1988 44' Nova 40

Hello new to forum and boating in general. Looking at trawlers and have found a lovely Nova 40, 1988 44'02". Appears to be in decent condition, with regular maintenance apparent. Twin volvo penta 200 HP diesels, generator, 2 berth with an aft master stateroom. Its got an aft salon above the aft master stateroom thats partially open, bimini fastens are there but no bimini.

Is there any way or place i can find some information on the hull construction, fiberglass throughout, or if its cored, what kind of hull configuration (i can tell its a V-Hull but thats about it)

Any direction would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Get a GOOD survey!!!

I don't know anything about them, barely know my own boat. There are a couple of Nova 40's on Yachtworld including this 1988 version. Maybe some helpful info here?

https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1988/Nova-40%20Sundeck-3127623/#.W8Hlp2hKhEZ

Welcome! Can you post the ad, pictures, description, or other info about the boat you've found? Here's an existing thread on Novas, but I don't know if it answers your question.

Good luck on your search!

Greetings,
Mr. f. The only "helpful" info I picked up from a fast scan of that listing is the $30K spent on the cooling system with only 1200hrs on the clock. Is this as a result of deferred maintenance or substandard parts/design? Either way, will this be a recurring cost every 1200hrs?

Not sure but given the location I would think that CanIboat is looking at another boat, same model? Is the cooling issue inherent to that design/model or a one off? Out of my league but OP at least has something to investigate. What struck me was the Volvo engines as I was reading a thread about them elsewhere and the tone was to run don't walk from Volvo's. Again, I don't know anything so that may be absolutely wrong. Just repeating what I read and, as you know, if you read it on the internet then it is true. Right?

Greetings,
Mr. f. There is evidence that the "run, don't walk" talk about Volvos is unwarranted BUT the bad rep' of poor support for Volvo legacy engines arose from somewhere. I doubt it was a slur campaign started by Volvo's competition.

Now that I think about it the Volvo comments did center on lack of available parts and support.

Had a 44' Nova (same as the 40 but with Perkins engines for about 3 years back in the 90's
loved the layout, wood work was amazing. Thinks we did not like, all wiring was two colors and not labeled so working on boat was really tough with trouble shooting. Was not a fan of perkins engines at all. I felt our boat was top heavy as well, but that may have just been the hull shape as it was very roll compared to other boats we had prior and currently. Our use was in So. Calif so open ocean which could make difference.
Hope that helps.

I did an info blast on Volvo engines a few years back. Some are a pain to get parts for because Volvo deemed them unworthy for new stock. NOS is starting to dry up and most parts now seems to come from Europe. This being a major part of the boat's health, I would research the exact engines the boat has and similar models to be sure parts can be had.


As far as the cooling system, I would be leary of the system being refurbished at low hours. If possible, I would talk with the tech that did the work to the cooling system. If nothing else, it could be a negotiating point. Good luck and happy boat hunting.