All About Tide Hiker

Tide Hiker

Tide Hiker is a 1988 49' DeFever RPH (Raised Pilot House) trawler.

We have been looking at trawlers for a couple of years, and our search became quite intensive at the beginning of 2012. In January and February we looked at almost every trawler in our price range, from Bear Delaware in the North to Miami in the South.

We had a list of 20 features that we wanted to satisfy. We did not expect to get them all, but we were quite surprised at how few of the listed "trawlers" even got close to satisfying our objectives. When we stumbled on Tide Hiker, she got onto our short list immediately with 16/20 points, namely:

1. More than 45' long and 15' beam (She is 49' long with 15' beam, and quite "heavy" at 65,000 lbs)
2. Full displacement hull with a full keel
3. Raised Pilot House
4. Two "Low HP" engines (Ford Lehman 135HP)
5. Stabilized
6. Water Maker
7. Bow Thruster
8. Portuguese Bridge
9. Roomy Flying Bridge
10. Full walk around
11. Easy access (3 companionway doors)
12. Midships Master Stateroom with island bed
13. Full sized washer & dryer
14. Easy access below from salon (5 steps) and up to the RPH (4 steps)
15. Stand up Engine Room (well almost, another benefit of being 5' 8")
16. Good refrigeration (Full sized frig and a separate freezer)

She did not have:
1. She is 24 years old (Our objective was 2000 or younger)
3. Gas stove (I do not want to start a gen-set to boil some water)
3. Trash compactor (trash is an issue on board)
4. Table in the Salon (We do not like eating on our knees)

Twenty-four years seems old for a boat, and she will be almost 30 when we expect to be selling her, so that was a big hurdle for me. Her age also meant that she was a painted and not a gel-coat boat, and painted boats need to be painted every 5 to 10 years and that is expensive. Also, the engines are perfect for the boat, but virtually obsolete and so that will be a problem when selling the boat in 5 years when they are totally out of production.

But on the other hand she has been well cared for and is (seems to me) in excellent shape. The survey confirmed she is in great shape. Time will tell. The engines have about 4,500 hours which is relatively low for 24 years. One benefit of "old diesel engines" is that they are reputed to be "indestructible" and will "run forever", or so I am told. They are certainly massive for their modest output.

In the big picture the lack of a gas stove is no big deal. We have a coffee maker, a hot water jug and a microwave that will run from the inverter, and we have a bar-b-que. The electric stove top is a "ceramic top" and quite new, but we will have to be "plugged in" or run a generator to use it.

The fast build up of trash is amazing. One surprise was that the sink included a disposal unit, so we will be able to eliminate some vegetable waste over the side! Otherwise, we have "de-boxed" and decanted everything we can before we leave, but I can see a big trash bag on the aft deck that will need to be disposed of each time we go ashore from now on.

There is a nice sized table in the RPH, where we can sit for a meal. It means Deidre must have some "territory" in "my territory", but after 40 years we can deal with that. We have already had 6 to dinner, and it worked out fine.

Extras we had not "expected":
1. Enclosed Aft Deck (Cockpit)
2. New appliances - dishwasher and ceramic stove top
3. Excellent shades and screens
4. Two generators

These few negatives were also counterbalanced by some "extras" we did not expect. The Aft Deck can be enclosed with opaque canvas screens. This will be a great place to relax or eat on hot days in the future. Its not that big, but big enough for a small table and a couple of chairs.

All the appliances are new and stainless. The microwave is also a convection oven. The frig is full size and attractive. The dishwasher is top load, but we have only used it once (when we had the 6 for dinner) and it worked well.

Having two generators is good because:
1. When one breaks down we have a back-up

2. Generators need to be "loaded down" at least 50% of their output capacity when they are running. So if I just want to charge batteries, its good to have a smaller 8KW gen to select

Tour of Tide Hiker:

Pilot House
Bob's man cave. This is where most of the boat's systems are managed or screwed up. I have lots of toys up here. The table can seat 6 people. The table can also be "dropped" and combined with the bench seat to become a "double" bed.

The Galley
Deidre's man cave (?) If the Pilot House is where Bob manages the boat's systems, the Galley is where Deidre manages Bob's systems! It has already been described by a couple of our visitors as a "three arse galley" - meaning quite large, as 3 people can be in it at once, not all that common in the fleet! (You can just see the TV attached to the front of the counter.)

Flying Bridge
I like to run the boat from up here. You are in the breeze and the visibility is better. The FB has a semi hard top, meaning the "roof" structure is permanent, with a canvas covering and Isinglass all around.

The Engine Room. 
You can see Deidre's washer and dryer in the back right - AKA the port side towards the aft.

Master Stateroom
Hard to get a full perspective as there is no way to "stand back". The important features are:
1. Midships so it does not "move around" as much
2. 90% island so it is easier to make
3. Has an "en-suite" bathroom and shower

4. Its Queen size!

En-suite Shower and Bathroom.
The shower is really great. There is plenty of really hot water (we have a 20 gallon hot water tank) and you can look out thru a port hole at the anchorage with all its "comings and goings". The shower base must be below the water line, so the shower water has to be pumped out by a wonderful little pump that makes the coolest sucking noise. (It's the best part!)

Forward Stateroom
The most I can say is that its well ventilated, the bunks are long and there is plenty of storage, plus an associate bathroom.









Our Tentative Schedule


We are often asked "Where are you going to be on such & such a date?" It's a hard question to answer because our schedule is flimsy, but I am going to try to keep a general schedule on the last page of the blog. I will try and keep it up to date.

September 1 - 30:     "The Tides" Marina, Virginia
Just relaxing.

October 1 - 10:     Cruising south to Beauford, NC.
About 225 miles.

October 11 - 20:     Haul Out, Bock Marine, Beaufort, NC
We are planning to pressure wash the hull and apply two or three coats of anti-fouling paint. The running gear also needs to be cleaned and treated. I have a couple of minor paint repairs. Probably will not take 10 days.

October 21 - 31:     Cruising south to Charleston, SC
About 250 miles.

November 1 - 30:     Isle of Palms Marina, SC. 
Time with Kylie and Ryan, maybe a week back in Arizona?
For tax and insurance reasons we are not allowed into Florida until about December 1.

December 1 - 31:     Cruising south to Florida, through Lake Okeechobee to the SW Coast

January 1 - 31:     A marina on the SW Coast, south of Ft. Myers

February 1 - 28:     Cruising the west coast and the Keys.

March 1 - 31:     Cruising the east coast of Florida

April 1 - 30:     Cruising North to Charleston, SC

May 1 - 31:     Isle of Palms Marina.