The DeFever 41 has a warped bottom with little deadrise at the transom. The forefoot is what I would consider very deep and there is little drag to the bottom of the keel. In fact, in her bow down trim, there may be no drag at all. Most boats designed for service in heavy weather have considerable drag.
The boat has a waterline molded into the hull, and sits with this WL about 3" lower at the bow than the stern. Also, water runs forward in several places on deck (flybridge sole, mold seats) while the scuppers for these items are located aft. Inside the boat, the tub does not drain properly, and the main saloon sole pitches forward. So, I don't think the boat was intended to float this way.
I don't think the boat steers very well, but I wouldn't say it is terrible in down-sea conditions. The auto pilot (a rather ancient affair) steers it pretty well down-sea. Art DeFever was certainly an accomplished designer, but sometimes when the builder gets done, weights are not as the designer intended. If the boat floated parallel to the molded in waterline, she would look better, the decks would drain properly, and steering would probably be better. I 'm interested to find out if other DeFever 41 owners have this same problem, or if possibly the PO had removed some ballast. Roguewave's answer indicates I'm not alone, and will probably need quite a bit of ballast. I like Ski in NC's drum idea.