Next Boat Recommendations

[sparky66]

Looking for what might possibly be our next boat. Currently have a Uniflite 42DC. This is what we like about it:
-Large, covered, aft deck. We use this a lot.
-Aft cabin. Good use of space, creates privacy from guests, and helps form the aft deck.
-Forward guest stateroom with separate bunks and head.
-Flybridge. Have never used the lower helm in 6 years.
-Place for dinghy on top of aft deck roof.
-Reliable Detroit Diesel 6-71's.

This is what we don't especially like about it:
-Tight engine room. Would prefer something with a true engine room.
-Not a great ride in rough seas unless throttled up. We normally cruise at 9-10 knots, but need to get up above 13 knots to get a better ride when Lake Erie gets rough.
-Could use a bit more room, especially in the galley.
-Our Uniflite is a blister era boat, so cosmetically it is lacking.

I thought the 45 Defever with stabilzers would be the perfect replacement, but it appears the forward stateroom just has a big opening to the bed and no door, so not really its own room. The larger Defevers, like the 53POC, don't have a large aft deck. Going slow is fine, we don't need a fast cruise speed. Had a hard enough time finding dockage for our current boat(48' OAL), so the limit would be not much over 50'. Budget would be somewhere around $200k.

Any recommendations, especially from owners of boats that fit our needs?

 

[RickyD]

Californian 48 with your choice of forward bunks or “queen”. More like a full. It has its own head and shower. Aft stateroom is very large with head and shower. Good sized engine room and fly bridge. I can stand up in my engine room. Some have down helm. Galley is well sized with a full fridge and freezer. Also a dinette. For me a fishing cockpit is a must. I have the larger 55 which has a third state room amid ships with its head and shower. It also has a larger sun deck. I love it. Cat 3208TAs are standard. 375 hp in the 48 and sometimes in the 55. I have the 425 hp units in my 55.

 

[ACT09]

I think Swift Trawler 41 can be a candidate.

 

[Mako]

Kha Shing 49

 

[Snapdragon III]

If you like everything else about the Defever, I would think about what it would take to put in a nice privacy curtain, or have a door built.

 

[ABfish]

I've only been on a Defever 49 CPMY, but it had a door and folding overhead cover to segregate the forward stateroom.

I love the Defever 49. The negatives for me are slow cruising speed and lots of steps to navigate while moving around the boat.

 

[mmullins]

I love this game! If it weren't for the slip restrictions my vote would be for a stabilized Hatteras 53' Classic (not the extended deck because there's not a significant aft deck space). I would think a true engine room would be difficult to find under 50'. I settled for less than my dream boat simply because of slip restrictions though. We have zero big slip (50+) availability in our area.

 

[ABfish]

The Defevers have remarkable engine rooms for boats under 50 ft. It's one of their selling points.

 

[DW1979OA]

Check out Ocean Alexander Mk 1. They are 50 ft unless extended. Dock level entrance. Raised pilot house. Can fit your budget. I’ve had mine since 2011 and enjoyed it immensely. I happen to enjoy maintaining bright work. Plenty of rails to maintain unless you paint them out.
Good luck in your quest
jp

 

[sparky66]

Thanks for the latest suggestions. Wife and I looked at a stabilized Hatteras 43MY over the weekend. It was very nice, but not as roomy as we are hoping for. We didn't scratch it off our list. Never been in salt water and it shows. We will keep looking over the winter.

 

[ranger58sb]

Looking for what might possibly be our next boat. Currently have a Uniflite 42DC. This is what we like about it:
-Large, covered, aft deck. We use this a lot.
-Aft cabin. Good use of space, creates privacy from guests, and helps form the aft deck.
-Forward guest stateroom with separate bunks and head.
-Flybridge. Have never used the lower helm in 6 years.
-Place for dinghy on top of aft deck roof.
-Reliable Detroit Diesel 6-71's.

This is what we don't especially like about it:
-Tight engine room. Would prefer something with a true engine room.
-Not a great ride in rough seas unless throttled up. We normally cruise at 9-10 knots, but need to get up above 13 knots to get a better ride when Lake Erie gets rough.
-Could use a bit more room, especially in the galley.
-Our Uniflite is a blister era boat, so cosmetically it is lacking.

