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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Kadey-Krogen 42
The published record on this model and what owners report, with the
questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page covers the model.
Every boat still needs its own homework.
Full-displacement single-screw trawler with a folding mast. It's genuinely Loop-capable, but 1980s hulls are cored below the waterline and demand a careful survey.
The Kadey-Krogen 42 is a full-displacement, single-screw long-range trawler built from roughly the late 1970s into the late 1990s, with a second-generation boat continuing into the 2000s. Early boats (through the 1980s and into the '90s) were typically powered by a naturally-aspirated Ford Lehman (FL120, later the SP135); later boats moved to John Deere and, in the second generation, Cummins. Its folding mast and modest air draft make it well suited to the Great Loop, while its low-speed economy gives it long real-world range. The defining survey concern for 1980s hulls is coring below the waterline; be careful not to apply reviews of the newer Cummins-powered boat to a Lehman-era hull.
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How to read the tags on this page.
CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed
QUESTIONopen, and settled by looking at the boat itself
CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used
Sources are linked where published.
Air draft
CONTEXT
The folding mast makes this a Loop-friendly boat
The KK42's mast folds, and owners report mast-and-bimini-down air drafts in the roughly 14'10"-15' range (measured to the flybridge top or spotlight). Antennas, electronics and the bimini added over the years all affect the real number, and water/fuel load shifts it a few inches. Brokerage and spec-sheet figures vary widely by measurement point.
src:
Curtis Stokes & Associates; Trawler Forum, 'Bridge clearance' and 'Jubilee' owner posts
QUESTION
How low does THIS boat's air draft actually go, and what folds down?
Owner-reported and brokerage numbers for the KK42 range from about 14'10" to as high as 22'9" depending on whether the mast, antennas and bimini are counted as down. The spread means you cannot trust a listing figure without confirming the measurement point and what actually lowers on this specific hull.
src:
Trawler Forum; Curtis Stokes brokerage; jeglic.net M/V Cirila listing
Your move: Measure the actual air draft with the mast folded and everything lowered, and get a written list from the broker of every item that can be dropped and how long it takes.
Range & fuel
CLAIM
Do not apply the Cummins-era review figures to a Lehman boat
The widely-cited PassageMaker owner review is for a second-generation 2008 Cummins 5.9 boat (about 7.2 knots at 4.1 gph). A Lehman-powered 1980s hull burns noticeably less and runs a bit slower, so range and speed numbers from that review do not describe an early boat.
src:
PassageMaker
Hull & deck
CLAIM
1980s hulls are cored below the waterline
The defining survey concern for 1980s KK42s is a foam-cored hull that extends below the waterline. Trouble generally arises where a thru-hull or transducer was installed without properly sealing the core with epoxy, and these foam-cored hulls have a history of osmotic blistering. Later production changed to stop coring below the waterline.
src:
Trawler Forum, 'KK 42 Issues to Look For'
QUESTION
Is the below-waterline core dry, and were thru-hulls sealed properly?
Because the 1980s hull is cored below the waterline, every thru-hull and transducer penetration is a potential water-intrusion point if the core was not sealed. Moisture in the core and osmotic blistering are the specific risks to scope on an early hull.
src:
Trawler Forum, 'KK 42 Issues to Look For'
Your move: Have the surveyor take moisture readings around every below-waterline penetration and across the bottom, and ask the owner what thru-hulls have been added or replaced and by whom.
CONTEXT
Teak decks appear on earlier boats
Production changes over the run included stopping teak on the fore decks. Earlier boats may have teak-over-fiberglass decking, which is a known long-term maintenance and leak item on trawlers of this era.
src:
Trawler Forum, 'KK42 Construction/Problems'
Handling
CONTEXT
Full-displacement single screw: plan for the Cal-Sag and slow cruising
This is a full-displacement, single-screw trawler cruising at 6-7 knots. Owners report KK42s completing the Loop and taking the Cal-Sag route through Chicago. A single screw means docking and close-quarters handling rely on a bow thruster and technique; keel-protected single-screw trawlers generally handle groundings and prop strikes better than exposed running gear but offer less maneuverability than twins.
src:
Trawler Forum
Engines
The engines research is part of the full profile inside the
product. It covers factory options, tested performance and the engine-specific
questions in our members' dossiers, and it travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
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