Builder · Premium · Gordonville, Texas

Valiant

Texas heritage bluewater cruiser builder, 1973-founded. Robert Perry-designed cutter-rigged passagemakers.

Founded: 1973
Headquarters: Gordonville, Texas
Ownership: Private (Schoell family heritage)
Tier: Premium
Website: valiantyachts.com

Valiant is the heritage US bluewater cruiser builder, founded in 1973. The brand built Robert Perry-designed cutter-rigged passagemakers and became one of the heritage US bluewater cruiser brands. Production has paused multiple times across recent decades.

The brand argument is the Robert Perry hull design. Valiant 40 (the original platform) is widely considered one of the most-circumnavigated production sailboats in history. The cutter rig and the long-keel hull form are the brand signatures.

Lineup

Current platforms.

Valiant 40 / 42 / 50

Robert Perry-designed bluewater cruisers

Model breakdown

Each platform, what it does and where it falls short.

Valiant Valiant 40 / 42 / 50

The Valiant line uses Robert Perry-designed hulls with cutter rig and long-keel form. Yanmar diesel inboard, full cabin layout.

Things we like

· Robert Perry hull design is segment-defining for circumnavigation use
· Cutter rig gives flexibility in heavy weather

Things we don't

· Production has paused multiple times, build pipeline runs to-order with long lead times
· Full-keel form runs slower upwind than fin-keel cruisers

Buyer's guide

The Valiant story and what to know on the used market.

Origin and ownership

Valiant was founded in 1973 in Bellingham, Washington. Robert Perry designed the original Valiant 40, which became one of the most-circumnavigated production sailboats in history.

Production has changed hands multiple times across the 1980s and beyond. Current production runs to-order with hulls built in Texas.

Design philosophy

Valiant uses Robert Perry-designed cutter-rigged hull forms with long-keel architecture. Designed for circumnavigation and heavy-weather sea-keeping.

Yanmar diesel inboard is the standard rigging.

Used-market notes and known issues

Production-pause history means warranty support varies by build year. Verify at purchase.

Yanmar 4JH service intervals are 250 hours.

Cutter rig requires staysail-track maintenance and inner-forestay tuning.

Used market for heritage Valiant hulls is thin; clean hulls trade close to new pricing.

Resale

Valiant holds resale tightly in the heritage bluewater cruiser segment. Limited production volume supports the floor. Used hulls trade close to new on the secondary market.

Where Valiant fits

Buyers cross-shop Valiant against Hallberg-Rassy, Island Packet, and Hylas on the heritage bluewater cruiser segment. The argument is the Robert Perry hull design and the circumnavigation history.

FAQ

Frequently asked.

Why a Valiant for circumnavigation?: Robert Perry's hull design has documented circumnavigation history across hundreds of owner-completed voyages. The cutter rig, long-keel form, and full-cabin layout are all designed around the long-range bluewater use case.
Is Valiant still in production?: Hulls are built to order with long lead times under current ownership. Production has paused multiple times across recent decades. New-build availability varies year to year.
What's the maintenance cost on a Valiant 42?: Annual service on Yanmar 4JH inboard runs $1,500 to $2,500. Bottom paint $1,000 to $2,000. Sail service $1,200 to $2,200 (cutter rig has more sails). Storage $1,800 to $5,000. Insurance for a $300K hull runs $1,800 to $3,500.
Where are Valiants built?: Gordonville, Texas. Private facility with build-to-order production.

Compare

Categories Valiant fits.

Weekly

Get one honest boat review a week

One boat we ran, one guide worth reading, one model we'd shop next week. No press-release rewrites. Unsubscribe any time.