Tacomasailor
Veteran Member
There is a stablized 2001 RPH 49 in San Pedro, CA that looks nice with a pair of Perkins 225 HP motors (2,935 hours). The price seems fair but it has been on the market for many months and I am wondering why?
The boat seems to be well cared for and updated with everything we want except a watermaker. Why hasn't the boat sold?
Is there something about an RPH 49 of that era I should be worried about?
I know a lot more about the Ford Lehman 120s than I do the turbocharged Perkins. I read a lot that seems to say the Perkins are reliable engines but only know about the smaller ones I work on in so many sailboats.
Please offer your experienced advice on this particular boat and it's equipment.
Let me introduce my wife and I:
We have been sailors since about 1972 and have been living aboard our 40' sailboat off and on for the last 15-years. We've done a fair amount of cruising, from the North end of Vancouver Island to Zihuatenjeo in SW Mexico including three summers in the Sea of Cortez and four trips from Seattle to San Diego.
We knew Beth and Larry Holley on MV Reason, a RPH 49 in La Paz and came to love and lust over their beautiful boat in 2002 - 2003. After several Baja Bashes in sailboats I had the pleasure of making that 950 NM trip from La Paz to San Diego in a Lien Hwa 53, MV Well Deserved, with Tom Hawkes. The vast improvement in comfort and ease of life between a heavy trawler and even a 45' sailboat was astounding.
Bad Knees, Iffy Heart, Rebuilt shoulders for either my wife or I are leading us to a nice comfy trawler and the RPH 49 is our number 1, and almost only boat of interest.
We are still active and plan to cruise to the Sea of Cortez again for a few years (our third trip down there). When not in Mexico we will be living aboard full time in San Diego. We will also cruise northward to Monterrey and the SF Bay area.
The alternative boat we are seriously considering is a 1991 Flemming 55 but I am worried about those 3208 TAs with 4,200 hours on them.
The cost of fuel is not of much concern to us as we'll only be doing 1,200 NM a year at most. But, the moorage cost at our current marina is $500 more for the Flemming than the Defever.
The boat seems to be well cared for and updated with everything we want except a watermaker. Why hasn't the boat sold?
Is there something about an RPH 49 of that era I should be worried about?
I know a lot more about the Ford Lehman 120s than I do the turbocharged Perkins. I read a lot that seems to say the Perkins are reliable engines but only know about the smaller ones I work on in so many sailboats.
Please offer your experienced advice on this particular boat and it's equipment.
Let me introduce my wife and I:
We have been sailors since about 1972 and have been living aboard our 40' sailboat off and on for the last 15-years. We've done a fair amount of cruising, from the North end of Vancouver Island to Zihuatenjeo in SW Mexico including three summers in the Sea of Cortez and four trips from Seattle to San Diego.
We knew Beth and Larry Holley on MV Reason, a RPH 49 in La Paz and came to love and lust over their beautiful boat in 2002 - 2003. After several Baja Bashes in sailboats I had the pleasure of making that 950 NM trip from La Paz to San Diego in a Lien Hwa 53, MV Well Deserved, with Tom Hawkes. The vast improvement in comfort and ease of life between a heavy trawler and even a 45' sailboat was astounding.
Bad Knees, Iffy Heart, Rebuilt shoulders for either my wife or I are leading us to a nice comfy trawler and the RPH 49 is our number 1, and almost only boat of interest.
We are still active and plan to cruise to the Sea of Cortez again for a few years (our third trip down there). When not in Mexico we will be living aboard full time in San Diego. We will also cruise northward to Monterrey and the SF Bay area.
The alternative boat we are seriously considering is a 1991 Flemming 55 but I am worried about those 3208 TAs with 4,200 hours on them.
The cost of fuel is not of much concern to us as we'll only be doing 1,200 NM a year at most. But, the moorage cost at our current marina is $500 more for the Flemming than the Defever.
