Our new-to-us DeFever 49 RPH

[BruceK]

For maneuvering, single to twins is a whole new world. Try rotating one fwd/one reverse with rudder. Turn becomes fast and tight.

 

[KnotYet]

It's been a busy couple of weeks but I was able to just visit the boat today and hardly work on it at all!
This is me sitting in the (now) properly lit engine room of Bingpot, taken by my good pal Gio:

 

[SteveK]

I dunno if I could stand the port engine not being parallel with the starboard.
Otherwise just beautiful. That engine room suggests the rest of the boat is immaculate as well.

 

[KnotYet]

There is a lot going on in this photo, such as the brilliant new LED bulbs in the old-school
fluorescent tube housings. Under a hundred bucks but the light they produce is priceless!
The gleaming Lehmans are about halfway through their refit with new exhaust hoses and
elbows installed. Heat exchangers and the header tanks are cleaned or replaced and going
back on next week.
To my left is the ProMarine 12V charger that I put on to replace the ancient Lewco battery
murderer that used to occupy that spot on the bulkhead. Hopefully the starting batts are ok.

To starboard of that are 4 Battle Borne 273AH lithium batteries which connect to a Victron
12V 3kW Multiplus. This is a stunning house battery set-up that came with the boat! Also
included was a pair of unmounted solar panels. I'll be improving the battery holding system.

 

[Bmarler]

Are they really offset? I had no idea.

 

[KnotYet]

Are they really offset? I had no idea.

I don't think so, I think that is an artifact of the wide-angle lens setting on Gio's Iphone.

 

[BruceK]

You look justifiably proud.That`s a great ER. And I bet the Lehmans sound sweet, the 120s in my last boat were a joy to hear.

 

[Comodave]

Very beautiful engine room.

 

[KnotYet]

You look justifiably proud.That`s a great ER. And I bet the Lehmans sound sweet, the 120s in my last boat were a joy to hear.

Yes, they purred like kittens during the hour we spent on the maiden voyage.

 

[KnotYet]

Very beautiful engine room.

Thanks, Art DeFever knew what he was doing with this design. I continue to be impressed.

 

[ScottC]

A fantastic engine room! I'm jealous!!
And it's amazing how clean the engines and all are. This certainly must have been a well-maintained boat -- or little used -- or both!

 

[KnotYet]

A fantastic engine room! I'm jealous!!
And it's amazing how clean the engines and all are. This certainly must have been a well-maintained boat -- or little used -- or both!

A little of both, I think. The first owner was an avid cruiser and went from L.A. to Alaska and
back. The next owner went south to Z-town and back. Both maintained with deep pockets.
The latest POs were able to keep everything clean but I get the feeling they stayed local for years. The boat has been unused for at least 2 years since they moved out of the area.

 

[guy with a boat]

Impressive engine room for sure. Looks like a very capable rig and well worth whatever work it takes to be cruise-ready. Looking forward to following your adventures in both the prep and the cruising.

 

[Comodave]

Agree, keep the photos coming, since we love to watch.

 

[jim.johnson3570]

Congratulations - if you get one of those 49' RPH's you want it out of the CTF yard from everything I have heard. Is that the one that 1985 that was in Long Beach had some serious batteries as I recall and the electronics were of various vintage but serviceable and had a bow-thruster as I recall? Same Boat?

 

[Jdornick]

A week ago we closed on a 1985 49' RPH!
I've been actively seeking a solid displacement cruiser ever since I joined TF some years ago.
As time went by my list of 'must-haves' changed somewhat. This boat satisfies most
of those items. 'Bingpot' is a well kept example from CTF with twin Lehman 135's.
There is plenty of deferred maintenance to catch up on but the boat surveyed pretty well.
It sat unused for the last 2 years so that adds some chores. All in all it's in good shape
for a 40-year-old and I saved enough on the price to help with updating some old stuff. View attachment 167801

Welcome to the DeFever family. Make sure to join the DeFever Cruisers forum great info there. Cheers

 

[JimW]

