Moving from sail to power. Choosing the right boat

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ValhowellPower

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2024
Messages
26
Location
Socal
We currently live aboard a 51' sailboat in Socal. We have spent a lot of time evaluating boats and have started to firm up a list of must haves. We will likely have a cruising profile of 8-10 knots regardless of destination. Not interested in doing 22 knots. We entertain a lot so some of our galley needs seem to set up apart from the norm. I will try to add some questions as I go for your thoughts and lessons. BTW, I am an ABYC electrician and we do a lot of our own work, so some projects are acceptable.

Basic needs:

Size: 58-63' if at all possible (dockage considerations)
Engine considerations: Diesel only. Single with a get home or twin engine
Leaning toward Cats or Lugger if possible. Cummins may also be on the list. Detroit Diesels are on a lot of boats and not a first choice but may have to settle.
Accommodations: Three cabins preferably with a centerline master
Stabilization and auxiliary control: Socal can be lumpy so stabilizer is a must (not sure of major variations in manufacturer for reliability and effectiveness)
Bow Thruster is a must and stern would be nice but not required. Leaning towards hydraulic but not sure this is a must have.
Galley: Definitely not galley down configuration. A galley that two can work in would be preferable. Biggest want is a full size oven. We have not seen many boats that have this and have wondered why. Any insights would be appreciated. We do a lot of baking.
Pilothouse: Lower helm station is a must. A dedicated pilothouse would be nice, but not necessarily mandatory. Wing access on at least one side, preferably both.

Boats in consideration: 1990 or newer is the general focus area with starting price in the low to mid $500K
Tollycraft 61 and maybe 65: Love the galley and bridge, can't easily find one without DD engines and many don't have stabilizers. May need some updating but could accommodate our needs nicely. We have seen on 61 at a low price in need of re-engining. I figure this is easily a $200K effort. Any thoughts on re-engining would be most appreciated.
Selene 53: Really closer to 59'. Would take some modifications to put a full-size oven or even a 24' wide fixed oven in
Nordlund 61/65: We have seen a few, but hard to come by and some are pretty big project boats

There you go. We would love to hear your thoughts.
 
Welcome to TF. Good place to engage as there are many bright and experienced people.

Question for you. What is your objection to Detroits? Wouldn't be my first choice either but wouldn't be last either. They can be de-rated and have a long service life, albeit appear to require a bit more maintenance and mechanics are getting a bit sparse (though I'd guess the west coast has enough as these engines powered the entire west coast fishing fleet for years).

Good luck and attaching links of boats that attract your fancy are always helpful.


Peter.
 
Welcome to TF. Good place to engage as there are many bright and experienced people.

Question for you. What is your objection to Detroits? Wouldn't be my first choice either but wouldn't be last either. They can be de-rated and have a long service life, albeit appear to require a bit more maintenance and mechanics are getting a bit sparse (though I'd guess the west coast has enough as these engines powered the entire west coast fishing fleet for years).

Good luck and attaching links of boats that attract your fancy are always helpful.


Peter.
Thanks for your suggestions.
 
You have an excellent budget to find the right boat for you.
I looked at the boats you are interested in.
All nice yachts of course but I did not see a galley with room for two to work. Lack of working counter space. limited storage for the gourmet cook. Indeed I did not see a galley easier to use for one chef anymore than our 4588 yacht. The rest of the boat was built to entertain, much more space than we have, so I suppose the majority buying those boats must cater the food for the larger parties.
Good luck on fitting a full size oven.
 
As suggested, most of the Detroit guys here in So Cal are no longer.....there are a few, but getting fewer! Also, a 60' slip here, unless you are going deep into Pedro/Wilmington area, it's gonna be big $$$$
 
I run a 57' Tollycraft from 1996, about 62' overall.

It has a full size 30" range c/w convection oven and 4 burners, a 36" full size fridge and the typical over the range microwave/hood fan.
Athough these appliances are 20 years old and can easily be replaced with the current flavour of residential gadgetery, they all work just fine, so we see no need.

Two can work in the galley as long as they occasionally co-operate. It helps if you move the coffee maker, toaster oven/steamer and food prep/cutting station to the sideboard, thereby out of the galley isle.

The later (from about 1992). 57's came with Cats or MTUs and are likely a better 10 knot boat than the 892's of old.

Ocean Alexander, Offshore and Westbay's are similar boats that likely share many of the same features.

Good luck in your search. It's out there!
 
I run a 57' Tollycraft from 1996, about 62' overall.

It has a full size 30" range c/w convection oven and 4 burners, a 36" full size fridge and the typical over the range microwave/hood fan.
Athough these appliances are 20 years old and can easily be replaced with the current flavour of residential gadgetery, they all work just fine, so we see no need.

