T&T: 1980's DeFever 49 Pilothouse?

[Robin Roberts]

The DeFever 49 is a full-displacement blue water cruiser - they have the 
range to cross the Atlantic, and some have crossed the Pacific.  The 
hull is solid 'glass approximately 1-3/4" thick or more.  Most of them 
are powered with twin naturally aspirated 120 or 135 HP engines such as 
the Lehman or Perkins, though there are a few out there with other 
engines.  It serves extremely well as a liveaboard boat since the 
pilothouse and saloon provide some separation of spaces for privacy, 
"office" vs. living room, etc.  The mid-ship's master stateroom is a 
very sea kindly cabin.  Guest quarters are a little less comfy with 
over/under bunks in the bow, but the bunks are large (7+' long) and 
there is a separate guest head.  The master stateroom has an ensuite 
head with a small bathtub. Fuel capacity is typically 800 gallons, fresh 
water is 400. 

DeFever is not a "brand" quite the same as Grand Banks, etc.  Arthur 
DeFever (who just celebrated his 91st birthday and is still drawing 
boats in his San Diego office) is the naval architect, and he licensed 
his designs to be built in various yards.  Arthur started out designing 
tuna clippers for the Pacific fishing fleet, and used design elements 
from those roots when he turned his pencil to recreational boats.  There 
are a few 1970's vintage 49s that are wood, but from the later 1970's 
onwards the boats were made of fiberglass.
  
The  49 RPH (raised pilothouse) have been built primarily in two yards - 
Sen Koh in Taiwan and CTF in China.  The older boats were built in the 
Sen Koh yard, and when the mold started nearing the end of its life a 
new mold was built (with slight changes) over in China.  I believe the 
overlap started around 1986 - where both yards were producing the boats, 
and production ended on the Sen Koh mold around hull #64 in 1989.

The primary differences between boats produced in the two yards are:
- The Sen Koh hull is 49' 10" on deck;  CTF is 48' 7" on deck (the bow 
was bellied out slightly in the CTF mold so the interior space is similar)
- The Sen Koh flying bridge sits atop the pilothouse; the CTF flying 
bridge sits back and down a bit - so once you've seen a photo of the two 
boats they're simple to tell apart

Suggest you join the DeFever Cruisers group (open to anyone) for 
$25/year - www.defevercruisers.com.  Arthur DeFever is a member and he 
usually comes to the annual rendezvous and such.  It's a great way to 
learn more about these wonderful boats and talk to and meet owners.

Robin Roberts
MV ADVENTURES - DeFever 49 RPH