43 vs 44 Defever

[Myskibum]

Has anyone found or know the real difference between these vessels? I have a friend that has a 43 and wants to sell her to me since he is buying a different boat. What I know is from researching the web and various forums on Defevers. What I've been told is the 43's have a solid fiberglass hull and the 44's have a cored fiberglass hull. His 43 didn't come with teak side decks and doesn't have water leaks besides in the v-birth sunroof hatch, but was fixed years ago. The are both displacement hulls and typically come with twin Lehmans (which I like). Any help in understanding or links you know of about these 43's would be very helpful. Thanks,
Erik
Recently sold my 34' CHB trawler
Olympia, WA USA

 

[Stagalv]

The 43's were built in a different yard, Sen Koh I believe. The 44's were better built and they came out of the CTF yard originally and later Pocta. The 44 has now been retired and the very similar 45 (16' beam - harder chines) takes its place.

Neither have cored hulls.

 

[sunchaser]

Has anyone found or know the real difference between these vessels?

Fred at DeFever's Horizon Yacht Sales on Lake Union is a treasure trove of DF information old and new. What build years are the 43 and 44? Quite often the 43 is nearly identical to the older 41 so comparing the dimensions would be helpful for your comparison too. For example, the Mainship 35 and 39 are nearly the same dimensions ditto the Nordic Tug 47 and 49 or 52 and 54, the list of hulls growing on paper is common.

Buying a boat from a friend can end the relationship unless he has been very forthcoming and is anal about maintenance. The 44 with a cockpit AKA 48 or 49 is a pretty nice boat.

 

[Stagalv]

The 43's were built in a different yard, Sen Koh I believe. The 44's were better built and they came out of the CTF yard originally and later Pocta. The 44 has now been retired and the very similar 45 (16' beam - harder chines) takes its place.

Neither have cored hulls.

Correction: The 43's did have a cored hull. The 44's are solid glass.

It's my understanding that the 43's were originally built at a yard very near the CTF yard and then CTF bought out that yard.

 

[stornoway7]

I know this is an old thread so you have probably made you choice anyway.
I owned a DF 43 and have been on a lot of 44's.
My 43 had a solid glass hull,no core.Ours was built for the Australian market so 240 volt etc.We had no stabilizers which would have been nice,however we never felt unsafe.
There seems to be a wide variation of interiors and quality in boats I have seen.All I can say is in our boat the timber work was of excellent quality and good attention to detail was evident in the hidden areas.Still had condensation and some leakage around ports etc.Pretty normal stuff.
It was a great couple plus occasional guests boat and the engine room for a 43 foot boat was fantastic.Probably the most room for a boat that size.
The 44 is not much different,higher bulwarks,aft hardtop,full size entry door are the main things.
Both are great boats and a credit to Art's skills.