Fresh from the hard with new bottom paint and serviced saildrives, this Fort Lauderdale cat is set up for East Coast and Bahamas cruising.
Mark Wattrus of Catamaran Brokerage walks us through S/V Arboventure, a 2018 Leopard 40 in owner’s version layout, currently lying at his docks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Privately owned for the past several years and cruised up and down the East Coast and the Bahamas, she has just been splashed after a week on the hard.
Recently hauled and serviced
That yard period covered a bottom job with new bottom paint, saildrive servicing with new oil and new saildrive seals, plus assorted smaller jobs to tidy up the underbody. The hull was also surveyed during the haul-out and, per Wattrus, checked out well — a copy is available on request. It’s the kind of pre-sale housekeeping that saves a buyer a first-month scramble.
Living aft, and forward
The tour begins at the stainless swim ladder and mechanical space underfoot before opening into what Wattrus calls his favorite part of the boat: the Leopard cockpit. A hatch above the dining table pulls air through the space, Isenglass enclosures on both sides add shelter, and a drop-down shade net closes off the aft end. The signature Leopard electric davit — operated from a switch on the cockpit roof — lowers a Highfield aluminum tender powered by a 20 hp electric-start Honda four-stroke. A barbecue, good-condition cushions and a bench seat round out the space.
At the helm station you’ll find an Isenglass enclosure, fuel gauges and throttles, a Raymarine electronics package, Fusion audio control and a VHF to port. The Yanmar engines showed roughly 2,400 hours at filming and started first time. Sail handling is led aft to the helmsman across two winches plus an electric winch for the main, with a foot switch.
Forward, wide side decks and stainless grab handles lead past two walk-on solar panels — enough, Wattrus notes, to keep the batteries topped up with no significant loads — and up to the coach roof for the stack pack. The trampoline is in good condition, the genoa furls, and the forward cockpit with its own cushions and brow is reachable through the door in the saloon bulkhead. Under the forward cockpit sole sit the generator, storage, and access to the bridle and remote-operated electric anchor windlass.
Saloon, galley and cabins
Inside, a large dining table doubles as a work surface beside an L-shaped settee that drops to form a berth (its mattress stows in the port aft cabin). A nav station with ottoman seat faces forward with its own opening window and 110V and 12V outlets. The galley includes a new Force 10 farmhouse-style sink, propane oven and three-burner stovetop, a draining dish rack plumbed overboard, deep provisioning storage underfoot, and an outboard fridge-freezer.
The starboard hull is given over to the owner: desk with storage, pull-out drawers, hanging lockers, a large bunk with drawers beneath, a private sliding door, air conditioning, and a big head with electric flush, separate shower and a Splendide washing machine forward. To port, a queen guest berth aft and a second guest cabin forward share an electric head and separate shower, with a forepeak that suits a child’s berth or extra stowage.
Market snapshot
| Leopard 40 sold (24 mo.) | 17 |
|---|---|
| Median sold price | $337,000 |
| Median days to sell | ~77 |
| Active listings | 4 |
| Asking range | $299,000–$339,500 |