Sea Wolf 40 (Hardin Sea Wolf, Seawolf 41)
Status: conflicting
William Garden's traditional ketch, which Hardin commissioned in Japan, took to Taiwan and built in both wood and fibreglass. Hardin took the moulds with him when he left Ta Chiao, and he was still building Sea Wolfs at Kaohsiung in the late 1970s. It was one of the most copied designs in Taiwan. Direct copies: Sea Tiger 41, Yankee Clipper 41, Atlantic Clipper 41, Clipper 41. Derived boats from other moulds: Island Trader 41, Transworld 41, Formosa 41. The CT 41 is related but different. Listings use 'Sea Wolf', 'Seawolf', '40' and '41' interchangeably.
- years
- Wooden originals late 1950s in Japan [SBD-SW40, GOB-JP]; production from 1966 [SBD-SW40, SG-SW40]; about 1970-1982 [LST-SPORT]; 1977-78 Kaohsiung-built boats documented [SC-SW]
- number built
- Unknown; many copies were built by other yards under other names [SBD-SW40, CW]
- rig
- Masthead ketch [SBD-SW40, SG-SW40]
- loa
- 40.90 ft / 12.47 m [SBD-SW40]; 40'10" [SG-SW40]; marketed as 40 or 41 ft. LOD 40.0 ft [GOB-SW]
- lwl
- 32.00 ft / 9.75 m [SBD-SW40, GOB-SW]; 31'11" [SG-SW40]
- beam
- 12.16 ft / 3.71 m [SBD-SW40]; 12'2" [SG-SW40]
- draft
- 6.16 ft / 1.88 m [SBD-SW40, GOB-SW]; 6'2" [SG-SW40]
- displacement
- 28,000 lb / 12,701 kg [SBD-SW40, SG-SW40, GOB-SW]
- ballast
- 9,500 lb / 4,309 kg [SBD-SW40, SG-SW40, GOB-SW]
- sail area
- 840 sq ft reported [SBD-SW40, SG-SW40]; I 48 / J 16.08 / P 42 / E 17 / mizzen P 28 / E 12.33 ft [GOB-SW]
- fuel
- 100 US gal / 379 L [SBD-SW40]
- water
- 140 US gal / 530 L [SBD-SW40]
- engine
- Perkins diesel [SBD-SW40]; Perkins 4-108 on a 1977 boat [SC-SW]
- designer
- William Garden, production supervised by Bill Hardin [SBD-SW40 'William Garden/W. Hardin', CW, GOB-SW]
- builder
- Okamoto Shipyard, Japan (wooden originals) [SBD-SW40, GOB-JP]; Ta Chiao (CT) [CW, SG-SW40]; Formosa Boat Building Co. (Chen family) [SBD-SW40]; Hardin International / Hardin Yachts, Kaohsiung [SBD-SW40, SC-SW]; Pacific Far East [SBD-SW40]
Sources
- CW
- W. A. Campbell III (President, Hardin importer from 1977), "Brief History of Hardin International Co., Ltd.", on CaptainWiki page "BoatType/Hardin". Wayback copy of 2013-04-15: http://web.archive.org/web/20130415003254/http://captainwiki.com:80/index.php?title=Hardin
- SBD-SW40
- sailboatdata.com "SEA WOLF 40" (history note credits Steve Van Ronk). Wayback 2025-04-27: http://web.archive.org/web/20250427092028/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/sea-wolf-40/
- SBD-F41
- sailboatdata.com "FORMOSA 41". Wayback 2025-04-25: http://web.archive.org/web/20250425173505/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/formosa-41/
- SG-SW40
- sailboat.guide "Sea Wolf 40". Wayback 2022-10-07: http://web.archive.org/web/20221007101316/https://sailboat.guide/sea-wolf-40
- GOB-SW
- Good Old Boat Saildata, "Hardin Sea Wolf 40": https://goodoldboat.com/saildata/boat/sea-wolf-40/ (live)
- GOB-JP
- Michael Robertson, "Made in Japan", Good Old Boat (web post dated 2026-05-26; republished magazine feature): https://goodoldboat.com/made-in-japan/
- FEY
- "Far East Yachts – History", marineryachts.com (Mariner owners' site; based on correspondence with Clair Oberly and Takao Sato): https://www.marineryachts.com/fey/History.htm
- SC-SW
- Sailboat-Cruising.com, "'Spellbound', a Hardin Seawolf 40" (owner's sale page, 1977 boat): https://www.sailboat-cruising.com/hardin-seawolf.html
Sources: SBD-SW40; SG-SW40; GOB-SW; CW; GOB-JP; FEY; SBD-F41; SC-SW; LST-SPORT (search snippet)