Opinions on makes

[mickand]

Slowgoesit - "Depending on the "vintage" you are looking at, (I'm assuming 70's thru 90's) I think the current condition, and how the boat has been cared for over it's life to this point is far more important than the original build."

He nails it - you'll get a myriad of 'personal' opinions that will differ as to which boat was ever best.

On an aligned subject, I have 'carved' dragon doors and although the grain somewhat matches, the motifs are wood and must have made separately and then glued on. However, the carvings are quite impressive and presumably made back then with some basic tooling - no CNC's.

 

[ronobrien]

I was looking at several makes while conducting my search a few years back. I didn't look at any GB because of budget, although a surveyor friend was really pushing GB. I stumbled across a GB near me in my budget range. It was priced low because it needed quite a bit of work. I immediately saw the difference in quality (even in a diminished condition) above the other makes I had seen. (Albin, Ocean Alexander, Marine Trader)

 

[Nepidae]

Opinions

The boat you buy will be the best.

Our Albin 43 sundeck is my 1st choice and I started looking at GB. BUT, GB is a wet boat. They have a very narrow bow which doesn't push any water away so it comes over the bow.

The Albin has the best flared bow of the bunch you listed.

Also, Albin built in several items to make future additions easier.

When we went to add a windlass that she never had I found the wiring running from the wiring closet in the fwd head right to the anchor locker with extra length. Didn't have to run wires which saved money on the windlass install.

We have an electric stove, which I will replace with propane. I found when replacing our gally refrigerator, copper tube which when traced lead up to the bridge cowling where there ar 2 wells for tanks, built in.

She is a sturdy boat that handles well in all water and we cruise at 8mph burning less than 4g/h with our 135 Ford Lehman engines.

BTW, I looked for a Choy Lee but none were available during my search, I believe that the right boat finds you, IF you are looking and we certainly found the right boat.

Any specific questions you might have, PM me and we'll discuss.

 

[catalinajack]

Kind of surprised nobody put Defever on the list. When we were shopping, the Cheoy Lee 46 LRC was the gold standard for our requirements. Defever 44 OC was next followed by OA. Then came a grouping of MT, CHB, GB, Albin, and some others. We ended up with the Defever 44 about 3+ years ago and are happy with that, admitting that any choice is result of compromises.

A DeFever 44 is a dry boat. Rare is the day when water will come over the bow and, if stabilized, will be a comfortable ride when many others are not. Imhave seen videos posted complaining about a rough sea state when, seeing the video, I knew that our DeFever 44 would hardly notice. Gone now, but not forgotten. We loved that boat.