Kanter 42
Description
The Kanter 42 is a Canadian aluminum bluewater cruising sailboat designed by Dieter Empacher (a respected naval architect based in Marblehead, Massachusetts, known for offshore-oriented designs) and built by Kanter Yachts in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, starting in 1990. Kanter specialized in custom/semi-custom welded aluminum yachts for durability, low maintenance, impact resistance, and excellent seakeeping—ideal for extended voyaging or liveaboard use in harsh conditions (e.g., high-latitude or ocean passages). The Kanter 42 features a cutter rig for versatile heavy-weather sail handling (with staysail/jib options), a keel/centerboard configuration for shallow draft versatility while maintaining deep performance when boards are down, a center cockpit for protection, and spacious, practical accommodations suited to long-distance cruising (good headroom, storage, and layout for couples or small crews). It emphasizes moderate displacement for stability and load-carrying without excessive weight, with strong tracking and reassuring motion in waves. Production was limited (custom/small-batch; likely a handful of hulls built in the early 1990s as part of Kanter's 42–53 ft series, not mass-produced), making surviving examples rare and valued as capable aluminum classics—occasionally listed or refitted for modern use.
Construction Details
| Designer | Dieter Empacher |
|---|---|
| Builder | Kanter Yachts (Canada) |
| Length | 42.000 ft |
| LOA | 42.160 ft |
| LWL | 34.160 ft |
| Beam | 12.920 ft |
| Displacement | 25200 lb |
| Max Draft | 9.500 ft |
| Min Draft | 4.500 ft |
| Year Built | 1990 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 51 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 17.80 ft |
| p | 47 ft |
| e | 14.50 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 51 ft | 17.80 ft | 47 ft | 14.50 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Kanter 42 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 47 ft - (14326 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.5 ft - (4420 mm) |
| Leech | * 48.55 ft - (14798 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 48.7 ft - (14844 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | 340.4 ft² |
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Kanter 42 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 43.21 ft - (13170 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 23.94 ft - (7297 mm) |
| Leech | * 36.98 ft - (11272 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 20.47 ft - (6239 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | 442.27 ft² |
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Kanter 42 - GENOA
| Luff | * 51.32 ft - (15642 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 29.06 ft - (8857 mm) |
| Leech | * 47.97 ft - (14621 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 26.7 ft - (8138 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | 685.16 ft² |
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Kanter 42 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 51.32 ft - (15642 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 32.04 ft - (9766 mm) |
| Foot | * 32.04 ft - (9766 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | 1397.65 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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