Questions from a buyer

[Keith York]

Hi all - I'm sadly having to sell my P40.  I simply can't afford to keep it.  I have a potential buyer who's asked a couple questions I can't answer.  Maybe you with much more intimate knowledge of the history of the company and boat can.  1st is, he's asked if my boat is a Mk1 or Mk2 Passport 40.  I've never seen reference to that designation.  Anyone else?   #2 - He's asking me to confirm that the boat was built in the King Dragon yard in  Taiwan.  I guess I"m a bad owner 'cause I don't know what yard it was built in.  :-)  I searched all my documentation AND the boat itself a few months ago for any indication and I can't find it.  I'm now in Rangiroa in French Polynesia on someone elses boat so I can't search it.  

Thanks for your help.  

PS - I'm on a catamaran.  Don't hate me.  But I sure miss my Passport. 

[Peter Longe]

Hi Keith,

I am a P51 owner so I can't help on the P40 Mk1 or MK2 question.

But your question #2 got me thinking and I realized I don't know where my

P51 was built either. I know it was built in Taiwan but I didn't realise Passport 

had two shipyards they were using: King Dragon and Hai Yang.

It have read that King Dragon was the primary shipyard and Hai Yang the secondary one.

Anyway, after some research I found that my serial number which starts with PYK

stands for Passport Yacahts King Dragon.

So I guess your answer is in your hull serial number.

Cheers

Pete

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[psherwood]

I don't think the Mark I and Mark II designations are meaningful, at least as applied to your (Keith's, formerly my) boat, built in 1987. At least, I never heard them applied in discussions among Passport owners and other cruisers. The main distinctions or variations were: head forward + Pullman berth, or V-berth?  Starboard-facing chart table or aft-facing (there might even be a forward-facing variation)? Cutter rig (yes, some people added inner forestays, against Bob Perry's advice) or sloop rig ? Perkins, Beta, or Yanmar diesel? There were some variations in the exact configuration of the main cabin table and port settee, but I don't remember the details. Buyers could have other customizations as well, such as the cabinet doors or exact configuration of cabinets and drawers under the Pullman berth. For example, your (my former) boat has rattan panels in the cabinet doors; just about every other Passport I was ever aboard has teak slats. And of course there are a zillion variations in the equipment installed.

Yes, your (my former) boat was built at King Dragon. The hull number, PYK401290387, decodes to: 

PYK = Passport Yachts, King Dragon shipyard (Taiwan)
40 = Length overall (rounded up; length on deck is really 39’ 5”) 
129 = 129th hull manufactured
0387 = manufacture date of March 1987

HTH; cheers,

Phil
ex Cynosure

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[Keith York]

Thanks all. Phil. Good to hear from you

Get Outlook for Android

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From: psherwood <p...@witanco.com>
Sent: Saturday, 20 June 2026 19:53:02
To: Keith York <keith...@gmail.com>; Passport Owners <passpor...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [Passport] Questions from a buyer

 

[jillm...@gmail.com]

I think selling your passport to this guy breaks the don’t sell to jerks rule.

On Jun 21, 2026, at 3:16 AM, Keith York <keith...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Jeremy Dinsel]

This is really fascinating. I had never thought to try to decode the hull ID before today. I'm grateful for the information (especially because we have a PYK identified vessel)!

Btw, I don't think there's any evidence to the character of this potential buyer. The questions may sound odd, but maybe he's got a reason to want to know the history. Anyhow, send him our way and we'll help him/them out however we can, just like we do with all other Passport owners. 

Jeremy

S/V Whale Shadow

Passport '40, built at King Dragon Shipyard (so cool to discover that detail, thanks Phil!)

[Kelley Happ]

We had a Passport 40 - sold a few years ago.  Great boat!!  According to an article I read in an old Cruising World, between 1988 and 1990, 148 Passports 40s came out of the King Dragon yard in Taiwan.  Ours was hull # 35.  

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[Kenyon Stewart]

I'm not sure why this buyer thinks there would be a big difference between the yards, but probably because of some writeup by a broker attributing superior quality and craftsmanship to boats built there like this.  You can tell the broker is very knowledgeable since they categorized the boat as a Daysailor...

If you read Bob's book, it painted the picture that things were pretty fluid between these yards which neighbored each other.  Having said that, I believe all of the original series of boats built by Wendel (42, 51, 40, 47, 37) were built by King Dragon.  The person to contact to confirm this would be Thom Wagner.  I'm guessing that it was under his ownership that they moved to another yard in Taiwan, and then more recently to China.  My question would be, are there any "Royal Passport" boats that were still built by King Dragon, or was production moved at that point.

I would agree that if this buyer is fixated on this issue, it likely doesn't bode well for the rest of the process. Who knows, maybe once you confirm this, he will assume everything is grand and won't even want a survey!  I guess an interested buyer is an interested buyer at this point in time.

Kenyon

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