VanDutch 40 Specs, Price and Used Buying Guide

How VanDutch rewrote the day boat look

Before VanDutch, a luxury day boat usually meant chrome, curves and a lot of teak. The VanDutch 40 went the other way. A long, low hull, a flat foredeck sun pad, a dark gray or white hull with a narrow window line, and almost no deck hardware in sight. When the first boats arrived on the Riviera and in Miami around 2010, they looked like nothing else on the dock, and within a few years half the industry was copying the formula.

VanDutch was founded in 2008 in Heerenveen, in the Netherlands, by Henk Erenstein and Ruud Koekkoek, with commercial production starting in 2009. Despite the Dutch name, the boats were built under contract: S2 Yachts in Michigan held the manufacturing rights until Marquis Yachts in Pulaski, Wisconsin became sole builder in early 2014, and the 40.2 of 2019 was built in Fano, Italy and Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The naval architecture, exterior design and concept come from Mulder Design, the Dutch studio better known for fast motor yachts. US operations started in 2013 with an office in Fort Lauderdale, and by its tenth anniversary it had built 163 of the 40-footers, which Power and Motoryacht reported when the revised 40.2 arrived in late 2019.

The 40 has always been the heart of that range. It is large enough to run offshore with ten people, yet small enough that an owner can drive it, dock it and keep it without a captain.

The numbers behind the minimalism

The current builder lists the VanDutch 40 at 12.48 meters (40 feet 11 inches) overall with a beam of 3.42 meters (11 feet 1 inch), a draft of 0.90 meters (just under 3 feet) and a displacement of 10.6 tonnes, roughly 23,370 pounds. Tankage is 850 liters (224 gallons) of diesel and 170 liters (45 gallons) of fresh water.

The narrow beam is the key to the look and to the ride. At just over 11 feet wide, the 40 is slimmer than most 40-foot bowriders and express cruisers, which gives it a long, knife-like profile and a soft entry in a head sea. The trade-off is interior volume and initial stability at rest. With a crowd standing on one side at anchor, it leans more than a beamier boat.

CE certification is listed as category B for 10 people and category C for 16, so the boat is approved for offshore day runs in moderate conditions and for larger groups in sheltered water.

From Cummins and Yanmar inboards to Volvo D6 power

Power has changed more than the styling. The original 40 ran twin 480 hp Cummins or Yanmar diesels; Power and Motoryacht's 2014 profile listed a $695,000 base price, a 32-knot cruise and a 38-knot top speed. The 40.2 launched with Cummins 480s on hull number one, then switched to Volvo Penta: D6-380 DPI sterndrives, which leave room for a Seakeeper, or larger D6-440s, with which the magazine quoted a 36-knot cruise and 41 knots wide open. Cantiere del Pardo's current spec sheet lists D6-380 DPI sterndrives as standard and D6-440 DPI as the upgrade.

Sterndrives suit the current boat. They keep the engines aft and low, allow the shallow draft, and the Duoprop legs give good grip in a turn. Expect a top speed around 40 knots and a fast cruise in the low to mid 30s depending on engines, load and bottom condition. Neither the original builder nor the current one publishes a fuel curve, so ask any seller for real engine-hour and fuel logs rather than relying on brochure claims.

On sterndrive boats the real ownership issue is the drives. DPI legs need regular service, bellows replacement and attention to corrosion protection, especially on boats left in warm salt water. A leg rebuild is a five-figure bill, so service history on the drives is as important as engine hours.

Cockpit, sun pads and the small cabin below

The deck is built for lounging. A large sun pad covers the foredeck, the cockpit has U-shaped seating around a table, and a second sun pad sits over the engine room aft, leading to a swim platform. The helm is a simple, low console behind a short windshield, more like a sports car dashboard than a yacht bridge.

Below there is a small cabin with a double berth and an enclosed head. It is a day-boat cabin, fine for changing, a nap or an occasional night for two, but not a weekender for a family. Buyers who want to sleep aboard regularly should look at the Wajer 55 or a sport cruiser instead.

Shade is the other limitation. Many owners fit a stainless or carbon bimini, and a boat with a well-designed sun awning is noticeably easier to sell in Florida.

From the 2018 turmoil to Cantiere del Pardo

VanDutch's growth came with financial stress. Around 2016 to 2018 the company ran into serious trouble: the founders were sanctioned by the English High Court over a bridge loan, the brand's assets passed to the Americas distributor in 2017, and some buyers paid for boats that were never delivered. That period dented confidence in the brand for a few years.

The brand was bought by Cantiere del Pardo around 2021, the Italian builder of Pardo Yachts and Grand Soleil, which now builds the VanDutch line of 32, 40, 48, 56 and 75. For buyers this is good news. New boats come from an established yard with a dealer network, and the classic 40 lives on with updated engines and finishes.

For used buyers, the practical advice is to verify title carefully on any boat built or sold around 2017 to 2019, check that the hull identification number matches the builder's records, and confirm that no liens survived the restructuring.

What a VanDutch 40 costs per year

Excluding depreciation, plan on about $45,000 to $90,000 per year. The low end covers an owner-operator with a seasonal slip, insurance and routine engine and drive service. The high end reflects a Miami or Côte d'Azur berth, a part-time captain, full detailing and a heavy fuel season.

Insurance for a 40-knot boat of this value typically runs 1 to 1.5 percent of hull value. The gray painted hulls that define the look need careful protection, and paint repairs are more expensive than gelcoat. Many owners store the boat on a lift or in a covered rack to protect the finish.

Reading the used VanDutch market

Most used VanDutch 40s for sale in the US are original-generation boats from about 2010 to 2019, asking roughly $250,000 to $560,000 depending on year, hours and condition. Pardo-era boats are rarer and priced much higher, typically $700,000 to $900,000 for a recent example.

Because the design barely changed, an older boat with fresh paint, rebuilt drives and modern electronics delivers ninety percent of the experience of a new one at a third of the price. That makes a carefully surveyed 2014 to 2019 boat the value sweet spot, although an original boat on inboard diesels has different running gear from a current sterndrive boat.

Avoid boats with overdue drive service, original upholstery that has failed in the sun, or obviously faded paint unless the price reflects a refit. Respraying a 40-foot hull properly is a major cost.