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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Tollycraft 44 CPMY
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.
A heavy cockpit motor yacht whose hardtop lowers for the bridges; engine packages vary by hull, so the engines on the listing and their rebuild history define the buy.
The Tollycraft 44 Cockpit Motor Yacht is a heavy, solidly built semi-displacement cruiser with an aft cabin and a working cockpit behind it, a layout that helps with docking, dinghy handling and lock work on the Loop. Tollycraft closed in the 1990s, but active owner clubs and a parts network still support the boats. The 44 left the factory with several engine packages, from gas 454s to Detroit and Caterpillar diesels, and many have been repowered since, so the engines on the listing decide value and range more than anything else on this boat. Where she has twin Caterpillar 3208TAs, the 375 hp rating runs well within itself, but the 3208 is a parent-bore block and any rebuild history matters. Draft is shallow, listed around 3'2" to 3'6". Air draft is a per-hull number: brokers list roughly 19 feet with the hardtop up and about 16'6" with it lowered, and one listing put the arch at 14'9" and an antenna at 17'8". Measure the boat you're looking at. Plan fuel at trawler speed, because the range figure is an 8-knot number. This is model fit and model risk only; condition is for a surveyor.
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How to read the tags on this page.
PATTERNtwo independent sources agree; confirm it on the boat you're looking at
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.
Builder and support
CONTEXT
Filed bankruptcy in 1993 and permanently ceased operations in 1997 (some sources cite 1996/1998).
Tollycraft has been out of business for roughly three decades. There is NO factory, no dealer network, and no factory warranty; this is settled history, not a recent event, so no last-two-years corporate change applies. However, the buyer is NOT on their own: multiple active owner organizations exist (Tollycraft Boating Club, Tollycrafters Northwest, Canadian Tollycruisers).
src:
Wikipedia (updated Sept 2025), Passagemaker, 48°North (Oct 2023) and Denison/YATCO listings all confirm 1993 bankruptcy and 1997 closure. Support: tollyclub.com, tollycraftersnw.com, tollycruisers.com
The Caterpillar 3208
CLAIM
375 hp is the conservative rating, which is a point in the boat's favor.
The 3208's bad reputation is mostly at 435 hp, where it's over-stressed. At 375 it runs well within itself, which makes it the saner rating.
src:
owner forums (Trawler Forum)
QUESTION
What's the full turbo, injector, and any-rebuild history on both engines?
On a parent-bore block the scope of any past work changes value more than the repair itself. If an engine was rebuilt or shows a damage history, the fair questions are what caused it, what it actually damaged, what the rebuild included, and what was changed to prevent a repeat.
Your move: Ask the root cause · what it damaged · what the rebuild included · what was changed to prevent recurrence · full turbo + injector history.
Aftercoolers & the raw-water side
PATTERN
3208 aftercoolers want pulling, cleaning, and pressure-testing every ~2–3 years.
Neglected, they can let salt water into the cylinders, which is a well-documented 3208 failure mode. Track the service cadence from the last documented date.
src:
owner forums (Trawler Forum)
Your move: Confirm the aftercooler service dates on both engines.
PATTERN
Outboard-side engine access is reported tight on larger twin-3208 Tollys.
On some hulls the raw-water pump has to come off just to change an impeller. Verify how tight this hull's engine room actually is.
src:
owner forums (Trawler Forum)
Your move: Check impeller / raw-water-pump access at the survey.
Fuel tanks
CONTEXT
Aluminum tanks have no fixed expiry, so inspect them rather than assume.
Condition depends on installation, moisture, and whether crevice corrosion has developed. One tank having been replaced is not evidence another is near failure. Inspect the tank bottom rather than budget a replacement on assumption.
Your move: Inspect each tank bottom and the bilge area where it sits.
Reading the boat right
CONTEXT
The range number is an 8-knot number.
She's semi-displacement. She planes to ~19 kn and tops out in the mid-20s. Good to have, but the range figure collapses the moment you come off displacement speed. Plan Loop fuel at trawler RPM.
src:
published Tollycraft data
CONTEXT
LOA runs well past the hull length.
The pulpit and swim platform push overall length past the nominal 44'. Doesn't change the model, but it can change slip and haul-out billing.
Your move: Confirm the billed length in writing.
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, which is 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.
Reading the boat
QUESTION
Which engines does this 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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