T&T: 1980's DeFever 49 Pilothouse?

[Jeffrey Siegel]

> I'm hoping to get some feedback about the 1980's
> DeFever 49 Pilothouse design...

> It will be just the two of us and a couple of
> big dogs, with occasional visits from our college
> age daughter.
>

We searched for our trawler for 3-4 years.  We went to a couple of  
TrawlerFests (one of the best things we ever did) along with a variety  
of boat shows - Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, etc.  At each show we worked  
with a broker to spend a couple of days looking at boats.  We saw lots  
of them.

Over time you'll create a list of requirements as you see different  
configuration and layouts.  For us, one of the most difficult  
requirements to fill was to find a boat with a flybridge that our dogs  
could walk onto.  It just wouldn't fly to leave the dogs below while  
we piloted from on top.  Having a real set of stairs to a flybridge is  
difficult to find unless you start considering very large boats.  The  
Fleming 55 was an example of a great layout with a walk-up staircase  
to the flybridge.

After getting onto a variety of Flemings, we came across a DeFever  
49PH.  It had a similar layout but with much more storage space.  The  
prices were a lot more reasonable as well.  We also liked that the  
DF49PH had the master stateroom amidships - much more comfortable in  
rough seas and rocky anchorages.  We got onboard every '49 we could  
find over a year's period.

Our search eventually ran into a pair of DF53PH's that had been  
recently built.  The 53 is really a "stretch" 49 with a couple of  
extra feet in a few different places.  I really wasn't looking for the  
extra 4 feet but we fell in love with one of the boats and the rest,  
as they say, is history.

It's now been about 6.5 years with aCappella.  If given the chance to  
do it all over again, I'd do the exact same thing.

Our dogs, by the way, love the flybridge...


====================================
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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