You might look at the '85-'89 Chris Craft 480 Catalina. (Called the 480 Corinthian in '85-'86.) Essentially the same boat as yours, but with a cockpit added. Maybe inside updates improved space, maybe galley? Optional 375 cats maybe slightly more speed?

Dunno Cat sizes relative to your DDs, though... but the Cats might have been 3208s, so maybe width would be something to look at/think about.

Another option might be a Silverton 46 ACMY, '90-'97. Solid glass hull. PBG says the engine room is "very spacious". You'd need a Plan B for dinghy storage, but those exist.

-Chris

 

[Mac2]

OP: Do you need an engine room? My last boat was a Krogen Manatee. The salon floor lifted up giving me complete access to all sides of the engine-a pleasure to work on. I am asking in case this opens up new possibilities for you.

 

[mkel7]

Looking for what might possibly be our next boat. Currently have a Uniflite 42DC. This is what we like about it:
-Large, covered, aft deck. We use this a lot.
-Aft cabin. Good use of space, creates privacy from guests, and helps form the aft deck.
-Forward guest stateroom with separate bunks and head.
-Flybridge. Have never used the lower helm in 6 years.
-Place for dinghy on top of aft deck roof.
-Reliable Detroit Diesel 6-71's.

This is what we don't especially like about it:
-Tight engine room. Would prefer something with a true engine room.
-Not a great ride in rough seas unless throttled up. We normally cruise at 9-10 knots, but need to get up above 13 knots to get a better ride when Lake Erie gets rough.
-Could use a bit more room, especially in the galley.
-Our Uniflite is a blister era boat, so cosmetically it is lacking.

I thought the 45 Defever with stabilzers would be the perfect replacement, but it appears the forward stateroom just has a big opening to the bed and no door, so not really its own room. The larger Defevers, like the 53POC, don't have a large aft deck. Going slow is fine, we don't need a fast cruise speed. Had a hard enough time finding dockage for our current boat(48' OAL), so the limit would be not much over 50'. Budget would be somewhere around $200k.

Any recommendations, especially from owners of boats that fit our needs?

Kadey Krogen….but probably not for 200

 

[sparky66]

OP: Do you need an engine room? My last boat was a Krogen Manatee. The salon floor lifted up giving me complete access to all sides of the engine-a pleasure to work on. I am asking in case this opens up new possibilities for you.

Sorry, just saw this. I don't need a true engine room, but want one. Yes, our current boat has salon floors that lift up to completely expose both engines, but that means moving furniture to do it.

 

[Jeff F]

-Not a great ride in rough seas unless throttled up. We normally cruise at 9-10 knots, but need to get up above 13 knots to get a better ride when Lake Erie gets rough.

I'll comment on this, as I think it'll narrow the list considerably.

To my mind if increasing speed improves the ride it's a feature, not a bug. What's wrong with throttling up for comfort?

Any boat in that price range with stabilizers is likely going to be a 10 knot top cruise. It sounds like you really want/need stabilization and that's a good tradeoff for you

I haven't been looking in that market, but I have to think that a search based on length, price and active stabilization is going to return a manageable list of choices. Add in fresh water and it's likely to be a short list.

 

[sparky66]

I'll comment on this, as I think it'll narrow the list considerably.

To my mind if increasing speed improves the ride it's a feature, not a bug. What's wrong with throttling up for comfort?

Any boat in that price range with stabilizers is likely going to be a 10 knot top cruise. It sounds like you really want/need stabilization and that's a good tradeoff for you

I haven't been looking in that market, but I have to think that a search based on length, price and active stabilization is going to return a manageable list of choices. Add in fresh water and it's likely to be a short list.

50% increase in speed results in 200% increase in fuel consumption. It also starts to throw a lot of spray, but that isn't a big deal. I am perfectly happy traveling at 9 or 10 knots. I am now working with a broker, but there doesn't appear to be anything on the market(and not having to do a trip through the Panama Canal) that meets my criteria. Based on a bunch of research so far, it looks like a Hatteras 48 Motor Yacht is what we will want. Doesn't check all the boxes, but pretty close and it is a quality boat.

