Nordhavns - the Marmite motorboat

TwoHooter

TwoHooter

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Sep 2014
Messages
1,005
Location
marinetraffic.com MMSI 235116115
Visit site
A couple of threads recently have drifted off (degenerated?) into discussions of the pros and cons of Nordhavn motor yachts, the Marmite of the boating world. I've started this thread to give a space for those discussions so they don't hijack other threads.

My wife and I bought a ten year old N40 last autumn and have nearly finished re-commissioning it. We welcomed a forumite to the boat today - we're happy to show folks round because we are still very new and every time we have an experienced boater on board we learn something useful. We are still in the Solent area at the moment, setting off west and north some time around Easter. Happy to arrange a play day if anyone wants a go. PM me if you are interested.
 
Beautiful boats and I would have one in a flash. (From someone who likes his kts that's saying something!)

I often find myself looking at the pre loved brokerage page on nordhaven site....
 
I'm not sure they're marmite: I think most boaters love them and respect them. They don't tick all the practical boxes for local weekend cruising etc, so not many people buy them, but I doubt anyone hates them

I'd love to built one around the 70 foot mark and put a smart interior in to lift the mood, and twin engines for the reasons Deleted User has mentioned on other thread. Perhaps a retirement project when I'd have the time to commute to Taiwan or hang out there for four months. I'd do long distance med cruising but would stick to a sailboat or airplane for crossing oceans.
 
I love 'em (hate Marmite!) although I agree with JFM the interiors do always seem quite oppressive. Too much wood for me, I think it's an American thing? I see they are trying to address the lack of kts with the new coastal pilot, it looks awful at the back but apparently it doesn't have to, that's another American requirement!
 
TwoHooter said:
A couple of threads recently have drifted off (degenerated?) into discussions of the pros and cons of Nordhavn motor yachts, the Marmite of the boating world. I've started this thread to give a space for those discussions so they don't hijack other threads.

My wife and I bought a ten year old N40 last autumn and have nearly finished re-commissioning it. We welcomed a forumite to the boat today - we're happy to show folks round because we are still very new and every time we have an experienced boater on board we learn something useful. We are still in the Solent area at the moment, setting off west and north some time around Easter. Happy to arrange a play day if anyone wants a go. PM me if you are interested.
Click to expand...

No good without photo's.
 
I don,t dislike them and I can see and like all the little ship stuff .I can buy into the setting off into the sunset image arriving at some unknown destination ,having the whole bay + whales or what ever to yourself etc....
But and it's a big but ---- I,d be bored v soon .
The 6 knots thing ,the arranging watches , having to weather a storm or big sea ( cos your stuck in it ,no other option ) -I,d miss so called civilisation --- like people watching ,dining out , dare I say it shopping .
Outside space is a bit iffy too , unless your cruising Green land .
Many years ago Sunseeker made a Preditor 108 for "expedition " I think the guy wanted to tour the whole Med and did !
It too had John Deere engines and extra tanks + much more for sustained living .
It could not plane --was never made to ----but looked the part ,went well and worked v well -had transatlantic range .

For me passage planning a 6 knots -may as well get a big yacht .
 
alant said:
No good without photo's.
Click to expand...

6763-1.jpg
 
Agree with jfm. Nordhavns are not marmite boats at all. They're just a type of boat which is very fit for purpose and that purpose is crossing oceans. Very few other boats are fit for this purpose. But as I said, I think Nordhavn are missing a trick by not offering twins without some sort of compromise. As I understand it, the compromise is usually a reduction in fuel capacity and/or deletion of the dry exhaust system in favour of a more normal wet exhaust. Thats a shame because IMHO there would be a market for more intrepid coastal cruising types for twin engined Nordhavns without reduced fuel capacity. Agree that the interior styling is also a bit industrial and that could do with modernising too
As I understand it, Nordhavn are not exactly overrun with orders at present so maybe they should be looking to widen their market
 
Deleted User said:
Agree with jfm. Nordhavns are not marmite boats at all. They're just a type of boat which is very fit for purpose and that purpose is crossing oceans. Very few other boats are fit for this purpose. But as I said, I think Nordhavn are missing a trick by not offering twins without some sort of compromise. As I understand it, the compromise is usually a reduction in fuel capacity and/or deletion of the dry exhaust system in favour of a more normal wet exhaust. Thats a shame because IMHO there would be a market for more intrepid coastal cruising types for twin engined Nordhavns without reduced fuel capacity. Agree that the interior styling is also a bit industrial and that could do with modernising too
As I understand it, Nordhavn are not exactly overrun with orders at present so maybe they should be looking to widen their market
Click to expand...

Your proposed compromise sounds very much like a Fleming................
 
