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Hull Gauge
Recomputed 5 Nov 2026, 03:30 UTC

Hunter Passage 42vsIsland Packet 38

Hunter against Island Packet · used asking prices, listed in the US

At the same age, the Island Packet 38 asks 41% more than the Hunter Passage 42; on the headline Gauge Values it asks 14% more, which mixes ages: its boats are older (median build year 1989 against 1993). The Hunter Passage 42 holds its value better (2.7% a year of age, against 5.6%).

same age · 3 shared build years · 11 and 10 boats in them · Indicative · in today’s prices · asking, not sold

02

Year by year

Each build year's Gauge Estimate, for the 3 years both have boats in. Pooled across those years (11 and 10 boats), the Island Packet 38 asks 41% more than the Hunter Passage 42.

Hunter Passage 42Year builtIsland Packet 38
£69,000 (17)
1993+32%
£91,000 (11)
£65,000 (12)
1991+34%
£87,000 (19)
£64,000 (11)
1990+28%
Gauge Estimate by year built · comparable boats in brackets, built within three years either side · — below eight comparable boats; a year where neither has eight is left out · the gap is the right-hand model against the left
03

What your budget buys

£30k£85k£137.5k
Hunter Passage 42
1996
newest build year whose Gauge Estimate is at or under £75,000 (£74,500, 14 comparable boats)
3
of the 4 boats listed now ask £75,000 or less
Island Packet 38
1987
newest build year whose Gauge Estimate is at or under £75,000 (£72,000, 21 comparable boats)
0
of the 4 boats listed now ask £75,000 or less

At £75,000 your money buys 9 years newer in the Hunter Passage 42: a 1996 against a 1987.

04

A year of ownership

Each at its Gauge Value, on a South Coast marina berth, 44 engine hours a year (the median of 103 UK-listed sailing boats that report hours). An estimate in pounds from published rates, not a quote.

Hunter Passage 42MeasureIsland Packet 38
£1,850
Depreciation (not in total)
£4,400
£6,900
Berth
£5,750
£5,200
Maintenance
£5,900
£600
Lift-out and antifoul
£550
£700
Insurance
£800
£700
Fuel
£500
£14,100
Total a year, before depreciation
£13,500

Each line is the middle of the cited range, to the nearest fifty pounds. Depreciation is a year of age on each model's published curve, at its Gauge Value, and stays out of the totals.

The totals differ by less than the two berth bands do, so neither is marked cheaper to keep.

Sources: Lake Yard price list 2026 · BerthFinder · Boatsetter · Velos Insurance; Admiral Yacht Insurance · Boating Magazine, "Calculating Boat Fuel Consumption" · Littlehampton Marina fuel prices

05

Specification

Hunter Passage 42MeasureIsland Packet 38
1991–1997from listings
Years built
1986–1993
12.95 m
Length overall
11.73 m
Sail
Type
Sail
usually Yanmar 62 hpfrom listings
Engine (as listed)
—
“from listings” marks figures read from the listings themselves; unmarked figures are from our model register and not yet checked against a builder’s published source.
06

Questions

Which is cheaper, the Hunter Passage 42 or the Island Packet 38?

At the same age the Hunter Passage 42 is cheaper: the Island Packet 38 asks 41% more than the Hunter Passage 42 across 3 shared build years. Their Gauge Values, the median asking prices of all the boats we observed whatever their age, are £69,000 and £78,500.

Which holds its value better?

The Hunter Passage 42: it loses about 2.7% of its asking price a year of age, against 5.6% for the Island Packet 38. Both rates come from each model's published depreciation curve.

Which spends less time on the market?

Boats of the Hunter Passage 42 had been listed a median of 36 days when we last saw them, against 148 days for the Island Packet 38. That is time listed so far, not time to sell, which we don't measure yet. 0% of the Hunter Passage 42 boats we saw 14 or more days apart cut their asking price, against 17% of the Island Packet 38 boats.

How do you compare them like for like?

We compare boats of the same build year. For each of the 3 years both models have boats in, we take the ratio of their median asking prices in today's prices, then pool the years, giving more weight to years with more boats on both sides. The figure is Indicative because the thinner side has 10 boats in those years. The Gauge Values compare the whole fleets instead, so they mix boats of different ages.

Other comparisons

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