Two can work in the galley as long as they occasionally co-operate. It helps if you move the coffee maker, toaster oven/steamer and food prep/cutting station to the sideboard, thereby out of the galley isle.
Have you got a picture where the 30 inch stove fit into the galley. I have seen a few pictures with a full size fridge, but not the stove. Yours is the model with the dinnette and galley are in the pilothouse?
 
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Engine considerations: Diesel only. Single with a get home or twin engine
Leaning toward Cats or Lugger if possible. Cummins may also be on the list. Detroit Diesels are on a lot of boats and not a first choice but may have to settle.
Stabilization and auxiliary control:
Bow Thruster is a must and stern would be nice but not required. Leaning towards hydraulic but not sure this is a must have.
Galley: Biggest want is a full size oven. We have not seen many boats that have this and have wondered why. Any insights would be appreciated. We do a lot of baking.

I've read remanufactured Cummins 8.3CTAs can be a good deal. We had 450s in our previous boat, very decent... if you were to have to (choose to) repower something...

Thrusters can be added afterwards. Doubt hydraulic would be absolutely necessary; our 24VDC model (apparently sized in the neighborhood of correctly for the boat) works relatively authoritatively, when we bother to use it.

I'd guess that combination microwave/convection ovens have simply overtaken the market. And given we've done Thanksgiving turkey aboard in a small/medium-sized combo unit like that, it might be easy enough to somehow adapt a big one to a given galley. Wifey doesn't seem to have any issues baking (although that's not high on her to-do list). If built-in, venting would be an issue (apparently even more so with the more current microwave/convection/air fryer combos), but probably no more so than with a typical full size over of yesteryear. FWIW, many of our buds who have/had Princess ovens have been finding the units are aging out, and parts aren't readily available anymore.

-Chris
 
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I run a 57' Tollycraft from 1996, about 62' overall.

It has a full size 30" range c/w convection oven and 4 burners, a 36" full size fridge and the typical over the range microwave/hood fan.
Athough these appliances are 20 years old and can easily be replaced with the current flavour of residential gadgetery, they all work just fine, so we see no need.

Two can work in the galley as long as they occasionally co-operate. It helps if you move the coffee maker, toaster oven/steamer and food prep/cutting station to the sideboard, thereby out of the galley isle.

The later (from about 1992). 57's came with Cats or MTUs and are likely a better 10 knot boat MTU. Great engine with fine engineering but you pay for what you get.
 
Have you got a picture where the 30 inch stove fit into the galley. I have seen a few pictures with a full size fridge, but not the stove. Yours is the model with the dinnette and galley are in the pilothouse?

No, I have no picture of my galley. If I can figure out how to take and post a picture you might see one as soon as tomorrow as I will be back onboard for another brief trip.
I think all 57'ers have the galley/dinette in the pilothouse which is not ideal for traveling in the dark but I seldom do that. As my upper helm can be fully enclosed and heated, I would drive from there anyway as the potential visibility is much better.
 
This Tolly 57 with relatively low hour MTUs listed not too long ago in your price range. Looks to be in very nice condition. Doesn’t appear to be stabilized though.
 
No, I have no picture of my galley. If I can figure out how to take and post a picture you might see one as soon as tomorrow as I will be back onboard for another brief trip.
I think all 57'ers have the galley/dinette in the pilothouse which is not ideal for traveling in the dark but I seldom do that. As my upper helm can be fully enclosed and heated, I would drive from there anyway as the potential visibility is much better.
similar?
1733785652060.png

1733785590271.png
 
The Selene 53 is a great boat (and yes, it is 59'), but I don't think you're going to find one around $500k. There are four currently for sale out here on the east coast and the lowest priced is at $650k and it needs a good bit of work. The others are $665, 670, and 750k. We've looked at all four in person and rejected the three in the sixes - Two for condition and one because of sellers disclosure refusal. The 750 boat looks nice but is IMO overpriced for now.
 
If you would call opposite hand similar, then yes.
My Range is in the space occupied by the black dishwasher and the drawers, just to Port of the Refer, while my dishwasher sits where the oven is shown.

I have no pass through into the Salon.
 
We currently live aboard a 51' sailboat in Socal. We have spent a lot of time evaluating boats and have started to firm up a list of must haves. We will likely have a cruising profile of 8-10 knots regardless of destination. Not interested in doing 22 knots. We entertain a lot so some of our galley needs seem to set up apart from the norm. I will try to add some questions as I go for your thoughts and lessons. BTW, I am an ABYC electrician and we do a lot of our own work, so some projects are acceptable.

