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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
DeFever 40 Offshore Cruiser
What the published record establishes about this model, what owners report,
and the questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page is about the
MODEL — a specific hull always gets its own homework.
A solidly-built Taiwan trawler that is Loop-capable, but confirm hull form, engine make, and air draft — sources genuinely disagree on this model.
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The DeFever 40 Offshore Cruiser (built by CTF in Taiwan, roughly 1984–91) is a double-cabin trawler on a solid fiberglass hull with hard aft chines and a prop-protecting keel. Sources conflict on hull form: design references (HMY/PowerBoat Guide) describe a semi-displacement hull that cruises 12–15 knots on 240–320 hp, while several broker listings market the same model as a slow full-displacement long-range trawler — so hull form and engines must be confirmed on the specific boat. Note the separate, earlier DeFever 40 Passagemaker (1973–79, US-built by Jensen) is a different boat. This profile is drafted from general knowledge and forum/broker research; treat all figures as unconfirmed until verified on the candidate hull.
How to read this: 🟢 Fact = confirmed against a document, spec sheet,
or owner. Everything else — Claim, Pattern, Question, Context — is not yet
verified: things to check, not settled truth. Sources are linked where published.
Model identity
QUESTION
Is this the 40 Offshore Cruiser or the earlier 40 Passagemaker?
Two different DeFever 40s exist: the 40 Offshore Cruiser (approx 1984–91, CTF Taiwan, hard-chine semi-displacement per design references) and the earlier 40 Passagemaker (1973–79, US-built by Jensen, full-displacement rounded chine). They have different hull forms, ages, and builders. Confirming which boat you are looking at affects everything from ride to parts.
src:
HMY / PowerBoat Guide
Your move: Ask the broker for the hull ID / builder and year, and compare the chine shape and sheerline against known photos of each model to confirm which DeFever 40 this is.
QUESTION
Is the hull semi-displacement or full-displacement on this boat?
Design references (HMY/PowerBoat Guide) describe the 40 Offshore Cruiser as a semi-displacement hull cruising 12–15 knots on 240–320 hp, but several broker listings (YachtWorld/boats.com/Seattle Yachts) market it as a slow full-displacement long-range trawler. The listings and the design data contradict each other. Hull form drives fuel burn, ride, and how you should run it on the Loop.
src:
HMY / PowerBoat Guide vs. YachtWorld/boats.com/Seattle Yachts listings
Your move: Confirm the actual engine horsepower and top speed with the broker, and if possible sea-trial to see whether the boat planes or stays displacement — that resolves which hull you have.
Air draft
CLAIM
Tall flybridge and radar arch tend to sit near the Loop clearance limit
DeFever tri-cabin/sundeck styles carry a tall flybridge plus a radar arch, and this class of trawler tends to sit near the Loop's controlling fixed-bridge clearance. No published air-draft figure was found for the 40 Offshore Cruiser — the PowerBoat Guide spec sheet lists clearance as NA and broker listings leave it blank. On the larger DeFever 44, owners report the arch can be lowered to bring air draft down.
src:
PowerBoat Guide spec sheet (clearance NA); Trawler Forum (DeFever 44 arch-lowering discussion)
Your move: Physically measure the air draft to the highest fixed point on the specific boat, and identify exactly what (arch, mast, antennas, TV dome) can be lowered or removed and to what height.
Systems
QUESTION
Any history of the engine dying or stumbling underway (fuel delivery)?
Engine-dying-while-underway from fuel-delivery issues (dirty tanks, clogged filters, aging fuel lines) is a recurring theme on older trawlers of this vintage. This is a scoping concern, not a verdict — the cause and any fix vary by boat.
Your move: Ask the owner whether the engines have ever stumbled or died underway, what the cause was, and whether tanks were cleaned/polished and fuel lines and filters renewed.
Fuel & range
CLAIM
Roughly 3–4 gph at 7–8 knots at displacement speed
A broker listing describes the 40 Offshore Cruiser as an 8–9 knot vessel at 3–4 gph. Closely related DeFever 40/41 hulls on Trawler Forum report about 3.77 gph at 7 knots (twin Volvo 41A) and under 2.5 gph at 6.5 knots (twin Cummins 150). A rule of thumb of about 2 nm/gal below hull speed is common. Broker fuel figures should be treated skeptically, and self-reported burns can vary by roughly ±40%.
src:
Seattle Yachts/broker listing; Trawler Forum (DeFever 41 Volvo 41A and Cummins 150 burn reports)
CONTEXT
Running fast burns steeply more fuel
If the boat has the higher-horsepower planing setup and is run fast, fuel burn climbs sharply — Trawler Forum notes raising speed from 6 to 9 knots can easily triple or more the burn. Extrapolating a single gph figure to a range number is deceiving. Plan the Loop at displacement speed for economy.
src:
Trawler Forum (speed vs. fuel-burn discussion)
Handling
CLAIM
Deep keel protects the props and shafts
The solid fiberglass hull has a deep keel that protects the propellers and running gear — useful in the Loop's shallow and debris-prone stretches and for grounding tolerance. Confirm actual loaded draft on the specific boat, as it affects thin-water sections.
src:
HMY / PowerBoat Guide
Engines
The engines research — factory options, tested performance,
and the engine-specific questions our members' dossiers carry — is part of the
full profile inside the product. It travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
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