Life is Good on the Krogen 44 - Kadey-Krogen Yachts

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The l<strong>is</strong>t of equipment upgrades <strong>is</strong> indeed quite long:Gebo tempered-glass windows, Cantalupi lighting,fuel fills recessed in a spill tray, integrated boat deckdrains, port and starboard bulwark side doors, double316L hawse cleats for two springlines, side deckhandrails, double anchor rollers, fore and aftshorepower, Exalto windshield wipers, full-size queenmattress in the master stateroom, Asko appliances,ergonomic stairs replacing vertical ladders….And those are just the obvious upgrades. Manyare more subtle, or inv<strong>is</strong>ible. The anchor lockeraccess from the master stateroom on the Krogen 42has been replaced by a Kevlar-reinforced coll<strong>is</strong>ionbulkhead with a watertight Freeman hatch on theforedeck for access into the chain locker. Kevlar <strong>is</strong>also used on the stem and stern to add a safetyfactor for real-world cru<strong>is</strong>ing.Another subtlety <strong>is</strong> the use of Awlgrip’s Griptexfor nonskid instead of the molded-in nonskid that sooften <strong>is</strong>n’t.And the older boats were built as base boats.Once they shipped to th<strong>is</strong> country from Taiwan,optional equipment—gensets, thrusters, stabilizers, airconditioning—was installed by the dealer. Today,everything <strong>is</strong> installed during initial construction atAsia Harbour Yachts in Taiwan. The resulting yacht<strong>is</strong> more integrated, more fin<strong>is</strong>hed. Only marineelectronics and the dinghy are left for installationstateside.Most of the above examples underscore a trend inthe industry to sell a more complete, ready-to-goyacht. Complementing a successful overall design,the new Krogen 44 <strong>is</strong> indeed more than the sum ofthese quality parts.If the Krogen 42 represented the essence of thelate Jim Krogen’s v<strong>is</strong>ion of a great cru<strong>is</strong>ing boat, thenew Krogen 44 <strong>is</strong> son Kurt Krogen’s idea of a highquality,contemporary cru<strong>is</strong>ing yacht with the sameKadey-Krogen features that make them greatliveaboards and good sea boats.Top: The purposeful foredeck <strong>is</strong> equipped to handle allanchoring chores with ease. Note the high railings and theFreeman hatch into the chain locker. Above: Fuel fills aretucked inside a molded box on the side deck, similar to theone found on the Krogen 58. Any fuel overflow will becontained in the box, which comes complete with adrawplug for easy cleanout.Let’s Go AboardOne of the first things I noticed walking up to theboat <strong>is</strong> the trademark rubrail that runs from thestern forward past the pilothouse. The rubrail on theKrogen 44 extends almost 4 inches away from thehull and really protects the hull from pilings and fueldocks. Located 36 inches up from the waterline, it <strong>is</strong>ideally placed to handle a wide range of dockingsituations. It even works as a step.(I can never understand why builders of cru<strong>is</strong>ingboats don’t see the tremendous value of a heftyReprinted with perm<strong>is</strong>sion. Copyright 2005 © Trader Publ<strong>is</strong>hing Company (888.487.2953) http://www.passagemaker.com
ubrail. Catamarans, especially, tend to lack th<strong>is</strong>important feature, although many trawler-style boatshave little more than a faint wh<strong>is</strong>per of a rubrail,sometimes not even standing proud off the caprail.It makes no sense to me at all. Don’t builders evergo cru<strong>is</strong>ing on their boats?)A 30-inch wide swim platform, complete with a21-inch-wide transom door, <strong>is</strong> one access point toget aboard. But the boat also has port and starboardbulwark side doors, an even more convenient way tostep aboard. With the side door open, the bottom ofthe step <strong>is</strong> right at the rubrail—again, 36 inches offthe water. That <strong>is</strong> perfect for floating docks. Formore extreme docking situations, such as HalifaxHarbour in Nova Scotia at low tide, there <strong>is</strong> moreaccess just outside the pilothouse doors, with a castKadey-Krogen scuff plate on the caprail, 66 inchesoff the water. Overall, these offer flexible andpractical access, especially for older retired couplesless agile than younger people, who don’t mind thetypical gymnastic acrobatics required on manyboats.Once in the covered aft cockpit, the security ofthe protected cockpit <strong>is</strong> all encompassing. Theperimeter bulwark ranges from 28 inches to over36 inches high. Combined with the overheadcovering of the boat deck, the cockpit <strong>is</strong> amarvelously protected living area from which toenjoy the world.The standard boat has teak decks in the cockpitand side decks, and the glued, 5/8-inch-thickdecking should last a very long time. Headroom inthe cockpit and covered side decks <strong>is</strong> a minimum of6 feet 8 inches, and around most of the cockpit, it’sconsiderably more.Other nice features are the ra<strong>is</strong>ed doublehawsepipe and cleats at the transom and amidships.When running springlines and stern lines whenthere <strong>is</strong> only one cleat, it <strong>is</strong> often necessary to putlines over top of one another. Having double cleatsmakes it possible to adjust one line without firsthaving to remove the line over top. It <strong>is</strong> a very nice,cru<strong>is</strong>ing-friendly feature.The cockpit <strong>is</strong> almost 7 feet long and 13 feet wideand <strong>is</strong> one of the areas of the boat that benefitsfrom the increased length of 2 feet. Ownersexpressed a desire for more area in the cockpit toexpand its utility when living aboard. A largelazarette hatch <strong>is</strong> held open by two pneumatic strutsto help in stowing bulky items, such as foldingbicycles and scuba gear, and the lazarette <strong>is</strong> the sizeof a basement.There <strong>is</strong> much to appreciate on th<strong>is</strong> side deck. Note the cleanteak decking; high, protective bulwark; stainless-steel handrail; two hawse pipe cleats; and overhead boat deck. Underway or at anchor, these decks offer security and ease foranyone moving around the boat. With well over 6 feet ofheadroom, even the tallest cru<strong>is</strong>ers are easily accommodated.Reprinted with perm<strong>is</strong>sion. Copyright 2005 © Trader Publ<strong>is</strong>hing Company (888.487.2953) http://www.passagemaker.com
Page 1 and 2: The Trawler & Ocean Motorboat Magaz
Page 4 and 5: The Krogen 44Few people in our nich
Page 8 and 9: The Krogen 44Moving ForwardSide dec
Page 10 and 11: The Krogen 44flybridge/boat deck <s
Page 12 and 13: The Krogen 44Above left: The clean
Page 14 and 15: The Krogen 44Main fuel filters and
Page 16: The Krogen 44All major systems and

Life is Good on the Krogen 44 - Kadey-Krogen Yachts

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