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Interesting story... recently, I had my Nordhavn 55 in Anacortes, WA when Steve and Linda Dashew came in for a few days on their way south from Prince William Sound. We started talking. He was clearly thinking about what it would take to volume produce a practically priced boat. He spent a lot of time roaming around my N55. Then asked a lot of questions. Roll and pitch moments, stability curves, etc.
Most of which I wasn't smart enough to answer. Also my observations in handling boat in head seas, beam and following seas. But I got the drift. Then he gave me a long tour of Sea Horse. Which was a different world. Bottom line... I learned more about passagemakers that day than I had during all my previous research and experience.
I now better understand the difference between a boat whose natural element is the middle of the big blue sea, and a boat designed to occasionally venture into the big blue sea.
That said, my wife and I live aboard and we want the luxuries of a high-end home. We consider it a really big adventure to travel north to Anchorage or from Seattle down to Mexico, maybe to the Caribbean some day, with our travel timing completely dictated by comfortable weather and season. Part of that time is on the hook, part in marinas. I'm very happy with my N55 for that kind of use, and if I do get caught out in something unexpected, I know I'm just going to be uncomfortable but still safe.
But if I was buying a boat primarily to circumnavigate, or live for long periods in very remote places, even places where concern for safety is a worry, live exclusively on the hook, cross the hurricane/ typhoon tracks (hard to avoid that if you circumnavigate), I'd put Steve's boat at the very, very top of my list. It's ugly on the outside (doesn't look like it's a yacht, so it won't attract thieves) but beautiful inside, if you like the great room concept. There is no exterior washing or waxing required, and if you ding it against something, just hit it with the grinder. But its really hard to find a marina that can handle the length.
That said, for my cruising plans, and my far smaller budget, the N55 suits me far better. Number two on my list was the Krogen 58, but we couldn't quite stretch that far financially. Third was the Krogen 48 Whaleback (few really good examples were on the market -- its out of production). Fourth was the Nordhavn 47, of which there were several nearly new ones in brokerage when I bought. If I hadn't fallen into an unusual deal on the N55, I'd own a used N47 today.
John Marshall
N55-Serendipity
Sequim Bay, WA
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