Great Harbour N37 Young America at our dock yesterday

[eyschulman]

I am not a fan of the N boats. Mainly on the basis of personal preference of overall appearance. Others will differ regarding the look. Many a naval architect would be capable of improvement. But on an analysis of the features of the N47 that I can determine from the pictures and drawings this appears to be a very practical and well thought out boat by my standards.

[MurrayM]

The N47 reminds me of a Dutch Barge, and that's not a bad thing.

[Spottsville]

Originally Posted by Fish Catcher Jim

Eric,
Please, Please, Please direct me to those pictures.
We have been emailing some with Ken about the N47 since the GH is NO Longer available for we do NOT want used !! We are thinking of making it a 1 stateroom boat with a sleeper couch in the office / work out room ! I truly was blessed to hear of the head in the bolsons locker....Reading my mail ! ;}

Any way I may lose a few things with the smaller pilot house \ saloon which is more then a fair trade off considering Ken told me he had a 16 foot bay boat on the knose of a N47 ( big grin there ) and the 6 foot head room in the engine room and bolsons locker is a dream come true !!

Thanks again for this wonderful thread and here is a picture inwhich speaks for it self.
Have a great week end
Jim

We need to get Ken building Ns and GHs again! Although I love being one of the 55 that own a Great Harbour, building more boats would give others the ability to own and experience a truly great boat!

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Eric,
Thanks again for the information and your time.
I do understand that I can not just start redesigning an N any ol which way I desire. I know of those who chose to turn a stateroom into a office and storage. I have seen on other boats inwhich have a larger bolsons locker place the washer and dryer in there. As far as a work out room, this can be any room and does not take a lot of changes. Just a space to use a small excersise bike and an easy hide total gym or something. No big deal.

Have a great weeek Eric and thanks again
Jim

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Larry,
Thanks for the encouragment and information.
Have a great week
Jim

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Hey Eric,
Got a quick question if you arte still watching thisd thread. Do all N's havbe that window/hatch that you pointed out to me in the lower port side ?
Thanks Jim.......might be going used on an N...Very tempted here.

[Spottsville]

Here is a better picture of the stern and the lower port side window on the N47 you mentioned.




And look how big the flybridge is:



And the "Protected Props are great!



We chartered an N37 and a N47 both for a week from Ken (both now sold) before we bought our GH47 (Ken was the Broker) and the N and GH layouts both have a lot to features to like! The boat are SOLID, go ahead and beat on the walls...no flimsy plywood.... just a sore fist!

Norm

[kraftee]

No Jim, That was the only boat built with a crew quarters or any kind of window/ventilation in that area.

[HenryD]

Norm and Eric,
We said!
Loving our GH47.

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Norm,
Thanks for the awesome pictures. Looks like there is still lots of room on the flybridge even with a tender up there. Cool Beans !!
Thanks again
Jim

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Eric thanks for the info and this may be a dumb question but coming from a construction side of things..................Can an opening be cut in and framed etc without weakening the entire structure of the pilot house. Just a thought.................
Jim

[Island Bound]

Originally Posted by Fish Catcher Jim

Eric thanks for the info and this may be a dumb question but coming from a construction side of things..................Can an opening be cut in and framed etc without weakening the entire structure of the pilot house. Just a thought.................
Jim

Hi Jim,

I stopped off at Mirage today while I was in Gainesville and asked the shop foreman your question and he said that it was not a big deal structurally. As I recall, there is a bottom segment bulkhead that the pilot house sets on because it was raised up a foot for over the bow visibility, it is the bottom bulkhead that has the porthole for the bosun's locker installed.

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Originally Posted by Island Bound

Hi Jim,

I stopped off at Mirage today while I was in Gainesville and asked the shop foreman your question and he said that it was not a big deal structurally. As I recall, there is a bottom segment bulkhead that the pilot house sets on because it was raised up a foot for over the bow visibility, it is the bottom bulkhead that has the porthole for the bosun's locker installed.

Ahhhh I kknow that voice !
Thank you for this information and all that you have done for us. I hope things are going better and the light at the end of the tunnel is looking much happier as well.
Have a great week end
Jim

[Fish Catcher Jim]

Any one in here running a N37 or N47 these days ?
Sure would like to know.

[Joe Pica]

We just returned yesterday(to New Burrrrn, NC) from our completing our 3rd Great Loop with a side trip up the Mississippi River to the beginning of navigation above Minneapolis. We travelled off and on with Young America(N-37) and briefly with Seadream(N-47). We are full time live aboards and have cruised over 36,000 miles in our N-37 Carolyn Ann and have 5100+ hrs on our engines. We have travelled most of the Western Rivers and crossed the open water corner of the Gulf of Mexico 8 times. Our longest open water passage was 340 miles. We have cruised the entire Miss., Ohio, Monogahia, Allegany, Great Kanahwa, Tennessee, Little Tennessee, Tellico, Hudson Delaware, most of the Cumberland, etc.. This is the largest, most capable power boat for it's size made! It's clever flexible, pragmatic design and features have allowed our cruising life style in comfort (standup engine room, huge tanks, low center of gravity, a real kitchen with easily serviced household appliances, wide beam with hard chine, keel protected props, shallow draft, incredible storage, sea chest, etc) without feeling like we are camping. Lou Codega is the Naval Architect Engineer(PE) a WEBB institute MIT graduate who designed the boat. Lou has done many boats and ships and is considered one of the best by his peers. He is no a simple boat "designer" but an actual professional engineer and Architect. These boats have compromises as do all boats. That said the boat was designed for a purpose with ultimate pragatism built in. It's only limitation is speed. It is and always will be a displacement speed only boat. I would not hesitate to purchase a well loved GH or N. These boats are built so well they have "good bones" and will enjoy a long, long life owned and cruised by many owners. I personally know of several great used ones on the market some of which are listed by Ken. Several of these have had system improvements made i.e. larger capacity watermaker, hydronic heaters, etc. The GH's are so labor intensive that the required pricing now puts them out of the market. I'm sure Ken would build one if someone wanted to overspend the market. There are certainly some modifications that can be made (to Ns) that do not involve mold changes. Ken is the best reference for that. If I had to buy my boat today there are certain changes I'd make to better faciltate my cruising style. Our second small stateroom would be converted into a utlility room housing a compact stack washer and dryer as well as inverter(s) which don't like engine room heat. This change would permit an small increase in the size of the one head and make for a nice cabinet where the combo Splendide washer/dryer is now. I would also delete the flybridge as I've had some sun precancer issues and have been advised to avoid it, so don't use it, making it a waste for me. Other then that, I would not change to a different boat.

Joe Pica
Carolyn Ann GH N-37

[Heron]

Just spotted an N37 for sale on our local Craigslist. More pictures here:

Great Harbour N-37 Trawler, Economical Comfort, *Made in the USA*

[Joe Pica]

That is hull #1 of the Ns. It has incredably beautiful wood work even pocket doors. I think this best wood work of all the boats. It was the featured boat in passagemaker and was built to "show case" the Ns being the first one. At that price, you could certainly make alot of system improvements (updates e.g. sea chest)) and still be well ahead of a new built one.

[healhustler]

Well there ya go, Jim. Your dream boat! Ken could do a fly bridge for you later.

[sunchaser]

Joe and Eric

A few questions:

• Per another current thread on TF, are the Ns ballasted and if so where, type and weight?
• If the N47 were built today, what engine choices - to be legal - would be considered?
• What are the fuel and water tanks made of and capacity?

Thanks

[Island Bound]

Great post Joe, looking forward to following in your wake someday.