Diesel Duck Ellemaid

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Not really. George Buehler was always very clear in his beliefs that a boat was for its owner’s pleasure, and that most people never had more than an occasional guest. The 95% rule. That’s why you see his designs with two or sometimes only one stateroom even in the larger models.
 
dhays said:
While I like the looks of the boat and the utility that she offers, other than the PH (which is lovely), there is no view outside from the interior of the boat. This wouldn't be my choice for a boat in cooler, wetter weather for that reason.
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It would not be my choice in hot and humid weather for the same reason. It must be as dark as a sailboat in the living quarters!
 
I wonder what the cost would be to take it to Malaysia and have steelworkers/carpenters pop some nice big windows into the hull instead of those tiny little port lights?
 
I’m hearing all this “as dark as a sailboat “. Haven’t you folks been in any sailboats designed in the last 25 years?
We have blinds on all our port lights. Keeps the sun out and wife doesn’t scare the neighbors or folks as they dinghy by.
����
 
Real curious about steel boats. Nice to live in a faraday cage. Not worrying about that container that went missing off a ship sounds good as well. But unlike grp, Al, and composite I have no experience with Fe. Never been as common in the US as Europe so no real aftermarket. Anybody here owned one? Opinions?
 
Most DDs are designed to stray far offshore. The smaller portholes are harder to blow our than big picture windows most modern boats come with. Besides, most modern boats rarely see and real weather. Some of the DDs are actually based on chine hulled sailboats designer by Buehler. I bought and read every single book he has written since quarantine has been in effect. He makes not of this in at least two of his books. Buehler isn't a traditional boat designer or builder, but he over designs them to stand up offshore. If anyone is really interested in his books check them out. Good reading.


https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=as_li_...cdec28bfd001df6962481c524ec2f1&language=en_US
 
Yep, Ellemaid is not for most of us. It's long and relatively narrow. Living space is comparable to a 45ft trawler. Portholes are small compared to windows of many other designs. Ellemaid is however designed to cross oceans. Long and narrow hull contributes to fuel efficiency and long range. Small portholes are for safety. Butterfly hatches bring light and are, to my experience, very good for ventilation. Steel hull is less likely to damage and if damaged, can usually be repaired even in remote locations where you may find hard to do major GRP repairs. Deck design contributes to safety, since there is no cockpit to be filled with water and affect stability in very extreme conditions.

I agree that for most of tus this is far from the optimal boat. Expensive in marinas for the living space you'd get. Pretty slow going, with little speed reserve. Only 4 berths in a 70 footer is not much. Two masts are redundant for most and just bring more costs or work. But that said, I still like the design a lot. For a couple planning to cross oceans this might be an option with reasonable price and low fuel costs. Alternative to a sailboat.

My current boat is a 42ft ketch rigged long keeled motorsailer, with quite similar design. I don't find the lack of large windows in the hull a problem. Butterfly hatch brings light and is very effective for ventilation. Pilothouse has windows, as does Ellemaid's. No lack of light there. Pilothouse is actually the biggest difference to regular sailboats and I really like that I have one. Deck has lot's of flat empty space that some find unusable but I find it quite usable. Lot's of space for sack chairs etc.

The main purpose of my original post was to point out that the price is down to 245K usd for those who might be interested and haven't noticed.

https://www.dreamnautical.com/BOATS/BUEHLER-71
 
Wonder what it costs to ship a boat like that to the US?
 
cardude01 said:
Wonder what it costs to ship a boat like that to the US?
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I can't even guess what it would cost. But for a not very valid rough comparison I had a boat shipped from Scotland to Seattle for my employer in 2017. We used 7 Star. She is 72 ft LOA, 26 ft beam and 14 ft draft. Approx 200 Gross Tons. Cost to 7 Star alone was $325K. There were lots of other expenses due to 7 Star's delays and changing ports as well as Port delays.

Ellemaid is designed to cross oceans. Bring her home on her own bottom. Imagine the adventure!
 
The boat is designed to cross oceans, but sadly, my wife and I are not. [emoji30]

This boat would be so cool to live on at anchor in the Caribbean. So interesting to dinghy up to, because I think she looks pretty and ready for adventure.

