← The model library
Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Kadey-Krogen Manatee
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.
Small-production PVC-cored coastal trawler beloved for Loop-friendly efficiency and clearance; scrutinize deck/window leaks, the transom door, and deferred diesel maintenance.
The Kadey-Krogen 36 Manatee is a small, single-diesel coastal trawler (roughly 99 built, 1984–1991) with a devoted following and a strong track record as a Great Loop boat, prized for low fuel burn, long range, and modest air draft with the mast down. Engines varied across the run: early boats carried a 90-hp Volvo Penta TAMD/TMD 31A four-cylinder, and later boats got larger Volvos or Yanmars. The standard small Volvo is not universally loved. The dominant buyer concerns are age-related: cored-hull moisture, deck-hardware and salon-window leaks, and the recurring drop-down transom "tailgate" door. There is no documented pattern of catastrophic engine failure specific to the model; the theme is inspecting deferred maintenance on an old small diesel.
Follow the Kadey-Krogen Manatee and get one
email when something new lands on this page.
How to read the tags on this page.
CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed
CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used
Sources are linked where published.
Range and fuel
CLAIM
Very efficient at displacement speed: roughly 2 GPH / ~4 mpg at 6–7 knots
Brokerage and press reports describe the Manatee burning about 2 GPH at 7 knots, with one owner achieving 4 mpg at a 6-knot cruise. One guide states a single 100-hp Volvo will cruise about 1,100 miles at 6–7 knots. Fuel capacity is listed variously as 250 or 280 gallons depending on the boat. This efficiency and range are a strong fit for the Loop, but verify the tankage and burn on the specific hull.
src:
Denison; Soundings; HMY Powerboat Guide; Curtis Stokes; Trawler Forum
Air draft
CONTEXT
Modest air draft with the mast down; published figures vary widely
The Manatee is often called a quintessential Loop boat partly for its low clearance. Published mast-down figures scatter (roughly 14'9" to 18' across listings) and mast-up figures run into the low-to-mid 20s, so the numbers on any one listing cannot be trusted for another boat. The mast and antennas are the height-driving items that fold down.
src:
Curtis Stokes; Trawler Forum classified; yachtr.com; MarineSource archive
Your move: Measure the actual air draft on the specific boat and identify exactly what folds or unships (mast, antennas, radar) and to what height, rather than relying on a listing figure.
Hull and core
CLAIM
Cored hull uses PVC foam; check for moisture regardless
The hull is foam-cored. Owners note the coring is PVC, which will not rot the way balsa does, and long-term owners report caring for it is like caring for an uncored hull. Even so, moisture intrusion into a foam core has been flagged as a known concern on Kadey-Krogen boats, and decks are a frequently cited worry on ~30-year-old examples.
src:
Kadey-Krogen owner FAQ; The Hull Truth; Trawler Forum
Your move: Have a surveyor take moisture readings across the hull, decks, and pilothouse roof, paying attention to areas around through-deck hardware.
CLAIM
Deck stanchions and salon windows are known leak points
A long-term owner reports water leakage through upper-deck stanchions, with some bow stanchion nuts not accessible from below to re-caulk the base on the two-stateroom layout. Salon windows can leak past the frame, pooling at the base and weeping out at the fiberglass/teak joint, lifting varnish over months. It's described as cosmetic rather than structural, but it's a maintenance reality.
src:
Trawler Forum
Your move: During survey, wet-test or inspect around stanchion bases and salon window frames for active leaks and check whether stanchion backing nuts are accessible for re-bedding.
CONTEXT
Over 90 built from 1984 to 1991, in two layouts
The Krogen FAQ says over 90 Manatees were built between 1984 and 1991. The standard layout has a single stateroom forward; the alternative has two, with the guest stateroom forward and the owner's amidships.
src:
Krogen FAQ (his.com/~vann)
Systems and equipment
CLAIM
Drop-down transom 'tailgate' door is a recurring gripe
The drop-down transom door is awkward to raise because the support cables don't stay in their track, so owners push them in by hand while closing, which is a finger-pinch risk. Some owners have done radical mods, rebuilding the tailgate into two halves that lift and pivot inward. A related thread reported stress cracks at the transom and at the door hinges.
src:
Trawler Forum
Your move: Operate the transom door yourself during the sea trial and inspect the transom and hinge areas for stress cracks or prior repairs.
Reading the boat
CONTEXT
Treat a 30-plus-year-old Manatee as a project-level buy
On broader Krogen buying discussions, owners note these boats are around 30 years old and should be assessed with project-level scrutiny. Pilothouse roofs, windows, deck cores, wet bottoms, and drivelines all warrant attention, though none is an automatic disqualifier on an otherwise sound boat. The devoted following means the best examples often sell quietly before they're advertised.
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.
Follow the Kadey-Krogen Manatee. One short email when something
new lands on this page. Only when there's news, and one click stops it.