Z E P H Y R U S I I I

For Sale — A Classic California Yacht

1960 Kettenburg K-40 • Hull Number 11 of 40 • Newport Beach, California

OVERVIEW

Zephyrus III is one of only 40 Kettenburg K-40s ever built — a revered Southern California design

that defined West Coast offshore racing in the early 1960s. Built in 1960 at the legendary

Kettenburg Boat Works in San Diego, she is hull number 11 and has been lovingly owned, raced,

and restored with easily $250,000 in investment maintenance, restoration and service. Mahogany

planked on steam-bent oak frames with a lead keel, she remains a thoroughly capable Southern

California cruiser (and beer-can-racer!) in very good overall condition.

Her racing provenance is remarkable: under Dr. Robert J. McNeil, Zephyrus competed in the

1965 Transpac (2,225 nm, 2nd in class out of 15) and the 1965 Los Angeles to Mazatlán race

(4th out of 12). She carries this legacy with pride and with the structural integrity of a vessel that

has been continuously maintained and upgraded by dedicated owner-sailors for nearly 30 years.

VESSEL  SPECIFICATIONS

Year / Builder 1960 • Kettenburg Boat Works, San Diego

Class / Hull # Kettenburg K-40 • Hull #11 of 40

LOA 39′ 11″

LWL 27′ 4″

Beam 10′ 4″

Draft 5′ 4″

Displacement 14,250 lbs.

Ballast 5,000 lbs. lead keel

Sail Area 631 sq ft (100% foretriangle + main)

Construction Philippine mahogany planked on steam-bent oak

Rig Masthead sloop • Spruce spars

Engine Yanmar 3GM • 27 hp diesel (450 hours)

RESTORATION  HISTORY

Current owner Alan Peterson acquired Zephyrus III in May 1997 as a restoration project. The first

phase (1997–2004) was a thorough refit intended to return her to racing-ready condition. Key

work in that phase included:

• Full hull wooding from toe rail to keel

• Sister/replaced: a few dozen frames professionally replaced throughout the hull

• Reefing, caulking, and penetrating epoxy treatment of topsides

• Complete interior gutting and rebuilt mahogany salon floor

• All-new electrical system

• Yanmar 3GM 27 hp diesel engine (450 hours)

• Elliot Pattison sails

• New standing rigging; mast stripped and finished to 14 coats of varnish

• New Raymarine electronics

• LP topside paint

In 2014, Alan partnered with Tim Britt and launched a second restoration phase (2014–2016),

which included:

• Mast unstepped, re-wooded, treated with Smith’s Penetrating Epoxy, and refinished to 14

coats of varnish

• Complete re-rigging by Seatek Yachting, Wilmington

• Pro Furl roller-reefing system (2015)

• Removal of salon floor; new aluminum fuel tank fabricated and installed

• Additional frame replacement throughout hull

• New galley counter, new head, new window frames

• Interior repainted; new topside LP applied

• New Icom VHF; full boat cover and skirt

In July 2023, Zephyrus underwent a comprehensive yard period at South Coast Shipyards

(approximately $50,000 in work). From 2014 to 2026, the owners have invested an estimated

2,000 hours (and over $250,000 since original purchase by Alan Peterson in 1997) of skilled labor

in her care and restoration.

PROVENANCE — THE ZEPHYRUS LEGACY

The name Zephyrus — Greek god of the West Wind — carries deep meaning in Southern

California sailing. The original owner, Carl Amussen, had named two previous vessels Zephyrus;

this K-40 became the third in that lineage. Dr. Robert McNeil, who raced her in the 1965

Transpac and LA-Mazatlán, continued the legacy and his son, Bob McNeil Jr. continued the

legacy as well with Zephyrus IV (a Reichel/Pugh 75’ ULDB) and Zephyrus V (an 86-foot record-

setter that took line honors in the 2003 Pineapple Cup Montego Bay Race). This is a boat whose

name has graced the start lines of the world’s great ocean races.

ABOUT THE KETTENBURG K – 40

The K-40 was designed by Paul Kettenburg and introduced in 1959 as an enlarged, beamier

version of the acclaimed K-38. Intended to be sailed comfortably by two people while performing

at the front of the fleet offshore, 14 hulls sold in the first four months of production. Rated 28.3

under the CCA rule, K-40s consistently placed first, second, or third in every race they entered.

Only 40 were ever built, making each hull a rare piece of West Coast maritime history.

Offered For Sale — Located in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, California