DeFever 44

Cruising to new harbors and new horizons is what Bob and Elaine Ebaugh like to do, and over the course of their boating lives they've

taken in the west coast of Florida as far as the Dry Tortugas and chartered throughout the British Virgin Islands.

In 2009 they made a commit­ment to do what many only dream of: slip the lines and do some serious cruising. "Our ini­tia l goal was to take a cou ple of years off from work, sell our home, and move aboard and cruise," says Elaine, 55, a licensed speech-language pathologist.

prov ide comfortable accommodations for longer-distance cruising on minimal opera­tional costs," says Bob, 54, a marine elec­trici an and former corpora te p ilot and IT consu ltant. "We fo und nicer and larger mo­toryachts in our price range, but they did not have the cruisin g range we wan ted."

And they did, covering 5,000 miles on an odyssey that took them far beyond their normal

Bob and Elaine Ebaugh

The Eba ughs a llocated a couple of months to the se­lec ti on process, limitin g their search to cruising boats in Florida within their price range. They found the De­Fever in Fort Myers. It of­fers ample living and storage space, with comfortable living quarters, along with a reputa­tion as a solid, proven offshore vessel. "Aesthetica ll y she was

horizons. "I don' t trunk either of us seriously thought when we set out that we would make the entil'e Caribbean loop as far as Colombia, Panama and the western Caribbean."

Of course, the first step was finding the right boa t. For the Florida-based cou pie, it turned out to be a 1985 DeFever 44 Ocean Cruiser. "We wanted a liveaboard that would

appealing," says Elaine. "Definitely an older vessel with m any adventures behind her, but nicely appointed and attractive."

They bought the boat th rough Edwards Yacht Sales in Clea rwater (edwardsyachtsales. com) for $150,000. " 1 don' t think we could have made a better choice withou t a much bigger budget," says Bob.

64 SOUNDINGSONLlNE.COM DECEMBER 2014

The EbaughB spent two years putting the 24-year-old boat - renam ed Mar Azul -into liveaboard cruising shape. "We wan ted her i.n the most reli able condition for long­distance cruising, so we did lots of things before leaving," Bob says. They replaced one of the generators, all of the through-hulls and strainers, all wet exhaust hose and fuel hoses, repaired the stabilizers, added a backup in­verter charger and replaced the battery setup . An Awlgrip job led to replacing the saloon windows. "Not sure what all this cos t, not sure I want to know," says Bob. "But it was well north of $50,000, and outside of the Awl­grip, I did much of the labor."

Then it was off to the islands. Leaving St. Petersburg in Apri l 2011, the couple spent 28 months cruising to South America and back. "Initially we couldn't get enough of the beau­tiful waters - the exq uisite Exumas, Turks and Caicos, the Spani sh Virgins offset by the rainforest mountains of Puerto Rico, the spectacular pink-sand beaches in Barbuda," says Elaine. "There was a thrill arriving in a harbor in a strange land in yo ur own littl e vessel. Each destination offered unique op­portunities to lea rn and experience the loca l flavor and ways of life ."

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA: 43 feet , 9 inches

BEAM: 14 feet , 9 inches

DRAFT: 4 feet , 7 inches

WEIGHT: 44,000 pounds

HULL TYPE: displacement

PROPULSION: twin diesels , 120-135 hp

TANKAGE: 900 gallons fuel , 350 gallons water

DESIGNER: Arthur DeFever

For Bob, the highlight was visiting the San BIas Islands of Panama. "These islands are as close to the natural, untouched beauty of the Caribbean remaining today, with the local people living in communities much the same as 200 or more years ago," he says. "[They are] li ving off the land and sea in straw huts with hammocks and fire pits. About the only modern concession is that most but not al l villages have cell phone service."

Mar Azul, powered by twin Ford Lehman I20-hp diesels, used about 3,760 gallons of fuel in 986 engine hours. "We typically cruise at 6.5 to 7 knots, burning under 4 gallons per hour," Bob says. "Her top speed is prob­ably about 8.5 knots, being essentially a full­displacement hulL" Fuel load is 900 gallons, and at "best economy speed," the 44 has a I,SOO-mile range with some reserve.

"We never pu shed her kno wingly into more than S-foot seas and 15- to 17-knot winds," Bob says. "That said, you sometimes end up in weather not forecast and / or coast­al effects that impact an otherwise good plan, especially with some legs requiring two or three days at sea."

The worst conditions they faced were winds up to 25 knots, gusting to 40, and 10-foot seas. "Even then, very little water makes it on deck,

BACKGROUND The 44 Offshore Cruiser remains one of Arthur DeFever's most popular designs. De Fever began his career designing tuna trawlers for the San Diego fleet. In the early 1960s he was encouraged to come up with a cruising trawler with seakeeping capabilities and range that were similar to his fishing designs. The 38- to 54-footers he produced were hardy boats designed to handle the Pacific from Mexico to Alaska. Early wooden boats were built in Santa Barbara, California. Fiber­glass models were built in Mexico, Taiwan and China. The 44's production run was from 1981 to 2004. DeFever, recognized as a pioneer in recreational trawler design, died in 2013.

and she tracks well - but I can' t say it' s a comfortable ride," he says. "The boat can han­dle more than I wan t to find out."

These days, the well-traveled DeFever is docked comfortably a t the Pasadena Yacht and Country Club in Gulfport, Florida, though tha t may not last. "I think Mar Azul has fulfilled her initial [cruising] vision," says Elaine. "The experiences we had aboard have changed our lives and given us many new perspectives. We hope in the not-too-distant future that Mar Azul will be able to embark on a new adventure."

Walkthrough The DeFever 44 is a no-nonsense twin-cabin,

twin-engine trawler capable of long-distance cruising. The heavily built displacement hu ll has a tali, flared bow and plenty of freeboard all around. The superstructure features a large foredeck, an a midships p il othouse /saloon

and an open lounge deck aft. The flybridge has a complete helm station on centerline and passenger seating. Full-length hand ralls and wide side decks make for safe passage be­tween the fore and aft decks while underway.

The 44,000-pound boat is powered by twin 120-hp diesels, placed amidships with tank­age and generators in a dedicated engine room that includes a workbench. The spa­cious aft " lounge deck" is covered w ith a hardtop for sun protection.

Insi de, the main cabin features a ga lley­up layout. The C-shaped galley has a stove top, oven, refri gerator and a bar with stools. There's an L-shaped dinette wi th a table for dining. The lower helm is to starboard and has room for a full array of electronics.

The master stateroom is aft and has an is­land berth and a fully equipped en-suite head compartment. There's another cabin forward wi th a V-berth and adjacen t head ._

NorthCoast 27' Hard Top

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