A week ago we closed on a 1985 49' RPH!
I've been actively seeking a solid displacement cruiser ever since I joined TF some years ago.
As time went by my list of 'must-haves' changed somewhat. This boat satisfies most
of those items. 'Bingpot' is a well kept example from CTF with twin Lehman 135's.
There is plenty of deferred maintenance to catch up on but the boat surveyed pretty well.
It sat unused for the last 2 years so that adds some chores. All in all it's in good shape
for a 40-year-old and I saved enough on the price to help with updating some old stuff. View attachment 167801

Congratulations beautiful vessel . . . Are you a member of DeFever Cruisers? If not please consider joining, also I assist Charma O. With the DeFever Boat History/ownership/names/etc/HIN . . . Please DM me your information about your boat to get it into the database . . . In looking at it right now I don’t see it listed. Thanks and the fun begins!

Standing by-

 

[rgano]

Aha! Now you've done it and jumped in the water with the rest of us lost souls. Well done. Now, about that user name of yours....

 

[Mambo42]

Interesting to see the stbd engine with a lot added next to it. Can you still get to the Fuel pump and raw water pump ? I already have trouble getting to them without everything you have next to the engine.
The one thing I did with my ER is add 10 cm sound insulation to the ceiling and on the salon floor I added 2 cm of sound proofing material below the carpet. As a result the salon is relatively quiet (as is the pilot house) when we are underway. Before that the sound was basically horrendous, way too loud.

 

[KnotYet]

Congratulations - if you get one of those 49' RPH's you want it out of the CTF yard from everything I have heard. Is that the one that 1985 that was in Long Beach had some serious batteries as I recall and the electronics were of various vintage but serviceable and had a bow-thruster as I recall? Same Boat?

Thanks, this boat was based at Cabrillo Marina/San Pedro in L.A. harbor since I first saw it
2 years ago, but the rest of the details are a match.

 

[KnotYet]

Congratulations beautiful vessel . . . Are you a member of DeFever Cruisers? If not please consider joining, also I assist Charma O. With the DeFever Boat History/ownership/names/etc/HIN . . . Please DM me your information about your boat to get it into the database . . . In looking at it right now I don’t see it listed. Thanks and the fun begins!

Standing by-

I am a member of the group, this boat is the former Bandwagon and Beluga before that.
I haven't gotten around to adding my info to the database, so thanks for your suggestion!

 

[KnotYet]

Interesting to see the stbd engine with a lot added next to it. Can you still get to the Fuel pump and raw water pump ? I already have trouble getting to them without everything you have next to the engine.
The one thing I did with my ER is add 10 cm sound insulation to the ceiling and on the salon floor I added 2 cm of sound proofing material below the carpet. As a result the salon is relatively quiet (as is the pilot house) when we are underway. Before that the sound was basically horrendous, way too loud.

There is probably more room than it seems like in the photo.

 

[KnotYet]

The engine refresh (all heat exchangers, raw water and coolant hoses, impellers and fluids)
is complete and some pals and I moved Bingpot to her new slip at a Wilmington, CA marina.
The next project is replacing the aging Westerbleak generator with a new Northern Light$!

 

[bglad]

Does it have antisiphon valves for the engine raw-water system? The exhaust spillover point is fairly low on these.

 

[KnotYet]

Does it have antisiphon valves for the engine raw-water system? The exhaust spillover point is fairly low on these.

That's a good point and yes, both engines have new anti-siphon valves replacing the old ones.
I'll post photos of the finished version.

 

[KnotYet]

Here you go, the anti-siphon valves are mounted to the overhead and vented into the bilge.

 

[Mac2]

Nice work. You added the anti siphon valve. Im guessing this is a known issue with your boat. Was the PO rolling the dice?

 

[KnotYet]

Nice work. You added the anti siphon valve. Im guessing this is a known issue with your boat. Was the PO rolling the dice?

The earlier picture above was taken about halfway through the refresh of the engine room.
The old anti-siphon valves and hoses had been removed along with the heat exchangers.
Like most boats, the engines are below the waterline so anti-siphons were a no brainer.

 

[lwarden]

Are those anti-siphon valves electrically controlled?

 

[KnotYet]

Are those anti-siphon valves electrically controlled?

No, they're the usual diaphragm type that open when a vacuum is present in the hose.