[4][6] The Nordic 40 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of single laminate fiberglass, with a balsa-cored deck and teak wood trim.
It has a masthead sloop rig with painted aluminum spars, a raked stem, a reverse transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin keel.
[1] The Norstar production version varies only in fitting a fold-down transom designed by Gary Nordvedt, to allow easier boarding.
The U-shaped galley is located on the port side, at the foot of the companionway steps and includes a three-burner propane-fired stove, an oven and a 9 cu ft (0.25 m3) icebox.
"[3] Cruising World reviewer Gordon Meigs wrote, "my surveyor commented, 'When these were built, nobody in the United States was building a better boat.
If one is looking for a still stylish, sprightly, and fully capable ocean cruiser, they needn't look much farther...."[4] Related development Similar sailboats