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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Tollycraft 44 Cockpit Motor Yacht
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 heavy, well-built 1980s aft-cabin cruiser with a low-air-draft hardtop that suits the Loop — but engine choice and access vary widely and must be confirmed on the specific hull.
The Tollycraft 44 Cockpit Motor Yacht was built on essentially the same hull from roughly 1986 to 1993, offered with a range of gas and diesel engines, so a 1988 boat could carry gas 454s, Detroit 8.2s, Detroit 6V-53TI, or Caterpillar 3208s — you must confirm what your candidate actually has. For the Loop, the standout positives are a shallow draft and a hardtop/flybridge arrangement that several brokers advertise as lowerable to clear low bridges. The engine room is tight enough that access to raw-water pumps and outboard-side service points is a real buyer-inspection item. Treat air draft, engine identity, and access as the three things to nail down before an offer.
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.
Air draft
CLAIM
Hardtop/flybridge arrangement is the tall point, but is often lowerable
Brokers describe the 44 as listing around 19 ft as-it-sits with the hardtop up, dropping to roughly 16.5 ft when the hardtop is lowered — the reason this model is often marketed as Loop-friendly. The true governing height depends on radar, antennas, arch and whatever hardtop/mast hardware is fitted, which varies boat to boat.
src:
Curtis Stokes listings, 44 CPMY 'Compromise' and 'Double Trouble'
Your move: Measure actual air draft on this hull with everything up, then identify exactly what can be lowered or removed and how much height that recovers; get the lowered figure in writing.
Draft
CLAIM
Shallow draft suited to the Loop
The 44 is consistently listed around 3 ft 2 in to 3 ft 6 in, which brokers cite as well suited to shallow anchorages and the ICW. Actual loaded draft rises with fuel, water and gear aboard.
src:
Curtis Stokes listing, 44 CPMY
Your move: Confirm loaded draft with tanks full and typical cruising gear aboard rather than relying on the light-ship listing figure.
Layout
CONTEXT
Aft-cabin CPMY with a cockpit aft of the salon
The cockpit motor yacht layout adds a boarding/fishing cockpit behind the aft cabin, useful for docking, dinghy handling and lock work on the Loop, at the cost of some interior length compared to a straight motor yacht of the same LOA.
Systems
CLAIM
Engine-room access is tight around the outboard sides of the engines
Owners report the engine bay is snug: with larger diesels fitted, reaching an outboard raw-water pump or the outboard side of an engine can be very difficult. This affects routine maintenance and any Loop-away-from-home repair.
src:
Trawler Forum, '48 Hatteras vs 44 Tollycraft' thread
Your move: Physically try to reach both raw-water pumps, both outboard sides, and the fuel/Racor filters on this boat before making an offer; note anything you cannot reach without pulling gear.
Reading the boat
QUESTION
Which engines does THIS 1988 hull actually have, and is it an original fit or a repower?
The 44 shipped with several very different powerplants (gas 454s, Detroit 8.2, Detroit 6V-53TI, Cat 3208), and many hulls have since been repowered to Cummins 6BT or other diesels. The engine on the listing drives value, parts support, fuel burn and range more than almost anything else on this boat.
src:
Trawler Forum, 44 Tolly repower and Tolly-general threads
Your move: Get the engine make/model/rating and serial numbers in writing; if repowered, ask for the date, who did it, what was changed (tanks, mounts, exhaust, running gear) and supporting invoices.
QUESTION
What is the condition of the fuel tanks and the fuel-supply plumbing?
A heavy 1980s cruiser this age can have original fuel tanks and long fuel runs; at least one Tolly owner traced an under-load stumble to fuel restriction. Tank and plumbing condition matters for range confidence on long Loop legs between fuel stops.
src:
Trawler Forum, Tolly 'Help!' thread (fuel restriction under load)
Your move: Ask the age and material of the fuel tanks, inspect for weeping seams or corrosion where accessible, and request any records of tank cleaning, polishing or replacement.
QUESTION
What is the condition of the decks, hardtop structure and bridge hardware?
On a 30-plus-year-old CPMY the deck cores, flybridge/hardtop mounting and the mechanism that lowers the top are worth close attention, both because moisture intrusion is common at this age and because the lowerable top is central to this boat's Loop suitability.
Your move: Have a surveyor moisture-map the decks and flybridge, and test-operate the hardtop-lowering arrangement yourself to confirm it works and clears as advertised.
Build quality
CLAIM
Heavy, solidly built planing hull
Owners and brokers describe the 44 as a heavily built boat (roughly 30,000+ lb per spec, more when loaded). That mass gives a comfortable ride but demands adequate power and pushes fuel burn up if driven hard on plane, which favors running it at displacement-ish trawler speeds on the Loop.
src:
Trawler Forum, Tolly-general thread
Handling
CONTEXT
Twin-engine, moderate-draft boat that maneuvers well in locks and tight marinas
Twin screws plus shallow draft make the 44 manageable in Loop lock chambers and fuel docks. Confirm whether a bow thruster is fitted, as many owners add one for close-quarters work on a boat of this windage.
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