New dream boat under 50'............

What would be your choice for a great cruising boat under 50' It must be a new boat and money is no object. I'll put a ceiling of $1 Mil on it.

I find the Nordic Tug 49 tops my list. What does the readership say?

No covered walk around decks, a must for the PNW in a boat this size. No FB and baot deck combo, no aft cabin - to each his own. Great resale. In that price range I'd go for a used Fleming 55 or an Offshore. That is why I bought my DF 48 -*1/2 to 1/2 the price and sorry, I do consider price.

I must admit i would like a De Fever raised pilot house 49. With single engine if possible otherwise twin low power approx 130 hp and bow thruster ( seeing I've got 1 mil to spend)
Active stabilisers ,small water + water maker and plenty of fuel for long range.
We don't get a lot of them out here in Aus but recently our local boat yard has done 2 very good refits on older timber 48s both took about 12 months and buckets of money but were real eye turners when completed.
The 56 would be a bit big for me as 15 & 17 meter berths are the most common in our marinas and we all end up in one at some time

Again....the criteria is under 50', <u>new</u>, $1 Mil or less and the cruising is not restricted to the PNW.

Hi Walt,

Go to Maine and have a custom Lobster boat built exactly the way you want it .. airex foam construction, Cat engines, Evolution Drive, Cherry Wood interior, Deck fittings and other details you'd never find on a stock boat.

Eric Henning

"What would be your choice for a great cruising boat,

and the cruising is not restricted to the PNW."


Define "cruising boat",, if its just to put put along the coast , that is "cruising"to most,

IF its to go on The big circle 24,000+ miles round the globe ,
that is also cruising , although I prefer to call it Voyaging to define the two.

List your "cruising requirements" crew , range , speed , duration., and most importantly the level of complexity you are willing to either keep repaired , or PAY someone to repair.

Drake Passage and Bergy bits , or tropical islands ?

Water catchment cloth , or noisemaker and watermaker?

The options and Desirements are endless.

FF

I'll try again, for FF's sake!

New, under 50', $1 Mil max, a couple and two friends, no blue water, all coastal, watermaker, generator, dinghy, no sleeping on dinette tables, 2 heads & showers, max distance between fuel stops is 500 miles, cockpit, A/C & heat, etc. Summary: A boat that a couple and friends can safely cruise for a week or two in the Sea of Cortez, the San Juans, etc. ( The skipper is experienced and can handle most maintenance onboard) Whew!.....

Well now that you spelled it out, the true fantasy cruiser for me would be a Searay 44 in Florida with the younger version of Ursula or Raquel on the sunpad. Why would I need a trawler?

A*new 50' trawler is irrational in comparison.

-- Edited by sunchaser at 10:49, 2008-12-22

Watson 48 is my other choice for a true deep water 48' cruiser.
It is over 1 mil but that is only in Aus or NZ dollars with the down turn the price will be close to 1 mil US.
Have a look anyone with an appreciation of good solid sea handling boats could not help being impressed they make the Selenes and Nordys look flimsy.

Thats my next 2 c worth

Check it out here
Even Rick B will be impressed with this,it has a very well engineered engine room. I inspected it at the 2007 Sancutary Cove Boat Show here in Australia just after the Watson Bros had delivered it across the Tasman.

After 40 years at sea and 25 as Chief Engineer on mainly VlCCs and FPSOs I have a reasonable idea.
*

http://www.realtrawlers.com/48/concept.htm

-- Edited by Tidahapah at 18:06, 2008-12-22

-- Edited by Tidahapah at 18:13, 2008-12-22

Hey Walt, how are we going to do the San Juans and the Sea of Cortez without doing serious blue water cruising?
Here is a good boat for the ofshore stuff. Neville 47.*This is a locomotive of a boat. A big steel boat with a 15 X 15' engine room with single John Deere power. The space, comfort, seaworthyness and range is super. See it in PMM Feb 07. Price unknown.
The Sterling Atlantic 43, at $508K with 330 hp and a cruise of 13 knots is much like an old Monk or Shane. Sure to be a head turner with is retro comuter style and a smooth runner with lots of class. Verry fuel efficent. See it in PMM Feb 06.
Sooo many boats. Eastbay 47. Nordhavn. Defever 56, Bar Harbor 39. and many boats I can't list .. not availible new.

