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Help me find a 40-ish foot pilothouse

19K views 68 replies 30 participants last post by  Japheth 
#1 ·
In the continued search for "the perfect boat" we have a couple of good contenders, but I want to be sure we're not missing a make/model with our searches. Also, I'm mostly searching yachtworld, but if the perfect boat model exists, but is not currently for sale, I wouldn't know about it unless I asked....

Requirements:
-Pilothouse with steering station. Must have good visibility to steer from this location.
-Berths for 2 adults and 2 kids, occasionally 1-2 guests.
-big fuel tankage
-divided rig, preferably a ketch
-exterior cockpit steering location and place to relax/entertain in warm climes
-blue water capable for milk run and circumnavigating Australia
-must be smaller than my current boat (50' and 30,000lbs)
-must be easier to dock than my current boat (full keel formosa 41)
-must be easy to walk around on deck and stay onboard

Nice to have:
-really good sailing performance
-lots of the offshore equipment already bought/installed
-solid rails instead of lifelines

MedSailor
 
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#2 ·
jrd22's Brewer PH 40 is one good, but relatively rare candidate.

The Cooper 416 might also fit your bill, and there's quite a few around this area since they were built here.
 
#6 ·
#7 ·
Hehe how about this puppy. 1,200gal fuel tank. I calculated that I could motor from Seattle to Sydney DIRECT on one tank of gas....

Willard 40 Pilothouse Motorsailer for sale, 12.19m, 1977 | BoatshedSeattle.com

Thanks for the links so far. It's amazing how few pilothouse sailboats are made with a good steering station down below. Many have windows and a raised saloon, but no steering station, some have a wheel in the living room, but few have a real steering station below.

MedSailor
 
#8 · (Edited)
The Willard looks more MOTOR than sailer...;)

The standard Sceptre 41s have inside steering, we know several people who own them. Solid, high quality boats but the visibility is not excellent from the helm. The last few built became '43s' with a sugar scoop transom. The very last one built they redesigned the deck mold and raised the house about 4 inches, bigger windows and good visibility from below. It's a one-off, though, and at present still the last of them. Also owned by friends of ours.

I do think, though that both the Sceptre and the Cooper sail pretty well, and the Cooper with it's 14 foot beam is huge. Cooper also built a few Cooper 501s, which is IMO where the 'look' comes into its own.

There is a pretty good pilothouse thread somewhere here on the site.
Found it:
http://www.sailnet.com/forums/boat-...69553-lets-talk-motorsailers-pilothouses.html
 
#9 ·
although there aren't very many out there and they are pricey, take a look at the Cabo Rico 42 PH or maybe the 45 Pilothouse... inside steering, good visability (except right under the bow).... The company isn't as solid as we would like, but the components and workmanship are top drawer. Both are Cutters, great capacity for stowage, fuel and water, absolutely blue water.
 
#10 ·
#11 ·
That one was on the market when we were looking some three years back . The one we were looking at had some problems with teak deck and softness in the PH sides. Had we been living in the PNW we may well have bought her but not at this distance.
 
#13 ·
What I am looking for seems really rare..... Strange, there is lots of sailing to be done in areas where one might want to steer from indoors....

The Septre looks like it does have a wheel down below, but you'd have to be standing on the couch to steer from it. Now that's strange.... I was hoping for something with a seat, a wheel, and maybe even a place to put a chart. I'd like to steer from the pilothouse often, rather than once in a blue moon.

Many of the other contenders like the brewer look great, but fall down with the prospect of where to put the kids. A V-berth and a double berth would be adequate, but the brewer doesn't have a traditional V berth but rather an angled double. I doubt two boys would want to actually share a bed for several years. I also don't want to be turning a berth in the salon into a bed and back on a daily basis for years, so pilot berths and the like aren't much help either. Another option would be a v-berth and 2 quarter-berths.

I should also probably say that my wife and I haven't agreed on a budget exactly, but I know for sure it's below $150,000. More likely 1/2 of that....

Keep 'em coming. I know someone knows of the perfect boat!

MedSailor
 
#15 ·
What I am looking for seems really rare..... Strange, there is lots of sailing to be done in areas where one might want to steer from indoors....

The Septre looks like it does have a wheel down below, but you'd have to be standing on the couch to steer from it. Now that's strange.... I was hoping for something with a seat, a wheel, and maybe even a place to put a chart. I'd like to steer from the pilothouse often, rather than once in a blue moon.

Many of the other contenders like the brewer look great, but fall down with the prospect of where to put the kids. A V-berth and a double berth would be adequate, but the brewer doesn't have a traditional V berth but rather an angled double. I doubt two boys would want to actually share a bed for several years. I also don't want to be turning a berth in the salon into a bed and back on a daily basis for years, so pilot berths and the like aren't much help either. Another option would be a v-berth and 2 quarter-berths.

