Portofino, I’d need a different boat—no question. I’d need pointy deck shoes and a pointy boat, there’s a comfort that comes with being in a slightly less-than-all-perfect, smarmy environment—and the Valiant seems to suit that.”

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Early in Valiant’s boatbuilding history, Uniflite Corporation experienced extensive hull blistering problems both above and below the waterline due to their use of a fire-retardant polyester resin. To combat the problem, Worstell began using a 100-percent isophthalic resin used in conjunction with an isophthalic gelcoat. Although tests performed by Comtex Development Corporation in Bridgewater, MA prove that vinylester blisters less readily than isophthalic resin, Worstell claims he has had no problems with blistering since 1984.

Valiant was convinced that the answer to hull blistering lies not just in the choice of materials but in the care with which boats are built. Resin was catalyzed a gallon at a time, and hulls were laid up by hand. Valiants also came with 21 mils of epoxy, about 8 coats, applied to the bottom of the hull. Topsides were coated with Imron polyurethane paint.

The Valiant hull is an uncored, solid laminate. The deck is balsa-cored fiberglass with molded nonskid surface. Anywhere “stressed” through-bolts enter the deck or cabin house, Valiant puts in high-density foam or hot coats the end-grain balsa to prevent water from seeping in. All heavily-loaded deck hardware, including grabrails, is installed with backing plates or heavy-duty washers. Chainplates are stainless steel straps that extend through the deck.

Valiant V-cuts their chainplate slots so that extra 3M 5200 sealant can be forced in to form a pressure gasket against the chainplate. Two chainplates through-bolt to 1 ½-in. to 2-in. knees glassed to the inside of the hull. One of the chain plates through-bolts to the main bulkhead. All are very accessible.

The hull-to-deck joint on the Valiant is hard to fault. At the top of the bulwark there is an inward-turning flange. On deck, the edge of the molding turns upward to form the inner bulwark face, then outward at the top to overlap the hull flange. The joint is bedded in 5200 and through-bolted. The bulwark is then capped with a teak or aluminum rail. We would be tempted to opt for the aluminum one, since it eliminates the upkeep of teak and is more protective against chafe.

The rubbing strake is made of high-density foam glassed to the hull with a sacrificial teak strip on the outside. There is also a stainless rub rail option.

The keel is an external lead casting, bolted to the stainless steel bolts and backing plates. A conventional keel is standard, but some owners choose the shoal-draft model. Valiant would build the Valiant 40 keel anywhere from 5 ft. 2 in. to 6 ft. in depth, but it can only be cut down in 2-in. increments.

Rather than molding the skeg as an integral part of the hull, a steel weldment is encased in a two-piece fiberglass shell filled with high-density foam and mish-mash. The skeg is then epoxied to the bottom of the hull and bolted in place with stainless steel bolts, nuts, lock-washers, 5200 and a backing plate. Valiant glasses over the skeg again once it is in place to cover the seam. This type of skeg construction is very strong and should provide adequate protection if you hit a submerged object or run aground.

The skeg heel is through-bolted to the bottom of the skeg. The rudderpost, made of 1 ¾-in. diameter stainless steel bar, rides on three bearings—one in the gudgeon, one where the rudder post goes through the hull, and a final bearing at the top in the rudder support bracket. Like the skeg, the rudder is filled with high-density foam and mish-mash and molded in one piece with the rudderpost. Valiant fabricates over 50-percent of the components for its boats in-house, including the mast step timber which is the same for the Valiant 37, 40, 47 and Pilothouse 40.

To form the mast step, ½-in. aluminum plate is TIG-welded to form a massive H-beam. The H-beam is then through-bolted to the floor timbers, and the mast sits in an oval-shaped aluminum weldment that is bolted to the custom mast step. This arrangement provides a strong platform and eliminates corrosion problems that occur if a mast is stepped in the bilge. A tie-rod extends from the mast step to the deck to keep the deck from overflexing or “panting.”

Wooden bulkheads, which end at the cabin sole, are glassed to the hull with three layers of fiberglass mat and cloth. Valiant also glasses-in a series of 12 transverse floor timbers made of 2 ½-in. to 30-in. high-density Divinycell closed-cell foam, to stiffen the hull. Many production boats use continuous bulkheads or a molded floor pan for the same purpose. Installing floor timbers, rather than a molded fiberglass body pan, not only provides strength, it also gives Valiant the freedom to customize its interior. Valiant believes that glassing furniture to hull and bulkheads replaces the need for longitudinal stringers. (This holds true, they say, regardless of which layout you choose.) The deep bilge is gelcoated and all furniture is structurally bonded to the hull.

