I'm 60, nearing retirement and my wife and I would like to start a new chapter of exploration, adventure and learning. I've been around water my whole life, have sailed off and on, and owned a Nordic Tug for about 8 years. My boating experience has mostly been on the U.S. west coast. I want to buy a long distance trawler and live aboard for 5 to 10 years. Although I'm open to suggestions, I've narrowed it down to Nordhavn or KK. I'm interested in your view on either or both. I'm especially interested in people who have cruised on either or both and can compare. I'm looking at the N43, 46, 47 or 50, and the KK 48 North Sea or Whaleback. Front runners are the N47 and the KK 48NS.
I'm very interested in the seakeeping abilities of both. How they handle the open water in different sea states. The Nordhavns are built beefier and heavier, but the hull shape of the KKs seem more efficient and could maybe handle a following sea better. Nordhavns certainly have more of a reputation for ocean crossings (which we might do), and KKs seem much more popular on the U.S. East Coast.
I'm sure all of the boats I mentioned can get the job done. I'm just looking to optimize my choice. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience, thoughts and opinions.
Spoiler alert, I own a Krogen 52. My boat search started out with Nordhavn as the front runner but I ended up with the Krogen. Lots of prior comments here by both N and K supporters and I can’t find fault with any of them, even those favoring the N.
We ended up with the Krogen for a number of reasons, some of which a west coast boater might not care about. Our Krogen 52 draws less than 5’ ( twin engine version, as most are) and has an air draft less than 15’ with the mast down. All this nice for the Bahamas and the canal bridges. But in the end, we found the K52 a more comfortable boat for full time live aboard.
Some of the responders talk about ocean crossing, but you don’t mention that as a goal in your OP. Both K and N are fully capable, and have done so, but in the used market you will likely find more N’s ready to do that. As prior commenters have stated, N markets this capability more than K, so more N’ s are fitted out from the factory with the requisite options. Neither boat, at base price, has the redundancy needed for ocean crossings.
Trawler shoppers often talk about long distance cruising as a goal, but may not have refined that goal. There is a huge difference between a boat properly fitted out for a 10-20 day open ocean crossing versus a 5 day coastal passage. The level of systems redundancy required for a boat that will be 150 miles offshore, max, and a boat 500 miles off shore, is significant.
Never drove a N. I can tell you that our K handles following seas nicely. We left Turks and Caicos earlier this year with following seas at 6’ to 8’ with an occasional 10’ and the boat handled well. We were comfortable and the autopilot didn’t struggle. I would look closely at the stern sections of some of the N hulls.
Driving an N or a K, you will do your best to avoid significant head seas, so the issue is, how much can you take from the stern and still enjoy it.
Both companies have great aftermarket support and both owner groups are active and enthusiastic. BTW, the late model K48s have much improved ER ingress.
You will not get the opportunity to test drive both boats in severe conditions, which are the only ones that matter, so find an unbiased delivery captain that has driven both and ask him. Many of these guys get hired by either K or N regularly, so maybe hard to find candid info.
Then get on as many boats as you can. K’s and N’s are all semi custom so don’t make generalizations. Our 52 looks quite different inside from the one delivered a month prior.
Finally, set aside the marketing hype, and assess for yourself whether the boat will be able meet your objectives. Remember that no matter how much time you spend on the boat, or how many miles you travel per year, most of your time will be at rest, either at anchor or in a marina. And you want to be comfortable. How easy is it to get from point A to point B on the boat? How many times will you need to negotiate a particular set of stairs, and how many steps are involved? ( I am old so these things matter)
When you are running, think about what it takes to make an engine check. Every hour? N50, not so bad, but I wouldn’t want to be doing that so often on an N55. Some K’s are less ergonomically well set up as well.
The good news is, between the N and the K, you are already in the sweet spot, so I expect you will be happy with either.
Best of luck to you
