GL: Defever 49 for Loop

[A H FOSTER]

"What's with all this dis'ing of the DeFever 49!!??"

Don't look at me. I
agree with you. :-)

It's a skill level thing I would think. Some folks can
just barely handle the one they have. So they can't imagine handling anything
larger.

And this guy mentioned he was looking at it to do the loop and retire
on it. I'd much rather retire on a 49' than a 39'. :-)  
________________________________
From: Jeffrey Siegel <jeff at activecaptain.com>
To: A H FOSTER <capt.bill11 at verizon.net>
Cc: great-loop at lists.samurai.com
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2009 8:59:45 AM
Subject: Re: GL: Defever 49 for Loop
> That's an awfully large boat, hopefully you have crew to
> help handle it.
>
> With a little practice and good communication skills,
> two people should be
able to handle that size vessel
> no problem.
> 

What's with all this dis'ing
of the DeFever 49!!??

Our previous boat was 28' and the previous largest boat
I ever owned was 30' LOA.  When we got our DeFever 53 pilothouse trawler
(called a "stretch-49") 6-1/2 years ago, sure, we knew we'd need practice.  We
hired a professional who stood by and helped give on-the-spot tips and
techniques over 3 days of full time practice.  Since then, we've had no
problem taking the boat anywhere we've wanted to go under any condition we
found ourselves in (Maine to Key West, Bahamas, etc - about 15,000 nm so far
with many more to come).  OK, one bent anchor shank from a situation I won't
talk about, but everyone has had those days.

Our total crew is me, my wife,
and our dogs.  The dogs don't do much to help.  I've tried to teach one to
grab the eye of a line and put it over a cleat.  A retriever only wants to
bring things back though, completely failing as an extra dock hand.

DeFever's
are solid tanks.  Many have done the loop, the Bahamas, deep into the
Caribbean, and all over the rest of the cruising destinations.  There are
plusses and minuses to every boat design and tradeoffs with every boat.  What
I like about my boat is that I can do the loop as well as cruise very
comfortably offshore and to the Caribbean with the same boat.  They are
extremely safe, overbuilt, and very comfortable.  I prefer twin engines now
that I've experienced the handling - never thought I would like it and was
originally looking only for a single engine trawler.  We currently experience
about 3.5-4.0 GPH of fuel use total at 8 kts - about 2 nm per gallon.  Bumping
up to 9 kts burns 7.5 GPH.  A larger boat allows more resources - we carry
1,000 gallons of fuel, 400 gallons of water, and a ridiculous number of
computers, communications equipment, and electronics.

The 17' minimum height
seems odd to me too.  There have been various models over the years but most
current DeFever pilothouse models have an arch that folds down specifically
for loop traveling.  My arch can fold forward or backward providing a 14-15'
air height depending on which way it's folded and the dinghy configuration.

I
know Skipper Bob's old adage about getting the smallest boat you feel
comfortable in.  I've also never known of anyone in rough conditions who
wished they were in a smaller boat.  We continue to travel further, experience
more, and enjoy our boat because we feel extremely safe in her.  Aren't those
some of the most important qualities for having a boat in the first place?
====================================
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever
53RPH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine

www.activecaptain.com
The Interactive
Cruising Guidebook

Our cruising blog:
http://takingpaws.blogspot.com


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