But I’m just dreaming...
 
cardude01 said:
The boat is designed to cross oceans, but sadly, my wife and I are not. [emoji30]

This boat would be so cool to live on at anchor in the Caribbean. So interesting to dinghy up to, because I think she looks pretty and ready for adventure.

But I’m just dreaming...
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I with you man. I thought you would like this boat .
 
Even tho it’s very impractical at 71’ for docking, if it was in the states where I could go look I’d be tempted to buy it at that price.

My wife recently said she might want to buy a house on some pretty Bahamas-like water to live full time, but I’m terrified of hurricanes and don’t want a house in the hurricane zone. I’m trying (unsuccessfully so far) to talk her into getting a much bigger, more livable boat that we can live aboard on full time. That way we can enjoy the Bahamas (or wherever the water is pretty), then scoot out of the way when it’s hurricane season.

I’m not opposed to a decent sized sailing catamaran. They seem livable, although expensive. But man, the engine rooms are all pretty damn tight it appears.
 
There's a reason it's gone from a supposed new price over a million to $245k in a relatively short period of time. It's quite undesirable to most. I get claustrophobic just going through the pictures and video in nearly every room. I can't imagine crossing an ocean and being largely confined to that salon nor can I imagine even sleeping night after night in the master cabin which on most boats that size wouldn't even compare to the third cabin. Perhaps if you were 5' tall it might be tolerable but at my height or my wife's height, no way. Also, just because it carries the Buehler name doesn't mean we know the quality of build or how it performs. Buehler boats have been built in many different factories and while most have turned out well, some have had real issues. I notice draft is never mentioned anywhere for those thinking Bahamas.

Color me quite unimpressed.
 
I have always liked Buehler's designs and boat building philosophy. Ellemaid's strength would be long-range cruising. Perfect for a couple with occasional guests. Would be a good fit for the PNW winters too. Not much fun sitting outside in the rain/cold anyway. It would need diesel heat, though.

Shipping it as deck cargo on a freighter should not be prohibitively expensive. Lots of 60-70 foot boats are shipping as deck cargo from China.

DDs are quite seaworthy. A shorter lightweight aluminum DD completed a circumnavigation the wrong way around including going from Cape Town to Australia direct. The trip started out going up a Canadian river to the Arctic Ocean. Had to weld wheels on the hull to clear some low spots in the river including a couple of portages. Crazy Canadians!

https://northwestpassage2014.blogspot.com/2014/06/i-remember-mv-idlewild-2005nwp-on.html
 
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cardude01 said:
The boat is designed to cross oceans, but sadly, my wife and I are not. [emoji30]

This boat would be so cool to live on at anchor in the Caribbean. So interesting to dinghy up to, because I think she looks pretty and ready for adventure.

But I’m just dreaming...
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I hear ya. I have no desire to cross oceans either.
 
It’s all relative, but I don’t think the area below is that bad. After sleeping in racks with someone 3 ft above my head on ships and sport fishing boats I suppose I am jaded. I bet someone will eventually go for it. Looks like some tlc is needed based on the photos.

Mako, did you physically visit the boat?
 
Hippocampus said:
Real curious about steel boats. Nice to live in a faraday cage. Not worrying about that container that went missing off a ship sounds good as well. But unlike grp, Al, and composite I have no experience with Fe. Never been as common in the US as Europe so no real aftermarket. Anybody here owned one? Opinions?
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My last boat was a Philip Rhodes designed steel motorsailer.
A very good sailboat off-wind. 52 ft with a Perkins 85 HP with 2000 mi or so of fuel.
Anyone as meticulous as you seem to be would have no problem keeping up with the
maintenance requirements of a steel boat.
 
I'm with Fletcher...Its not supposed to be a Miami condo, its a passage-making boat...Draft would be a concern for those that want to gunkhole on east coast or Bahamas.. She looks like she is designed to take care of her crew at sea. I didn't see any engine rust but it looks like hot/burned exhaust manifold.
 
I think this is a perfectly designed boat for a lone wolf (or a couple) as opposed to someone who’s more comfortable as a herd member.

The owner probably won’t want to chat with people on the marina docks, or dinghy over to meet the neighbours in a crowded anchorage. I doubt you’ll find business cards aboard prominently showing the vessel and/or owners with contact information.

