Construction & Delivery

For 30 years Valiant Yachts has built serious offshore cruising yachts. The Bob Perry Design has become a standard by which all other cruising yachts are measured. Valiants hold the undisputed record for more single and short handed (2 person) circumnavigations than any other sailing boat *.

The original owners (Steve & Deborah Budde) chose the Valiant 42' for safety, comfort, strength, stability and performance. She is built to cross any ocean and they believed she was the best yacht for them, attempting a circumnavigation. This journey was planned to take 6 – 10 years.

Valiant builds semi-custom yachts to order, building 7 - 10 each year, offering the 42' and 50' design. ARGO was commissioned in March 2000 and was specified the right equipment for a circumnavigation. The hull was laid July 9, 2001, and they took delivery April 12, 2002. At that time, ARGO was the most fully equipped Valiant 42’ ever built.

* One of the requirements when Steve and Debbie were boat shopping was that Debbie needed to be able to handle the boat by herself. Steve said it's so he doesn't have to be woken up during the night to adjust sails, but Debbie says it's because she has to be self-sufficient in case Steve is sick or injured.)

Valiant Yachts are built in the unlikely place of Gordonville, Texas, on the Texas side of Lake Texoma. Living in Houston, a 5 1/2 hour drive put Steve and Debbie at the factory. So they made a visit about once a month during the 9-month building process. Below are hundreds of pictures fully documenting the building process, from the laying of the hull to the re-commissioning in Houston.

Valiant has a 1-piece solid fiberglass hull design that cannot be modified. They have three "standard" interior layouts that can be modified as much or as little as the owner wishes. Many "small" changes were made to the interior, and of course they had Valiant fully equip the boat for cruising. The numerous decisions included everything from sails to electronics to appliances to systems to upholstery! More involved than building a house!

The long waiting time to start on ARGO actually was a blessing in disguise, they quickly realized. The extra time allowed Steve and Debbie to attend two Annapolis Sailboat shows, the Pacific Sail Expo, the Miami Boat Show, visit the Valiant factory several times to view other Valiants in various stages of production, and to meet/email many other Valiant owners to get their feedback on their finished boats. It was helpful for them to hear the things that they were really glad they had done, and also the things they wish they would have done differently in retrospect. Because the Budde's had close to 2 years to extensively research everything, they were ultimately very pleased with all our decisions.