Thoughts About A DeFever 41 ?

[Me-and-Boo]

I looked at a Defever 41 (2001 vintage) today and left with a good feeling. It does have a couple issues and probably more will show up with a survey.

A soft area around a scupper on the aft deck, about 18" X 12". No water was showing inside. Also, the mast has several length wise cracks in it; I can't tell if it was stressed or hit something. The radar cover is fine and it sticks out all sorts of ways from the mast. It could be the cause too, but should not be.

I would like to hear thoughts from others about Defever's, in particular the 41's. After scanning through a few years of posts here I have not seen anything negative about them.
Thoughts? Thank you ahead of responses.

[SharAndy]

Go on line to the DeFever Club. Join so you can access the forum and ask your question. You'll get lots of info from experienced knowledgeable DeFever owners. There are also all the Newsletters, Magazines, etc. stored for internet access and you can search those for any info. Site is: DeFever Cruisers - A Club for Yachting Enthusiasts with a Passion for DeFever Vessels and the Cruising Life!

[Honey Ryder]

when i looked at one a few years ago i noticed that the saloon roof was soft in places...and learned that the roof was made of plywood...with stanchions screwed on from above which resulted in rot and water ingress that also doscolored the interior joinery.

a marine surveyor told me that the build quality is suspect because the boats were made in asia and shipped in two parts (hull and deck) to save on shipping and then glued together once in this part of the world. he said that the joins were not always done well so they can leak where deck meets hull.

i thought the saloon roof could be fixed fairly easily so it was no bid deal.

what i didn't like was the height of the aft deck...about 6'1"...

but the space aboard is great, and the high forward deck inspires confidence.

i like them and they seem good value for money too.

[dacust]

My understanding was that the DeFevers were built in many different shipyards. So, the quality differed. Basically, just because there was a particular problem in one DeFever means little about the probability of the same problem cropping up in another.

You just need to get a good survey, but then that's always the case no matter what the boat.

I, too, have really liked every DeFever I've ever been on.

As I said in another thread, most of them came with 120hp Lehman's, which are noisy, but seem to run forever. Then when they DO need to be worked on, they are so common that anyone can work on them and parts are easy to find.

-dan

[defever]

my wife and i have lived/cruised on our defever 41 (1983) for 18 years, put 50K n.m. on it and have been from canada to guatemala. we LOVE it and , knock on wood, have had no structural problems w/ it. the mast did presenbt some rot but we just cut it out and filled it w/ epoxy, now stronger than ever. the hull below the waterline has no blisters however from the scum line to the toe rail we have thousands of teeny blisters which showed up after the boat was 17 yrs old. they leech a brown gunk which we think is styrene and use oxalic acid on the hull every few mos or so to keep it white. doesn't seem to affect the structural integrity and have never seen this on any other boat incl defevers.

we HIGHLY recommend the boat but get a good survey incl the engine (ours is a single perkins w/ 8K hrs--runs like a top noil burn)..have fun..

[Fueldiva]

We own a 1965 Wooden De Fever 43 which was built in Santa Barbara by Lindwall Boatyards. It is in great condition and we love it.
DeFevers are great in their design and generally they are well built. Ours we feel is a superior quality build and this is because of the quality of the wood used and the craftsmanship.
A previous reply said the designs and builds are various and I agree. After ours was built most of the DeFevers were built overseas. Get a good survey!
Also, pick an engine which is well know. We have a Cat single engine and it is very basic and runs well, easy to service, walkaround in the engine room. Access to filters etc. is important.
Usually all the good things are included in a De Fever!
Hull design is constant and that is the great feature of the design. These boats are Blue water cruisers and have great flare on the bow and lots of fuel and water capacity in general. You really cant go wrong with a De Fever design.