Valiant uses bronze ball-valve seacocks screwed directly onto the threaded tail of the through-hull fitting. We consider this type of seacock inferior to flange-type seacocks because it can put too much stress on the fitting. We recommend a flange-type seacock with mechanical fastenings and a backing plate. If you are averse to putting holes in your hull, there is a simple solution. (see “Seacocks for Thin Hulls,” PS February 2019).

Two water tanks located under the settees port and starboard hold 140 gal of water. Tanks are built of high-density polyethylene. Each tank has a large inspection plate and vents to the bilge.

Valiant bonds their boats to protect them from electrolysis. Seacocks, prop shaft and all underwater hardware are tied to a 6-in. by 6-in. zinc that is recessed into the hull. On older boats we’d recommend a corrosion survey to ensure that bonding system has no stray current leaks and that the anodic protection is properly matched to prevent galvanic corrosion.

For lightning protection, Valiant grounds the chain plates and mast base to the keelbolts. A single sideband counterpoise, consisting of copper strapping tied to the keelbolts is also available as an option.

ENGINE AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

The Valiant has a large, well-designed engine room. There’s plenty of space to sit down to check the batteries or work on the engine or generator. However, the engine room sole, which follows the curve of the hull, is slippery. We advise coating the sole with non-skid.

Over the years, Valiant has used Westerbeke, Perkins and Volvo engines. The late 1980-era model we tested had a three-cylinder Volvo 2003 Turbo, rated at 42 horsepower at 3000 rpm with a V-drive transmission and a 3:1 reduction gear. The front of the engine is accessible from the engine room for servicing filters and belts or changing the oil. The aft ends of the engine and transmission are accessible from the owner’s stateroom or head, depending on which interior layout you choose. Sound insulation is good.

Volvo’s flexible mounts are bolted to pieces of 4-in. by 4-in. aluminum angle through-bolted to two high-density foam beds glassed to the hull. The engine has a Volvo water-lift type exhaust system. The exhaust system hose is looped high to prevent salt water from back-siphoning into the engine. In general, installation is very good.

However, many mechanics believe that a turbo-charged engine is too complicated for a small boat (see “Diesel Mechanics Forum,” PS January 15, 2002). We’d prefer to see the Valiant fit with a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine, about 100 cubic in.

The electrical system includes 110-volt AC 12-volt DC service, and is controlled by a custom distribution panel mounted next to the navigator. Wiring is to ABYC specification, color-coded and neatly run through a PVC pipe to the engine room. There’s a handy pennant supplied for running extra wires.

Two 105-hr deep-cycle batteries come standard and owners could order two extra 105-amp hr batteries wired in parallel with the original two batteries. Many owners have changed the system, creating two nominally isolated house banks of 180-200 amp hr each, and upgraded the size of the alternator. For those who want all the amenities of home, Valiant neatly installed an auxiliary generator (Northern Lights 5 kW) behind a sound-proofed door in the aft end of the engine room. The plumbing system includes hot and cold pressure water.

As an option you can also order a Whale foot pump in the galley or head that can be used fresh or salt water. We consider manual foot pump essential equipment for long-distance cruising. We’d also be tempted to purchase the handy Jabsco deck washdown pump.

The standard electric bilge pump is a Par 36600 (8 gal-per-minute capacity). This pump is inadequate for emergency bilge pumping. We’d recommend adding a second electric pump, even though there is a manual Whale Gusher mounted on the forward end of the cockpit well.

Patrick Childress, Sailor Extraordinaire

Patrick Childress taught us a lot. He taught us how to climb our mast alone, safely and easily. He gave us step-by-step instructions to repair and paint a leaky water tank without harmful poisons or paints, and how to build a boat security system for a few bucks. He showed us how to deal with a dismasting at sea, and how to rebuild the rig from chainplate to masthead so that it would never happen again. And that is just scratching the surface of Childress’ contributions to this publication, and a bare smidgen of the practical, cheap solutions that he’s shared with the cruising community.

His work has appeared in nearly every major US sailing publication and more recently reached a worldwide audience through the blogs, vlogs, and YouTube channel that documented he and his wife Rebecca Childress’ circumnavigation. And through it all, he was a low-key, just-the-facts dude, focused on getting the right message out—even if it meant running contrary to conventional wisdom, which it often did.

Patrick grew up in Miami and was soon drawn to the sea. In 1980, he set out on one of the most improbable small-boat voyages in cruising lore—a circumnavigation in a 27-foot Catalina Juggernaut that he’d upgraded significantly for the voyage. Three years later, he returned and began working toward his next big adventure.

Starting a home repair business in Rhode Island and sailing boats back and forth to the Caribbean, he and Rebecca soon earned enough freedom chips to embark on his second trip around the world with Rebecca on one of the most prudently outfitted Valiant 40s at sea today, Brick House.

