Defever RPH...

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Interesting soft goods coloring!

$180K for a 40 year old boat, though with decent engine hours. It will be really interesting to see what she eventually goes for.
 
It's a beautiful ride, to be sure. Go for it! Don't want to look back and regret.
 
This would be our boat of choice for the next jump larger. With the FL 120's she will age gracefully. Will they deliver to the east coast ?
 
DeFever designed out screw down teak decks for a reason. Many of his teak decks were bonded in later years. It would be nice to know which affixing method this vessel has utilized. It looks like several different owners got a little sloppy with their ER wiring.

I was on a couple of years old DF 55 last week. This is the best thought out and finished vessel I have recently been on when comparing to KK, Fleming and Nordhavn of similar size.

I will offer though that a jump up to the Fleming 65 trumps all IMHO. Tony is alive and well and still cruising. His Ventures I and II have seen some water.
 
sunchaser said:
I was on a couple of years old DF 55 last week. This is the best thought out and finished vessel I have recently been on when comparing to KK, Fleming and Nordhavn of similar size.
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Could you give some examples of specific elements that lead you to conclude the DF is 'better' in terms of design and finish than those other makers in that size/market?
 
danderer said:
Could you give some examples of specific elements that lead you to conclude the DF is 'better' in terms of design and finish than those other makers in that size/market?
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Excellent query Danderer. As a noted Supreme Court Justice once said about defining pornography, "I'll know when I see it."

The same DF I mentioned won the People's Choice Award at a recent Trawler Fest according to literature the owner provided. Of course when comparing anything it is all subjective. But make up your mind, the vessel is available for charter through Northwest Explorations out of Bellingham.

A few things about the DF 55 that immediately stand out are systems layout, ER space, the right engines, robustness of hull and joinery, stateroom storage, foredeck usability, flybridge layout and dinghy storage. Also, the price point for the DeFever is generally less than the others I mentioned.
 
sunchaser said:
Excellent query Danderer. As a noted Supreme Court Justice once said about defining pornography, "I'll know when I see it."...
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Or, as a much less noted Judge once said:" It`s like a hippopotamus, hard to describe but if you ever see one, you`ll know what it is".
 
Toocoys;

Not braggin or anything, but here is a link to a video tour of our 49 Defever I did this past spring. We live on it full time.
 
Very nice Russell.
I have been on a couple of the 49 RPHs, and one thing I always wondered - why did Art add that door to the deck amidships? You have the aft door to the cockpit and the door from the pilothouse to get to that side. I wonder what he was thinking?

He removed that in his GA designs.
 
Got to take a trip from the Keys to Ft Myers on a friends 49RPH years back. I loved that boat. The only change I'd make would be to add booms and paravanes. I was shocked at the amount of roll a 4' beam sea caused when we rounded the point south of Marco!!! But the ride taking them on at any angle other than beam was impressive. All that mass is niiiice!
 
toocoys said:
Yeah. 2 to 2.5gph per engine.... I think anyway.
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On our 56,000# Defever 44, we got 1.7 mpg over the most recent 1,800 miles or so doing the Great Loop. Lehman 120's. That included generator time so maybe 1.8 mpg. Any assessment of fuel efficiency must factor in the weight that is being moved through the water. Less weight, less fuel although there is probably not a direct correlation/extrapolation.
 
Really a nice boat with a lot of nice features:

Galley same level as salon, and in a very workable area.
Walk around, for easy docking.
Large stateroom.
Nice cockpit, unlike a lot of DeFevers.
Minimal ladders (would be great if there were none) and the one down to the swim platform is a lousy design, just waiting for someone to fall off it.
Nice access from the pilot house.

Is that a cheap price? Dunno, but I wouldn't be interested in a boat that old regardless..just me. But a lot of boat.

And I would have thought it would have gotten better mileage, especially at 7 knots. Isn't this a full displacement hull?

But overall, a very nice boat.
 
Russell Clifton said:
Our boat has hydraulic stabilizers.
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If you don't turn them on, will they act like bilge keels and temper rolling at anchor/underway? Just curious if they have enough surface area to have any effect if inop.
I was impressed when I saw how much boat was below the waterline when it was on the hard! They are incredibly well built and pack a lot of weight in that footprint. IIRC he said it burned roughly 6 gph on that trip. It was a "heavy" boat though as it was a full-time live-aboard and had been a dock queen for about 10 years before he took advantage of the crash and bought a house. He is a Dr and had several tons of books and files onboard in addition to all his tools/spares, and life's "junk". Plus when we started out every tank except the holding tank was topped up full. I don't recall the figure but he did say he'd raised the bootstripe and bottom paint years before.
 
DeFevers, as with all recreational M/Vs, yield nmpg numbers reflective of the hand on the throttle. They are not a slippery boat like a Krogen.

But as has been said many times, the price of fuel is not relevant in the big picture for all. If it is, stay at that dock and do short trips.

Speaking of costs, just got the bill for boat waxing. Stripping the cap rail varnish and putting on 8 new coats comes next. Fuel is cheap in comparison. The boat looks great and has full tanks for the next long trip. Trips, safely, reliably and comfortably. That is what heavily built DeFevers do very well.
 
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catalinajack said:
On our 56,000# Defever 44, we got 1.7 mpg over the most recent 1,800 miles or so doing the Great Loop. Lehman 120's. That included generator time so maybe 1.8 mpg. Any assessment of fuel efficiency must factor in the weight that is being moved through the water. Less weight, less fuel although there is probably not a direct correlation/extrapolation.
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Right.

But when you think of trawlers you (or at least I do) think of fuel efficiency. But then you break it down, and its really not all that more efficient than the planing hull mainship that I'm living on with 454's. I also get about 1-1.5mpg but I get there twice as fast.

It's really just an observation because I've been hung up on diesel vs gas vs fuel costs for so long.
 
I`ve often wondered if Lehman 120s in DF44 and above, is a big ask. I think I saw then fitted to an early 80s 48 advertised here,which I recall looked more like a 10yo boat than a 35yo one.
Would they be working hard, maybe harder than is economic or good for them? We`ve twin L120s, they don`t work hard in 36ft,so maybe fine in 44ft+.

Using unreliable memory, I think Sunchaser`s DF48 has Perkins Sabre engines, unsure about hp.
 
BruceK said:
I`ve often wondered if Lehman 120s in DF44 and above, is a big ask. .
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Not even a little bit of strain on those engines at hull speeds. a single would do it easily. In fact the Defever 41 came as a single! Twins are installed for handling, redundancy, and weight! Unlike the current crop, the older "semi-planing hull" trawler powerplants were designed to go slow and easy, thriftily, and for a lifetime.

That is why these engines will last for 10s of thousands of hours with a minimum of maintenance.

Played with a propulsion calculator once and IIRC my 1984 34 Mainship MkIII with full keel and semi-planing hull required less than 40hp to achieve hull speeds! Yet it came with an intercooled aftercooled 200HP turbocharged lump of Perkins last-forever commercial grade overkill. But she could lift up her skirt and scoot along at 13-14 kts. but......we spent 99.9% of our time at 7-9 kts and our feet kicked up on the console steering with our toes watching the world slide along.
 
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BillC said:
If you have to pay payments on it, you can't afford it. Pass on it and enjoy what you have!

BB
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You are an troll, MR. Post Number 1.

At current interest rates many would be idiots NOT to have a loan!
 
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