Eric Henning

All the criteria are great except the "new." There is nothing new on the cruising boat market that holds any interest for me. All of the new boats are either Euro-Swoop, Jogging Shoe, or Wannabe-Commercial designs. Marine aesthetics is a dead art as far as I'm concerned.

The Selenes I saw at shows looked like well thought out coastal cruisers.

Since Blue Water use is not required A/B ratios , scantlings , ease of repair , or interior and deck setup for non smooth waters is meaningless .

Tow Boat Us and many service spots can help when the washer dryer auto monitor stops and the NEMA buss 2003 fails to show dry clothes in the 24 inch touch screen..

FF

Watsons' are gorgeous vessels. But too much a bluewater boat for me. With the 8 foot+ draft it is simply too deep for much of the ICW, great loop, PNW etc. So would I choose it over a Selene, Defever, OAs*or NT with their large followings*- that is a tough question when I throw in resale value for the NA market. Big steel vessels do not always re-sell well. NZ and Australia are a different issue regarding resale as the waters are deeper and Watsons better known.

Mine would be the Nordhavn 56 Motorsailer.....but that is outside the criteria. I'll keep looking.

I agree with Eric. If I had that much money to spend my first thought would be to hire a NA and get exactly what I wanted. No compromises. It would probably be in the 44-46 foot range.

For a production boat (or semi-custom....however the terminology works) my choice would be the Arcturos 43. All aluminum boat that comes standard with hydraulic windlass, hydraulic bow thruster, hydraulic stabilizers, Furuno electronics, Furuno auto-pilot, a sensible Lugger 120HP engine with a big 270A alternator, an emergency tiller set-up, and an engine room that has just under 6 feet of headroom. And last but certainly not least, it's made in the USA. (All of the foo-foo stuff is there, too, like TV's and such like) I couldn't find a price on it but its big brother, the*50 footer,*goes for around $1.5M*so I think the 43 would make the $1M cut-off.

http://www.arcturosyachts.com/specs43.htm


-- Edited by gns at 12:47, 2008-12-23

You could probably do the Northwest Trawlers 47 for that price... and it's American made.

Here's a profile view:



Peter, sorry I didn't ask permission to use the graphic, but I didn't think you'd mind.

My understanding is the Nordy 56 MS is closer to $1.5MM when fully tricked out.

The Selenes I've been on showed fit/finish issues over time.

I like Defevers except (IMHO) their stairwells appear to be so steep, they're more like ladders.* My marina neighbor has a Defever 60 that's just beautiful.* i just keep waiting to slip and break a hip... or worse.* No way could The Admiral negotiate them in her current state.

Watsons look awesome, but I couldn't get them to stay in contact.* Promises of drawings were made and never delivered.* No reply when queried thereafter.

As an aside, you can get into a new Seaforth 58 out the door (including fuel) for less than $1.5MM.* Here's a rendering:

Walt, gns and KMA,

Nice pics and nice looking boats. Why buy them though*when you can get the real thing .. a small ship*for $600k ( one is on sale ). I can't bring the pics here but you can see them all at " nevilletrawlers.com ". I don't know if Walt wants that much boat ( 47 tons ) but I'm getting excited for him. Great idea Walt .. asking this question. This boat recieved the peoples choice award at Solomons Is Maryland 2006 and at trawlerfest Stuart 2007. This boat is very big .. maybe twice as big as a 45' lobsterboat. A lot of people liked it so much*it must not be too comercial looking. Maybe its layered with lots of Awlgrip and SS beautiful wood inside .. absolutely none outside though. Take a look guys.