On June 8, Childress died in Cape Town, South Africa of complications from COVID-19. He was 69. We will miss his wit, wisdom, and courage, though are comforted that his work lives on in this magazine, on the Web, and in the stories of friends and family who were fortunate to cross his path. To find out more about Patrick’s life and work, you can visit is blog www.whereisbrickhouse.com.

HANDLING UNDER POWER

The Valiant 40 hull is easily driven; the 43-hp, Volvo 2003 Turbo at a normal cruising RPM of 2400 gives you a speed of 6 kn through the water in flat seas. The boat handles particularly well under power in tight quarters or when docking stern-to. A two-bladed fixed propeller is standard equipment. You can order a two- or three-bladed feathering Max-Prop, which will improve your performance under power and sail. If you order the genset option, fuel is stored in two aluminum saddle tanks with a total capacity of 110 gal. Without a generator, fuel is carried in one 90-gal aluminum fuel tank. There’s a handy fuel gauge mounted at the nav station which eliminates guessing how much diesel you have left.

HANDLING UNDER SAIL

With a fine entry, a long waterline, a reasonably efficient underbody and moderate wetted surface, the Valiant sails as well as any fast cruiser of her size.

The Valiant’s broad, flared bow makes her least efficient in a steep chop to weather. As soon as you bear off, however, the big flared bow becomes all sailing length, and the boat becomes very powerful, especially on a reach or broad reach in heavy air. She also performs respectably downwind. She’s not as fast as a more modern, lighter racer/cruiser, but she’s no slouch, either.

The Valiant is cutter-rigged with the mast stepped fairly well aft. This makes for a small manageable mainsail (306 sq. ft.). and a foretriangle that is substantially larger than it would be on a typical sloop-rigged 40-footer. Still, the boat is unusually well-balanced and easy to handle. You can sail it either as a sloop or cutter (there’s a quick release option on the inner forestay), and if you’re shorthanded you’ll probably prefer the double headsail rig.

Perry broke tradition when he designed a fin keel and skeg rudder for the Valiant. (At that time full keels were considered de rigueur for serious offshore cruising.) Since 1973 Perry has updated the keel twice.

“The initial keel was expensive and difficult to build, so Uniflite asked me to design a stiffer, less expensive one,” Perry told us. His second keel design lowered the VCG (vertical center of gravity), deepened the bilge, and generally improved the boat’s performance. It was also much easier to build. The last change was again an effort to make the building effort more efficient and provide a variety of keels.

“With new foil developments we thought we could make it better yet,” said Perry, “so I called up Dave Vacanti, who specializes in keels, and we came up with another foil-the same foil shape that was used on Mongoose in the Transpac.”

The latest keel packs more weight into a shorter chord length and changes the leading edge angle. With increased stability, the newer deep-keeled Valiants can carry more sail and are faster than older boats. The shoal draft models are a compromise. They don’t point as high as the 6-ft. keel, but they do permit the cruising sailor to venture into shallower waters. Unless shoal draft is critical for you, we’d stick with the normal keel.

ON DECK

The Valiant came with continuous Navtec rod rigging; the inner forestay and intermediates, however, are wire. Instead of using running backstays to counteract the load of the inner forestay, the standard Valiant rig incorporates fixed intermediate shrouds which lead just behind the aft lower shrouds. The intermediates give minimal fore and aft support to the mast and could cause unnecessary chafe on the mainsail downwind. Running backstays would solve this problem.

A Navtec hydraulic backstay adjuster is optional, but you might want it if you go for roller-furling on the headstay. The tapered mast is custom-welded by Spar Tech Inc. in Seattle, and then painted with Imron. Sail handling hardware is excellent, with Schaefer genoa and staysail tracks. Winches are Lewmar and adequately sized.

The halyard winches can be mounted on the mast or on the top of the cabin trunk at the front of the cockpit. Unfortunately, the staysail winches are located directly in the way of the cockpit dodger, preventing you from swinging the winch handle in a complete circle. Wheel steering is Edson with radial drive. The drive wheel is easily accessible from the cockpit locker. The emergency tiller arm is offset 90-degrees so you don’t have to remove the wheel to install the tiller, but there’s no comfortable place to sit when using it.

Because the cockpit lockers are huge, the hatches should be gasketed and fitted with latches that can apply pressure to the seal. Surprisingly, there is no molded breakwater for a cockpit dodger. This makes it almost impossible to get a watertight seal around the bottom of the dodger.

Hatches are Lewmar except for the main hatch, which is custom-made of fiberglass and Lexan. Two dorades and a mushroom vent provide extra ventilation below. While these help beat the heat in the tropics, we are prejudiced against cutting unnecessary holes in the deck.

BELOW DECK

One of the biggest advantages of a semi-custom boat without a molded hull liner is the ability to alter interior arrangements to meet an owner’s needs. Presently, the Valiant 40 has two standard layouts, but Worstell was willing to make any changes a buyer wants provided they didn’t interfere with the seaworthiness or integrity of the boat.