Basic needs:

Size: 58-63' if at all possible (dockage considerations)
Engine considerations: Diesel only. Single with a get home or twin engine
Leaning toward Cats or Lugger if possible. Cummins may also be on the list. Detroit Diesels are on a lot of boats and not a first choice but may have to settle.
Accommodations: Three cabins preferably with a centerline master
Stabilization and auxiliary control: Socal can be lumpy so stabilizer is a must (not sure of major variations in manufacturer for reliability and effectiveness)
Bow Thruster is a must and stern would be nice but not required. Leaning towards hydraulic but not sure this is a must have.
Galley: Definitely not galley down configuration. A galley that two can work in would be preferable. Biggest want is a full size oven. We have not seen many boats that have this and have wondered why. Any insights would be appreciated. We do a lot of baking.
Pilothouse: Lower helm station is a must. A dedicated pilothouse would be nice, but not necessarily mandatory. Wing access on at least one side, preferably both.

Boats in consideration: 1990 or newer is the general focus area with starting price in the low to mid $500K
Tollycraft 61 and maybe 65: Love the galley and bridge, can't easily find one without DD engines and many don't have stabilizers. May need some updating but could accommodate our needs nicely. We have seen on 61 at a low price in need of re-engining. I figure this is easily a $200K effort. Any thoughts on re-engining would be most appreciated.
Selene 53: Really closer to 59'. Would take some modifications to put a full-size oven or even a 24' wide fixed oven in
Nordlund 61/65: We have seen a few, but hard to come by and some are pretty big project boats

There you go. We would love to hear your thoughts.
We also went from 3 50’ +/- sailboats over the years to power. If you like Tollys, you’ll likely like the Sonship 58 and Queenship 56/59/64. We had our 1998 Queenship 59 for almost 12 years. Loved the boat, its high end construction and access to components. 1 nmpg at 9.5 knots with DD 6v92s. You can find with CATs 3406s as well. Layout is great. Ours sold in 2020 for $575k and in 2024 to next buyer for $475k. In great shape. Sonships have a similar layout. Pacific Northwest boats are often nice builds. We own a Nordlund 57 now - also a PNW built boat.
 
Not to make things more complicated, but DeFever and Ocean Alexander have boats in the range you are interested in, probably also in your price range.
Although they will be older than your 1990 limit, you could look at the Hatteras LRC's, which are built like tanks and seem to run forever.
Enjoy the hunt!
Peter
 
We currently live aboard a 51' sailboat in Socal. We have spent a lot of time evaluating boats and have started to firm up a list of must haves. We will likely have a cruising profile of 8-10 knots regardless of destination. Not interested in doing 22 knots. We entertain a lot so some of our galley needs seem to set up apart from the norm. I will try to add some questions as I go for your thoughts and lessons. BTW, I am an ABYC electrician and we do a lot of our own work, so some projects are acceptable.

Basic needs:

Size: 58-63' if at all possible (dockage considerations)
Engine considerations: Diesel only. Single with a get home or twin engine
Leaning toward Cats or Lugger if possible. Cummins may also be on the list. Detroit Diesels are on a lot of boats and not a first choice but may have to settle.
Accommodations: Three cabins preferably with a centerline master
Stabilization and auxiliary control: Socal can be lumpy so stabilizer is a must (not sure of major variations in manufacturer for reliability and effectiveness)
Bow Thruster is a must and stern would be nice but not required. Leaning towards hydraulic but not sure this is a must have.
Galley: Definitely not galley down configuration. A galley that two can work in would be preferable. Biggest want is a full size oven. We have not seen many boats that have this and have wondered why. Any insights would be appreciated. We do a lot of baking.
Pilothouse: Lower helm station is a must. A dedicated pilothouse would be nice, but not necessarily mandatory. Wing access on at least one side, preferably both.

Boats in consideration: 1990 or newer is the general focus area with starting price in the low to mid $500K
Tollycraft 61 and maybe 65: Love the galley and bridge, can't easily find one without DD engines and many don't have stabilizers. May need some updating but could accommodate our needs nicely. We have seen on 61 at a low price in need of re-engining. I figure this is easily a $200K effort. Any thoughts on re-engining would be most appreciated.
Selene 53: Really closer to 59'. Would take some modifications to put a full-size oven or even a 24' wide fixed oven in
Nordlund 61/65: We have seen a few, but hard to come by and some are pretty big project boats

There you go. We would love to hear your thoughts.
You've got one of the leading re-power specialists in your back yard, Tony Athens at Sea Board Marine in Oxnard, Sbmar.com. His website is full of useful information. If I was looking to re-power, I'd be looking for a significant purchase discount to market and planning to hold on to the boat for 10+ years to make have any chance at any economic logic.
 
What do you want to do with this boat? Where do you want to go? How far offshore, etc? Much more important decisions need to be made before you concern yourself with oven size or even engine choice. You make full displacement comments but then suggest semi displacement engines. Let's start here and work our way down to some of the details.
 

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