I should also probably say that my wife and I haven't agreed on a budget exactly, but I know for sure it's below $150,000. More likely 1/2 of that....

Keep 'em coming. I know someone knows of the perfect boat!

MedSailor
In my searches I've found little in the way of pilothouses... but here is one if you haven't seen it yet in your search...

1988 Slocum 43
 
#16 ·
I own a van de stadt norman 40ft. Mine does not have steering inside but many do . We are very happy with the sailing ability of the yacht . They are mainly steel ,with a few aluminum ones .huge fuel and water tanks , nice big engine, 3 cabins ,fantastic visibility from inside . If you google it you will find a few for sale
 
#19 ·
I have finally given up my search for this very type of boat as they are few and far between. If i only had another $100 k... anyhow i am familiar a with all of the pilothouse sailboats on the west coast for sale. I have even been on many of them. 38 ft is more common . 40 less common. Garbage boats are very common.
let me know how I can help.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Like looking for a needle in a haystack, eh? Hard to find the right combination at the right price in a pilothouse. With an unlimited budget, no problem (Amazon, Waterline, Nauticat, Cabo Rico, etc). Trying to find something for $100K is tough, especially if you want it "now". The Sceptre's are very nice and well built and the one I was on had adequate visibility from the pilothouse and had a full helm (not just a joystick), they came with different floor plans (the raised dinette would be a requirement for me - visibility). They hold their value though and I don't think you'll find one in your price range (they also have a very straight shear line, I like curves :)). Same with the Nauticat 39, beautiful boat that fits all of your requirements but pricey (one of my personal favorites). Our Brewer (Puget Pilot, Three Seas = same) would also be a good choice if you could find one and depending on condition might be in the right price range. Definitely built to cross oceans, dedicated full helm in the PH and a nice cockpit (not large by todays standards but large enough to stretch out in). You mentioned the Vberth/double and with a little carpentry you could remove the small amount of cabinetry on the starboard side and have a traditional Vberth. It's a sloop though (ours is cutter rigged with RF staysail) with a removable forestay and you wanted a ketch. They have teak decks, we removed ours, but if you aren't going to stay in the soggy PNW it might not be an issue (our core was dry). There is the Valiant 40 PH, but generally I think you have to be OK with the blister issues from the resin that was used (I don't know much about them). Ron mentioned the Nautilus and there were a couple of them around when we were looking for our boat, but I don't know much about them either.
That Brewer that has been for sale on YW forever has had structural bulkheads removed to create an "entertainment center", I'd steer clear of it.
 
#24 ·
Hey everybody, thanks again for your replies!

Lets call my budget $140,000. My wife and I were talking last night, and somewhat to my surprise, she's on board to spend quite a bit more than I was expecting. I'm the less conservative one with the money around here and am the more boat crazy one, so I didn't protest. ;) We agreed not to spend more on our boat than we did on our house, which was just over 140.

The fisher 37 is a boat we haven't been aboard yet. My wife really likes the look of it from the pictures. I both like it and I don't. I like sturdy, don't get me wrong, but it's a little too much like an icebreaker for a downwind trip in my book. I also think it would be a little too closed up for the warmer climates. In fact, the one in San Diego doesn't even have an external cockpit! I also don't like that they're 35,000lbs (5,000lbs more than my current boat) and also a full keel with a prop in an apeture. Sounds as hard, or harder to dock than what I have.

My wife and I like the nauticat 38 and there are a couple around at the upper end of our price range. What I don't know though is if they have blister issues and if so, what's involved with that. I also don't know if they're safe to take offshore with those big doors and windows. If they're safe to take offshore and don't have hull leprosy, they might be a good candidate. I might like a little more performance, but the wife would buy one in a heartbeat I think.

Off to look at the other suggestions in more detail....

MedSailor
 
#27 ·
Oh, I like that boat alright, and I've heard of that "Perry" guy. ;)

This is a perfect example of a boat that meets most of my needs but fails on a deal-breaking criteria. Where do we put the kids? It's got a V-berth that could house 2 kids, or us 2 adults, but the only other berth is the main pilothouse salon table that converts into a double. I plan to live on the boat for 5 years or so, and don't want to be sleeping in the living room for that long.

Sigh.... nice boat though. Maybe I should send the kids to boarding school...

MedSailor
 
#30 ·
We went this same route and after looking and and nearly buying one we ended up without a pilot house.

Not sure I am sorry. They have pluses and minuses. We looked for a couple of years.

We looked at a lot of custom built steel or aluminum boats.

Only one that would truly have tempted me came up at my very marina in Newfoundland after we had already bought.
 
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