Opinions on Bluewater Yachts

I have a nordhavn N46 and it is for sale. This decision came after realizing that our blue water days are over mainly due to age pure and simple. Now our boating days are not over and a few years on the great loop sound very appealing. I am looking at 51/52 foot Bluewater Yachts, diesel 1995 or newer.
We would want more outdoor entertaining space than many double or triple cabins allow. Does anyone have opinions on the Bluewater yachts? Does anyone have a better suggestion with regard to a different brand ? Mainly I will need a max of 30 inch draft, 17 feet air draft reduceable to 15 feet. Thanks for any help on these issues.
Kurt

You might want to pay attention to their engine locations and fuel tanks. I would instead put my attention toward an all aluminum Lazy Days that were built in Buford Georgia. There's many sitting on Lake Lanier. They even built an ocean going version with a high bow. One actually finished the Miami -Nassau race in the 60s.. It came across the finish line with a party on the roof BBQing. I used to have a 8x10 photo, but gave it to the buyer of a sistership, which is now back up in Georgia. I also had factory photos of a Bluewater running back and forth across the Potato Patch in heavy seas. A partner of mine told me he was given a seatrial off Hatteras after a hurricane in a Bluewater. He was impressed with the ride. Many had Coast Guard certication for x amount of miles offshore. Also gave those to a buyer who uses her in river charters on the St. Johns in Jax. The construction issues of the Bluewaters came up later in their lives.

I just Googled Lazy Days and quickly saw the photo I gave the guy. I also learned they went out of business in 1987. The race was in 1967 and the owner posted photos on a racing boat forum. So perhaps not as many Lazy Days exist as I remember up there. Time is flying! Guess I'm not 32 anymore either (although I feel like it)

Bluewater boats are rather common in the Upper Midwest. They are built in Mora MN, as I recall, is a northern suburb of Minneapolis. They are impressively styled but in my opinion are not more than a stylish houseboat. Some are styled to be very impressive to the not very astute consumer to look like a mega yacht but at the end of the day, end up being houseboats. most are gas engine powered, the owners not realizing the value of diesel, and not ever going to get to the usage level where a diesel(s) make sense. They are not a boat that typically holds its value 20 years after they are built. I am somewhat hesitant to post this as I don't want to offend blue water owners but my honest view of them is a boat for not very astute yacht wannabe's. When they are newish they are very impressive boats for the money but they don't age well.

roeloffs said:

I have a nordhavn N46 and it is for sale. This decision came after realizing that our blue water days are over mainly due to age pure and simple. Now our boating days are not over and a few years on the great loop sound very appealing. I am looking at 51/52 foot Bluewater Yachts, diesel 1995 or newer.
We would want more outdoor entertaining space than many double or triple cabins allow. Does anyone have opinions on the Bluewater yachts? Does anyone have a better suggestion with regard to a different brand ? Mainly I will need a max of 30 inch draft, 17 feet air draft reduceable to 15 feet. Thanks for any help on these issues.
Kurt

Click to expand...

Finding a boat that size with a 30" or less draft isn't easy. If you could tolerate up to 36" draft, there are some nice choices. Have you considered an Endeavour Powercat 44'?

Greetings,
Boat options aside...WELCOME ABOARD.

Bayliner 4788

I do believe Bluewater did go out of business a few years ago. There's a short discussion on Hull Truth about it that I think I started. We used to live near Mora. Last I checked their website still existed but had frozen since about 2009.

That said, there are a couple of them in our marina (South Dakota, Missouri River). One of them in particular called the Duchess is one of the nicest boats in the marina in my opinion (newer model). Yeah, I wouldn't cross the Atlantic in it, but it's much more capable and seaworthy than a typical houseboat box on the water. The newer models (2000's before they shut down) are a nicely designed hybrid between the comforts and space of a houseboat and a "real" boat you'd actually motor somewhere. Build quality looks pretty good to me. My wife loves the Duchess, if we weren't going to do the Loop someday or cross the Great Lakes, we would have seriously considered buying one.

Following the houseboat theme Harbor Master made a few coastal models with elevated bows. May want to put that make into the Yachtworld search engine and see what you think. Some of them where diesel powered as some of the Bluewater brand are too.

Good luck in your search.

My experience has not been favorable

The few I've worked on had serious deck delamination issues from the fly bridge back. They are not west coast capable coastal cruisers. Window leaks, deck delamination, wiring issues, dry rot. They do entertain a lot of people however.
They are not even in the same league with a Bayliner 4788 which entertains as many and is coastal capable. My dockside neighbor owned a Blue water, there is no direct comparison between the two. If I was in the market for a house boat that is what I would get, a good quality aluminum houseboat.

That could very well be true. The fresh water environment around here is pretty gentle on boats, relatively speaking. Our zincs and bottom jobs last for years, at the end of the season we can usually hose off a thin layer of hull slime and we're done. I'd agree with you on the 4788 too, not a close call in my mind, as nice as that Bluewater may be. The Bayliner is more boat than houseboat if we're talking about hybrids.

If you visit the St Louis, Nashville or Louisville boat shows the houseboat of your dreams will show up. Some of them are amazing.

You may want to take a look at Pluckebaum. They make some pretty substantial diesel powered house boats.

Pluckebaum Coastal Yacht

I had a rather lengthy discussion with a former Bluewater owner. I too was looking at them initially and was impressed with the comfortable layout. I mentioned that we were looking for something to live aboard full time, and travel to the Bahamas, T&C, and Eastern Caribbean. This lady mentioned that she and her husband owned one for about 6 years, and had plans for doing the Great Loop in it. They live here in Ft. Myers so we were both familiar with the waters around here. She mentioned to me that it was NOT a boat to take out in anything over 4' seas. She said it was a very rough ride - due to the extremely shallow draft, that it would really roll around. They ended up selling it - it took them nearly 3 years to sell it - and said that they got lucky as someone from China came over, wrote them a check and bought it (she laughed and said "yes, the check did clear the bank!").

She said that it was a nice comfortable floating condo, but that it really was a houseboat that looked like a yacht.