Not many boaters move up by 30 feet, but the DeFever 49 was just too good a fit to pass up for this couple.
Some say the two best days for a boat owner are the day he buys the boat and the day he sells it. Don and Pat Pickworth are still basking in the glow of that first day, when they took possession of their 2002 DeFever 49 Cockpit Motor Yacht in December2006. That second day, however, is far, far off.
Owning a cruising boat was a long-term dream, says Pickworth, who grew up boating on Lake Ontario. His father even built a cabin cruiser for the family. “Weeks and weekends cruising the lake are great memories and provided a base of knowledge and a love of cruising,” he says.
The closest the couple had gotten to the cruising life was flats fishing in the shallows around Naples. Their biggest boat was a 19-footer they used for getting to and from their island summer cottage on the St.Lawrence Seaway.
They bought the boat in the Chesapeake Bay region, so they stayed and cruised those waters for a season. But the Great Lakes and the Great Loop beckon. And the Pickworths are sure they’ve got the right boat for the voyage. The DeFever takes rough seas well, although she tends to roll in a beam sea. “She is full displacement and very heavy, so you have the feeling that you have a very substantial boat under you,” says Pickworth.
Power comes from twin 150-hp John Deere diesels, which deliver a cruising speed of 8 knots. Fuel load is 950 gallons. Pickworth’s electronics include a Raymarine chartplotter, radome radar and a Simrad autopilot.
The DeFever has been up on Lake Ontario, at Clayton, N.Y., for the summer, and the couple plan to cruise the southern shore of the lake. “We are undecided right now as to whether to take her back to Chesapeake Bay again or keep her up north,”Pickworth says.
The DeFever 49 Cockpit Motor Yacht has the look of a long-distance cruiser, with its tall, clipper-style bow and ample freeboard carried well aft beneath a moderate sheer to the cockpit. The side decks are wide, with sturdy rails. The flared bow is designed to shed seas, and the displacement hull has the traditional full keel and protected prop/rudder.
The midships pilothouse/saloon is topped by a flybridge with full helm station and seating for up to eight. The pilothouse is reached from the large, covered aft deck abaft the pilothouse/saloon, which has a full helm station to starboard and side doors, as well as the U-shaped galley aft. The galley is laid out with room for a multiburner stove, full refrigerator and microwave. The location is convenient to the aft deck and flybridge.
The two-stateroom layout comprises a large master cabin aft that takes full advantage of the boat’s 15-foot beam. It’s complete, with a full head (including separate shower), lots of storage and room for a washer/dryer. Stern and side ports provide plentiful light and ventilation. The commodious guest cabin forward is “down” and comes with a large V-berth and adjacent head.
The engine room for the twin power plants is amidships, and it’s notable for its size and headroom.
While the smaller DeFever 44 is more easily found on the used-boat market, a little searching reveals a number of 49 Cockpit Motor Yachts scattered around the nation. Prices start at around $400,000. A 2000 model, “ready to go,” was for sale in Texas for $429,500, with twin 135-hp Perkins diesels and a fuel load of 1,000 gallons. The galley has a three-burner stove and side-by-side refrigerator. Full electronics at both helm stations include GPS/plotter, autopilot, radar and speed/depth. Extras range from a cockpit wet bar to an inflatable with outboard — and dedicated wine storage.
In Washington, a2001 model was selling for $399,000, with twin 135-hp Perkins diesels (less than 1,000 hours), a fully enclosed fly-bridge, hardtop with dinghy storage, stabilizers and an oversized 1,100-gallon fuel capacity. A 2004 model “in excellent condition” was priced at $475,000 in Florida, with twin 135-hp Perkins diesels and a fuel capacity of 1,000 gallons. The galley has a three-burner stove/oven, and there’s an L-shaped set-tee/dinette in the saloon. The flybridge is fully enclosed with new canvas.
Steve Knauth is a contributing writer for Soundings Magazine. This article originally appeared in the October 2008 issue.