Latestarter1 said:
Your proposed compromise sounds very much like a Fleming................
Click to expand...

Now there is a boat that is top of my wish list! :)

Totally agree with what has already been said inasmuch as Nordhavn are definitely not a 'marmite' boat. I think that many boaters are likely to admire them but most want something different from their boating and that usually involves speed and outside lounging space for the Med crowd. Personally I really like them! :)

We sometimes cruise at displacement speeds now and if/when I have more time on our hands then it may well be all low speeds, not least because it will mean less outlay on fuel. That being the case one engine would be absolutely fine :)
 
alant said:
No good without photo's.
Click to expand...
I looked through my pics and they are nearly all rubbish - we got the boat for a lower price because it had been quite neglected and it's even more of a mess inside at the moment because of all the jobs we are in the middle of doing. Aiming to get everything straightened up within the next month or so and will post internal pictures then. Meanwhile two pictures of the outside, remember this is the N40 which is the smallest boat Nordhavn currently make - they did make a 35 for a while but not any longer. The bigger boats have better proportions IMHO but we had a v. tight budget so had to choose between the 40 and the 46. Haven't regretted our choice. When Nordhavn took one of these round the world the designer (Jeff Leishman) drew up the 43 which has some advantages, principally a starboard side deck and a bigger guest cabin. Next size up is the 47 which gives a full-height engine room. And so on. Totally agree about the internal look but owners are now specifying different styles with less wood.


 
Greg2 said:
Nordhavn are definitely not a 'marmite' boat.
Click to expand...
+2 (or 3, whatever).
Btw, even if they are indeed boats designed for passagemaking, there are several other areas where they are better than most plastic fantastic boats.
Onboard safety, practicality, maintenance, onboard liveability.
Well, in this latest respect I must say that they lost the plot a bit since they realized that they could sell more internal space for any given boat length just by making taller boats.
But most of their earlier models, ike the 50 and the 57 for instance, were fantastic liveaboard boats regardless of how far away one wanted to go with them.
Besides, I strongly disagree with the twin engines argument. That's a very traditional, and btw mostly european, thinking.
Nowadays, if I should summarize what a second engine brings to the party in a D boat, I'd use the old american saying: two engines, two problems.
 
I don't think its that people love or hate them, its just they are designed for a very specific purpose that not many people have the time, or maybe the inclination, to do.

I love the Nordhavn boats but for my purposes they would be lousy, so I wouldn't buy one.
 
TwoHooter said:
I looked through my pics and they are nearly all rubbish - we got the boat for a lower price because it had been quite neglected and it's even more of a mess inside at the moment because of all the jobs we are in the middle of doing. Aiming to get everything straightened up within the next month or so and will post internal pictures then. Meanwhile two pictures of the outside, remember this is the N40 which is the smallest boat Nordhavn currently make - they did make a 35 for a while but not any longer. The bigger boats have better proportions IMHO but we had a v. tight budget so had to choose between the 40 and the 46. Haven't regretted our choice. When Nordhavn took one of these round the world the designer (Jeff Leishman) drew up the 43 which has some advantages, principally a starboard side deck and a bigger guest cabin. Next size up is the 47 which gives a full-height engine room. And so on. Totally agree about the internal look but owners are now specifying different styles with less wood.


Click to expand...

Pretty naff sail area.
 
Latestarter1 said:
Your proposed compromise sounds very much like a Fleming................
Click to expand...
No absolutely not. A Fleming is a SD boat and Nordhavn a D boat and if you look at the underwater sections of each hull next to each other (as I had the opportunity to do at the Dusseldorf show a few years back) you see a big difference. The Nordhavn has much deeper fuller sections than the Fleming and is obviously built to resist pretty much anything the ocean can throw at it whereas, with all due respect to the Fleming which is a superb sea boat, its not designed to cross oceans. All I'm saying is that some people still want a boat like the Nordhavn with its ocean crossing capability but for coastal cruising and not have to worry about weather affecting their cruising plans
 
I agree with everything you say and it seemed from your original original observation that the Nordhavn ocean crossing formula has a rather limited audience particularly in Europe and you were suggesting something different.

Whatever vessels capabilities would rather eat my car than go bashing around the coast in foul weather when one does not have to put to sea, find it stressful and no fun whatsoever. goes back to the days when I had to do it for a living.
 
I love the Nordhavns and from what I have seen at sibs there are very well put together, they are built for a purpose and do it well, you get what suits your usage so not everyone's cup of tea but if you want to cover distance then imho there's nothing better for the job.
When I worked in brokerage a few years back I sold a boat to a customer who then become a good friend that tried to buy a Nordhavn and said it was almost impossible to get a response from them as they obviously had that many orders that they couldn't be bothered to follow up his enquiry so he gave up and bought something else.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top