The original standard belowdecks arrangement has V-berths forward with an insert to form a double. There’s a divided chain locker in the bow and a PVC pipe can be led to a locker under the forward berth for anchor chain storage. Although we agree with keeping weight out of the bow, we’d worry about the anchor chain jamming in the PVC pipe.

Closed-cell foam, ½-in. thick, is used throughout the boat above the waterline for insulation. Aft of the forward berths to starboard are two cedar-Lined hanging lockers plus additional storage. The head is to port. The head door has a complicated levered door handle that, on the boat we inspected did not catch properly. We prefer very simple closing devices on all doors to avoid this type of problem. There is ample locker space in the head for towel and sundries. The oval-shaped stainless steel sink is moderately deep, but we’d opt for a manual foot pump as well as the standard hot and cold pressure water.

On the boat we inspected the shower and head, which occupied one space. As an option, owners could order molded fiberglass shower stall with built-in seat and removable teak grates. There’s no separate shower sump; shower water is pumped directly overboard.

In the main cabin there are settees port and starboard with a choice of shelves or a pilot berth above the settees. You could even opt for a special television shelf. The port berth has a pull-out option that make a narrow double (6 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 2 in.). There is a white Formica drop-leaf dinette table that measures 3 ft. 5 in. by 4 ft. 3 in. when fully extended.

To port, aft of the saloon is a well-laid-out U-shaped galley. A four-burner Regal propane stove with oven and broiler is standard, but a Force 10 could be installed as an option.

Propane is stored in a vent lazarette locker holding two 11-lb. tanks. We’d prefer two 20-lb. tanks for long distance cruising, and Valiant owners have added safe on-deck storage to accommodate additional tanks. There are four, cedar-lined, lock-in-type drawers for cutlery, and oodles of storage above the sink and stove for food stores, spices and dinnerware. However, we’d like to see the large port side locker divided into smaller cubicles to keep things in order offshore.

There are adequate double sinks (9-in. deep) located across from the icebox. Foam insulation in the box measures only 2-in. thick on the lid, and 3-in. on the inside. This might keep things cold in northern latitude but it won’t be as effective in the tropics.

A good-sized nav station, facing fore and aft lies to starboard opposite the galley. The chart table is large enough for any chart folded in half and allows adequate space for electronics, navigation instruments, sextant and books. There is also storage for charts under the nav table, as well as extra under the nav seat.

Just starboard of the companionway ladder are three vented storage lockers. One is a wet locker with canvas that unzips for ventilation. To port of companionway is a double stateroom—again with plenty of stowage under bunks and in lockers.

As an alternate arrangement, Valiant designed an interior which we think a cruising couple without children may prefer. As you come down companionway steps there’s a quarterberth to starboard, and a head to port. The layout in the main cabin is the same as the original interior layout. However, forward of the saloon on the port side is a good-sized double berth with hanging lockers and storage opposite. The forepeak then becomes a well-appointed storeroom for sails.

This layout is preferable offshore. First, the head is easily accessible from the cockpit—and aft where motion is less violent. Second, the off-watch can sleep snugly in the quarterberth, but still be in earshot of the person on deck, or within arm’s length of the nav station or galley. The double berth forward can be used for sleeping in harbor. Headroom everywhere is 6 ft. 2 in. Lighting is good throughout the boat, especially in the nav station and engine room.

The Valiant comes with two standard interiors: oiled teak or white Formica with teak trim. An interior of white Formica with teak trim is a practical combination that provides light and a feeling of space, but it may appear stark to those familiar with wood interior spaces. We’d at least opt for the white Formica with teak trim (varnished) in the head and galley.

The cabin sole is not a cheap veneer. It’s ½-in. teak with poplar strips mounted on ¾-in. ply. Again, we’d choose to have it varnished rather than just sealed, but some people find a varnished cabin sole too slippery.

CONCLUSIONS

The Valiant 40 is a true high-performance bluewater cruiser. It’s also a well-built boat. You’ll be hard pressed to find another builder who was more dedicated to his product than Rich Worstell. He took pride in building the Valiant and he wanted owners to be proud of it too.

There are a few things we don’t like about the Valiant. Most of them have nothing to do with seaworthiness. They’re purely aesthetic. For example, the cabin trunk is too boxy for some people’s tastes, and we’d like to see the boat built with oval instead of rectangular ports. The joinerwork is good, but no better than you’ll find on other boats in this price range. Basically, the Valiant is just not as flashy as more expensive semi-custom boats like the Alden 44. But the Valiant is an honest boat. It’s strong, it’s seakindly, and as Perry so aptly said, it’s “been everywhere, and done just about everything.”