Eric Henning

If I had that much money to spend my first thought would be to hire a NA and get exactly what I wanted. No compromises. It would probably be in the 44-46 foot range.

And what is the specific set of Desirements that is not found in ANY! stock cookie?

Our next door neighbor just bought a 64 Nordy #3 for $600K, loaded ready to go.

Would solve most common needs for a boat to float in.

FF you'r dead right no matter what your wishes are if you could get a 64 Nordy at the right price why wait 1 to 2 years for a new 1 mil boat that would still be a comprise

Guys I think your missing the point. Seahorse is dreaming not shopping, this is an intellectual exercise nothing more from what I see in the first post.

Dreaming is great - from it comes reality and the points*being raised. Keep it up guys!

The "steep" steps concern on a DF is similar to why many people want a single level house. Boats, stairs and ladders go together. Houseboats work for some but not me.

FF wrote: And what is the specific set of Desirements that is not found in ANY! stock cookie?

Click to expand...

Layout, mostly.* I haven't seen any production boat that has a layout <u>exactly</u> how I would want it.* And it would be designed from the keel up as a diesel-electric boat.*

I agree with KMA. For a new boat under 50' and one million dollars the Northwest 47 is alot of boat. I saw it at the boat show this year. If they would just move the decimal point one digit to the left I'd get one.

Dave

Most production boats are built as Teacups , the hull requires bulkheads only to mount stuff , not for watertight integrity or specific structural purposes .

The interior is therefore easily modified.

A 30- 40 year old plastic boat could be far better as a hull to start with than a more modern thin skin .

If its a Displacement cruiser having a heavier hull wont cost that much more in fuel, and you could accomodate the strong hull with lightweight interior .

So your desirements may only be a sawzall away, instead of a million dollars.

FF wrote:

Our next door neighbor just bought a 64 Nordy #3 for $600K, loaded ready to go.

Would solve most common needs for a boat to float in.

Click to expand...

$600k for a boat that retails new for close to $3MM?* I don't believe it for a moment.* Are you sure it wasn't a 15 year old Nordy 62 (their aft PH offering)?* $600k is even a bit low for that... but more believable than a N64 going for that price.

There are no N64s listed on YW or on Soldboats.com at the moment, though there were two N64 on the market a couple of months back... B2 (N64 #2) and Samurai. Not sure if either has yet sold... but you can bet if the PAE brokerage sold either of them, they'd be listed in Soldboats at close to their asking prices, which were well over $2.5MM last time I saw them.

Edit in italics - CN

-- Edited by KMA at 11:41, 2008-12-25

I don't know about FF neighbor but there are some outstanding deals to be made for new and used boats at this time. Lowball offers that wouldn't even be considered just a few years ago are now being excepted.

Dave

He sez its hull #3 , and I'm sure of the price.

Should be here in Ortona soon enough , Ill take the hull ID for the folks that need to know.

FF

Can't say if NH #3 is this case, but many high end boats are entering the market on a no broker firesale basis via bank defaults. The remaining principle + 10% or so.*Especially those that have been steadily for sale during the past few years. The catch phrase for these deals is "non performing loans" Quite often cash will be required.

Sunchaser,
He says he dosn't want a used boat and he said " no blue water " so what are*you doing talking about used boats and me gushing*over the Nevillie 47? I agree with you .. I'd NEVER buy a new boat .. unless I had so much money it didn't matter. Walt isn't helping us much here either. Iv'e been looking at some old posts and Walt seems to have*an*fairly strong interest in lobster types. Walt, there is a very good article in PMM*Aug 2005 about Lobster boats. They talk about skeg types, built down types and take you on a tour of several promenent builders in the NE. You can even get one in wood. But then maybe your*type is more like a Beneteau, Sabre, Fathom 40 or other fast trawler .. if there really is such a thing.

Eric Henning***