I doubt it has leather reclining sofas or enough room for a ping pong table in the saloon, but it’ll chew up the miles and pass multi level fly bridge models pounding and wallowing their way into bad weather.

I see some people cruising in our area who never get off their boats, while other people anchor up and head straight to shore to go exploring. This boat is for the latter group who want to see the worlds most remote places.

The whole design principle appears to be fast, safe passages and a reasonably comfortable place to come back to after exploring wild places ashore.
 
MurrayM said:
I think this is a perfectly designed boat for a lone wolf (or a couple) as opposed to someone who’s more comfortable as a herd member.

The owner probably won’t want to chat with people on the marina docks, or dinghy over to meet the neighbours in a crowded anchorage. I doubt you’ll find business cards aboard prominently showing the vessel and/or owners with contact information.

I doubt it has leather reclining sofas or enough room for a ping pong table in the saloon, but it’ll chew up the miles and pass multi level fly bridge models pounding and wallowing their way into bad weather.

I see some people cruising in our area who never get off their boats, while other people anchor up and head straight to shore to go exploring. This boat is for the latter group who want to see the worlds most remote places.

The whole design principle appears to be fast, safe passages and a reasonably comfortable place to come back to after exploring wild places ashore.
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It seems designed for another era: one where cruisers were welcomed ashore! For 2020/2021 it looks like a horrible place to be stuck self-quarantining and social distancing. As far as passagemaking goes, I’m an American and the countries where we are allowed in are getting fewer every week. What use is a passage maker when there is nowhere to go?
 
Woodland Hills said:
It seems designed for another era: one where cruisers were welcomed ashore! For 2020/2021 it looks like a horrible place to be stuck self-quarantining and social distancing. As far as passagemaking goes, I’m an American and the countries where we are allowed in are getting fewer every week. What use is a passage maker when there is nowhere to go?
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Well, best time to buy because the price is being forced down. You could entertain yourself going California > Hawaii > Alaska > Oregon > Hawaii > Alaska > Washington > Hawaii > etc. until the Covid thing runs itself out.
 
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We are told, sales are still strong.
Resale prices may plummet after this epidemic is over. Everyone trying to off load their sanctuary. The same may happen with middle to high priced RVs.
 
Cool video about a 1913 halibut schooner (the kind of vessel Ellemaid is fashioned after) that hasn't missed a season of fishing in over 100 years:

 
Another halibut schooner, even older:

 
What ever became of the Sehorse Marine vessel that was having shaft problems and well covered on TF? One theory was it was the longest shaft design used by the builder. Which then makes me curious as to an even longer shaft on a Buehler designed vessel.
 
MurrayM said:
Cool video about a 1913 halibut schooner (the kind of vessel Ellemaid is fashioned after) that hasn't missed a season of fishing in over 100 years:

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Thanks for those videos. I really enjoyed them.
 
BandB said:
There's a reason it's gone from a supposed new price over a million to $245k in a relatively short period of time. It's quite undesirable to most. I get claustrophobic just going through the pictures and video in nearly every room. I can't imagine crossing an ocean and being largely confined to that salon nor can I imagine even sleeping night after night in the master cabin which on most boats that size wouldn't even compare to the third cabin. Perhaps if you were 5' tall it might be tolerable but at my height or my wife's height, no way. Also, just because it carries the Buehler name doesn't mean we know the quality of build or how it performs. Buehler boats have been built in many different factories and while most have turned out well, some have had real issues. I notice draft is never mentioned anywhere for those thinking Bahamas.

Color me quite unimpressed.
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Draft is stated as 6' 0" in the YW specs.
 
slowgoesit said:
Draft is stated as 6' 0" in the YW specs.
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The draft on my N46 was about 5 1/2 feet before I loaded it up with lots and lots of stuff. We ran the AICW w/o a problem. We did run outside at night. Running outside at night is a fantastic experience. Getting away from the light pollution of the cities, I did not realize there were so many stars. I recommend everyone experience a night run on the outside.
The only time we bumped the bottom was taking a short cut across the spoil area to get to a cut, back into the ICW.
It was just a gentle bump. Sort of a reminder to be careful.
I did stick it in the mud while in the ICW. Again, a gentle “stick”. 2 minutes and I was unstuck.
 
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