What are the Cons to a Nordhavn?

I had a N43, and loved the interior feel and look. For a small boat, there are lots of different areas for people to go: The cockpit, salon, pilothouse, fly bridge were all separate spaces so people didn’t feel right on top of each other. I also very much like the cave like master stateroom: a great place to sleep. The negatives are that some of the spaces feel a bit tight, and I wouldn’t recommend the boat for very large people. Also, i would prefer not to have to walk through the master to do ER checks, which can be annoying on passage. The Cockpit is a bit small, and the forward bunk is snug for two. lastly, the pitching motion in a head sea is very difficult in the pilot house, and fwd stateroom. I preferred running from the flybridge, as it was further aft.

I have read that the Nordhavn's suitability for big seas also means interiors segments are less expansive or wide open, if that makes sense. Reading suggests that sense would be obvious if you were to go aboard a typical Nordhavn and then also a Fleming, KK, Hatt, OA, Marlow, whatever. Don't know if that's a real "con" or not. And that's not my recommendation for any other brand, either...

Reading also suggests the boat is over-built (?) for coastal cruising, if that's what you and the dogs intend to do. Ditto, not sure that's a "con." Maybe just more like folks don't actually need a Nordhavn for coastal cruising... especially since most decent boats will stand more weather than the occupants can handle.

And if I were to win the lottery, I'd maybe have one in a heartbeat, though. Although my tastes tend more toward a Sabre 54 Flybridge...

-Chris

Big thing would be speed. For coastal cruising, I’d be thinking a lot of the brands Ranger mentioned that have a semi displacement hull.

Don't make the (admittedly very common) mistake to think that displacement hulls/boats burn less fuel.
It's displacement speed that does!
I mean, I wouldn't recommend to choose a fast boat if you are thinking to cruise always at 8 knots, for non-fuel related reasons.
But if/when you would fancy doing that, you wouldn't burn more fuel than with a Nordhavn of the same size.
Depending on models, powerplant, etc., you might even find some boats capable of 30+ kts that at displacement speed burn slightly less fuel than a single engine trawler, simply because they are lighter.

When we're hanging around in our home grounds, Spring/Summer/Fall, we usually do that hub-and-spoke thing. Often in a circular or semi-circular (as geography allows) pattern so we stop at a few destinations along the way without actually repeating a place if possible,

And we often run at displacement speeds anyway. By preference. Our 30+ kt boat won't actually burn less fuel at slightly under hull speed than might a true displacement hull, but it's not all that uneconomical. Often at ~8.5 kts we're seeing somewhere between 6-8 GPH total, so something like 1.5-2.0 NMPG, depending on wind, tide, and current. That's with 1800 horsepower, often just loafing along.

That's not to say sea states work for that all the time. OTOH, various sea states can make full displacement hulls uncomfortable too, unless stabilized.

And even if we were traveling on plane most of the time, I doubt fuel would be our most expensive ownership category anyway.

Our usual approach to boat shopping is almost all about layout and features... taking engines (whatever comes in a candidate boat) into account pretty much only after deciding if all the rest fits. In a manner of speaking, we interact with the couch, the galley, the heads, the flybridge, the bed, etc... way more than we interact with the engines or the fuel tanks.

-Chris

I imagine your and your have perused the you tube from MVFreedomSeattle. N40 as I recall. It may give you more about the cons from the horses mouth.

Point being why a semi displacement is a good option. A Fleming for example would have good sea keeping but can also get up and go if needed.

That's some sailboat, maybe a Gunboat or other long skinny multihull. But your point stands, displacement trawlers are a slow ride and no options but slow and steady. Options are good.

I don’t know many monos that hit that without some strong winds, probably too much canvas, and some surfing involved.

Surfing indeed.
That was also the secret of the Bermuda racers with a lot of overhang and a short waterline:
This was my first boat, a 44’ Bill Tripp Jr. Bermuda Custom: 30’ waterline but when she heeled over she surfed on the side and sped up. (Everybody hang on..)
The previous owner reported 12 knots, I only saw 10.5 during my ownership, but we removed the mizzen mast for repairs and never re-installed it.
This picture probably from Foxy’s Wooden Boat Regatta in Jost Van Dyke: We won the race but disqualified later as we had started in the wrong class: 39-43’ instead of 44’ to 47’: I was too lazy to hit the skipper’s meeting the night before and they had changed the starting times during the meetings..