Welcome, RID, to the wooden DeFever club! We have a 1969 50ft wooden DeFever and are in the PacNW. Your boat is DeFever's design DF70-38 built by Oriental Boat Company in Taiwan. It was DeFever's fourth production line of wooden Offshore Cruisers, three of which were built at OBC. There were 35 38ft hulls built. My in-laws bought Hull#15 in 1973 and cruised from San Diego to Acapulco for 7 years, then through the Panama Canal and cruised the Caribbean for another 7 years - a very reliable, comfortable and well-loved boat!
Does the boat have a name? Do you know former names and owners? Most OBC boats have a 6-digit hull number carved into the keelon but that doesn't seem to be the case with the 38s. Does yours? I've connected with quite a few of the early DeFever owners on the west coast. There are some experts, and a talented, wooden-boatwright and 50 DeFever owner in Ladysmith. Do join the DeFever Cruisers Association:
https://www.defevercruisers.com. There will be a PacNW DeFever Rendezvous in Anacortes Sept. 18-22. And don't hesitate to get in touch. Good luck with your project!
