+SEA KadeyKrogen48 Sep10 - Kadey-Krogen Yachts

Kadey-Krogen
48
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA
53 ft.
Beam
16 ft., 8 in.
Draft
5 ft.
Weight
30 tons
Fuel
1,000 gals.
Water
400 gals.
Engine John Deere 6068 TFM 201 hp diesel
STANDARD EQUIPMENT
GE refrigerator and microwave, Viking stove,
Hynautic steering and controls, dual Racor fuel
filters, 4 bilge pumps, saltwater anchor
washdown, Maxwell 2200 HWC dual chain
wheel and single rope gypsy, Ritchie compass,
Imtra windshield wipers, teak wheel, 40 amp
battery charger, copper water piping, 20-gallon
water heater, VacuFlush toilets, Corian
countertops, GE stack-unit washer/dryer,
Jabsco continuous duty blower in engine
room, and much more.
OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
Glendinning Cablemaster w/remote, 1,000-
pound Steelhead davit, air conditioning,
hydraulic bow thruster, 12 kw generator
w/sound shield and water/exhaust separator,
fuel-polishing system w/transfer pump, oil
exchange system for main engine, gear and
generator, dishwasher, trash compactor, icemaker,
fire-suppression system for engine
room, and much more.
BUILDER
KADEY-KROGEN YACHTS, Stuart, Fla.;
(800) 247-1230; kadeykrogen.com
WEST COAST DEALER
Kadey-Krogen, Seattle; (206) 453-5631;
kadeykrogen.com
40 SEA / SEPTEMBER 2010
contains a large hanging locker (that
Ron’s clothes call home). This office
space is invaluable to liveaboards. A
three-stateroom configuration is
available in the widebody model,
which is what the Inbergs have, though
they opted for just two staterooms.
Up the steps from the galley/salon
area is the amply sized pilothouse,
with a centerline helm station and
teak wheel. There is room at both
sides of the helm console for paper
charts and pretty much anything else
a captain might like to have close at
hand. Aft of the captain’s chair and
to starboard is a large settee — or
watch berth — with a teak high-low
table. The area converts to a double
berth. Visibility from the pilothouse
is excellent forward and to both sides.
Opening the watertight doors to port
and starboard allows the captain easy
access to view the goings-on aft of
his sightlines. This is the third
gathering spot on the boat.
Out the port-side pilothouse door
and up a set of molded steps is the
flybridge, the fourth — and on a
beautiful Seattle day, best — gathering
spot. Ron pointed out that his boat
is the first 48 with an offset helm
station on the bridge. Moving the helm
to starboard opened up the port side
for a five-person settee and table.
“There is a lot more room for
eating and entertaining,” Ron said.
There is also room for a barbecue
grill, two outdoor lounge chairs and a
couple of kayaks. Aft of all this is the
dinghy, situated on the roof of the rear
deck. The helm station and settee/table
are covered by a Bimini top.
ON THE GO
Let’s be honest. A boat like the
Kadey-Krogen 48 is built for cruising.
It’s made to slow down and get there,
wherever there is. With a top speed
of about 9 knots and optimal cruising
speed between 6 and 7 knots, owners
aren’t all that worried about how
many gallons per hour they’re
burning. It’s more about how far they
can go. The John Deere 6068 TFM
201 hp diesel is meant to fire up
quickly, which it did, and run for
hours and days on end. And it does
its job relatively quietly, even in the
salon, which is right above the
engine room. The loudest area was
the aft deck, and even there a
conversation could be had with
barely raised voices.
At 6 knots, the 1,000 gallons of
fuel give the boat enough energy to
go more than 4,600 miles. The
distance is cut to just over 3,000
miles at 7 knots — still a formidable
number. Bump it up to 8 knots, and
you can expect to get a little less than
2,000 miles. At 9 knots, top speed,
range is about 1,350 miles, maybe
a little more. All of these figures are
with a 10 percent reserve. For
comparison, Seattle to Honolulu is
about 2,700 miles.
Out on Puget Sound there was
only a slight chop to the water. Our
biggest challenge was a couple of
ferry wakes, and the 48 stayed
solid. We came off the wake without
any shuddering and were back to
level and steady in no time.
The full-displacement hull is
solid below the waterline with
blister-resistant vinylester resin in
the first two laminate layers, and
it is hand-laid Knytex fiberglass with
closed-cell PVC sandwich core
above the waterline.
One of the boat’s highlights from
Ron’s perspective, and something
boaters in the Northwest will
appreciate, is the hydronic heating
system. He said it takes a load off
the generator when the heat is
running while the boat is at anchor,
and, as an added benefit, it provides
great hot water.
There is a lot of boat packed into
a 48-foot hull. The fit and finish is
very good, and the woodwork is solid
and tight. The layout options are
such that the boat should appeal to
boaters up and down the West
Coast, whether they’re looking for
an open, airy vessel in the warmer
climates, or they need more indoor
space to make the boat year-round
usable. Enclose the aft deck, or don’t.
Cover the flybridge with a Bimini top,
or don’t. Add the third stateroom if
you like. It all depends on how and
where you’re going to use it. And no
matter where you berth the vessel,
you can shove off for a 4,000-mile
journey of a lifetime or make your
favorite 20-mile roundtrip for dinner
200 times. It’s all in your sense of
adventure.