 

[rslifkin]

To my mind if increasing speed improves the ride it's a feature, not a bug. What's wrong with throttling up for comfort?

Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's not. The issue is that to not be miserable in certain sea states you end up having to run faster. On its own that doesn't sound so bad, but factor in a potentially large increase in fuel consumption and it becomes problematic from both a cost and range perspective. On many planing hulls going from an efficient slow cruise below hull speed to running on plane doubles or more the fuel burn per mile. On my boat running on plane burns about 2.5x the fuel per mile that running at 6.5 kts does. Running at 10 kts would probably be at least as bad as running on plane though, so I don't expect that's even a remotely efficiently speed for an only slightly longer Uniflite 42.

 

[socalrider]

Hatteras 48LRC?

 

[sparky66]

Hatteras 48LRC?

No, Motor Yacht.

 

[Comodave]

I like the old Hatts, only big dislike IMO is that some of them have so many different voltages aboard. Not a huge problem but still…. Check out “In Too Deep” channel on YouTube. He picked up a hurricane damaged 50’ Hatt and got it up and running. Then he sold it and bought a 70’ Burger I think.

 

[sparky66]

I like the old Hatts, only big dislike IMO is that some of them have so many different voltages aboard. Not a huge problem but still…. Check out “In Too Deep” channel on YouTube. He picked up a hurricane damaged 50’ Hatt and got it up and running. Then he sold it and bought a 70’ Burger I think.

The 43 we looked at didn't have the oddball 32VDC system, and I think the 48 doesn't either. I don't want to have to deal with that.

 

[Jeff F]

The issue is that to not be miserable in certain sea states you end up having to run faster. On its own that doesn't sound so bad, but factor in a potentially large increase in fuel consumption and it becomes problematic from both a cost and range perspective.

I'm pretty sure range isn't a big issue on Lake Erie. And burning an extra few hundred gallons a season to take advantage of existing capabilities when needed is obviously cheaper than swapping boats or adding active stabilization to address the problem.

Not trying to challenge the OP's preferences, just trying to identify needs. It sounds like active stabilization is a big one, and bigger engines/higher speeds are a negative rather than a positive.

 

[ranger58sb]

like the old Hatts, only big dislike IMO is that some of them have so many different voltages aboard.

Yeah, me too. The 5th voltage -- 32VDC -- just sorta breaks my camel's back.

Well, actually not just that. I could live with the DDs, or the 32V, but not both. And need stairs to the bridge, and a decent cockpit. Seems to me they bagged the 32V in the early '90s.... but we never found a package we could live with...

They all look like decent boats, though...

-Chris

 

[socalrider]

This is a cool old refurbed Hatt 50 repowered with Cummins and (I think) electrically updated.

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1965-hatteras-50-motor-yacht-8387854/

 

[mvweebles]

This is a cool old refurbed Hatt 50 repowered with Cummins and (I think) electrically updated.

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1965-hatteras-50-motor-yacht-8387854/

And stabilized....... Very interesting provenance on the boat.

Peter

 

[socalrider]

And stabilized....... Very interesting provenance on the boat.

Peter

Yep if that was on my side of the canal I'd be all over it! Seems like a fantastic deal (subject to survey, etc!)

 

[READY]

I think Swift Trawler 41 can be a candidate.

If you can find a Swift Trawler around $200k??

 

[proudsailor]

We're in a DeFever 44 and I love the engine room! Ample storage and ability to configure tool boxes and other ER niceties. Very nice aft state room with walk around queen. Head w/ walk-in shower. Nice size aft deck w/ small sink and many have ice makers under the sink. Forward berth is the large V w/ a separate wet head. A bit of a challenge to get into, but ours is so seldom used it isn't worth the concern. Huge flybridge w/ seating easily for 10 or 12! Twin Perkins 135s (some have Lehmans) and I burn about 5gph. For us it was a choice between a Kroger 42 or DF44.

Dislikes about the DF44 is the high aft deck makes grabbing lines or getting on and off a challenge. Marquipt stairs certainly were a welcome addition. And we've been using the docking stick with pretty good success. She has a bit of freeboard so cross winds can make handling a challenge, overcome able with practice I hope. Likes- nice state room, lots of very usable outdoor space, and she's pretty rugged in crappy seas.