We spoke to three brokers who had listings for Tollycrafts online. Here’s what they had to say about these proven sea boats and the people active in the market for them.
Mark Connors, Bluewater Yacht Sales ; www.bluewateryachtsales.com
“A couple of years ago, I sold a Tollycraft 48 to a couple who intended to cruise extensively—to do The Great Loop. They looked long and hard, and they knew what the Tollycraft brand was. They had their eyes set on a Tollycraft specifically because of the quality of construction, these boats have a good reputation for being very well built, strong hulls. The west coast doesn’t have a lot of inland waterways and things like we do on the east coast, so everything they’ve built over there is built for the Pacific Ocean. The 44 is well known as having an excellent ride in a heavy sea. There are a few things about this boat that are attractive to people, especially the cruising couple. One reason for that is that it’s got the cockpit which makes line handling so much easier. You don’t have to get all your lines ready in advance, you’re not walking up and down a ladder, you’re just standing in the cockpit, which makes docking much easier. The second thing that’s appealing is the large full-beam master stateroom with the en suite head. It’s a nice space where a couple can spend a lot of time. Forward it’s a V-berth arrangement, which, gives you a nice private area forward with another en suite head for your guests. It’s got a traditional motoryacht layout with a saloon up with a galley down and a dinette across. The dinette converts to another double berth, which is yet one more feature that makes this boat desirable. Also the aft deck is tremendous. Just because it’s a bit older doesn’t mean that it doesn’t perform the way it did when it was new. The engines may have some more hours and wear and tear on them but the hulls are going to be the same and they’re going to last for many many years to come. This is the perfect platform for some boaters: She offers all the comforts of home, the safety of the Tollycraft’s hull, and a good range: You can treat this boat like a trawler if you’d like, if you just want to get displacement speeds. You don’t burn very much fuel at all but you also have the ability to push the throttles forward and you can get up on plane and cruise at 16 knots. It just depends on the day and the plan. It’s a very versatile boat.”
Scott Alprin, Emerald Yachts ; emeraldyachts.com
“The Tollycraft 44 was built in the Northwest with Northwest cruising in mind. Tollys sell very well in the Pacific Northwest because of their solid construction and they’re known for being very stable with a low center of gravity and low presentation on the water. Many Tolly owners started with the popular 26-foot Tolly flybridge sedan and stayed with the Tolly line as they moved up to larger boats. The 44-foot Tollys are cockpit motoryachts with a 4-foot cockpit extension on a 40-foot sundeck model. That’s what makes these boats extremely versatile, and Northwest boaters like the full year-round usage of an extended living area of an enclosed sundeck. But the 44s also offer a cockpit for boarding, fishing and access to a dinghy or personal watercraft. The saloon areas are very spacious with an airy down galley and are often designed with island-queen staterooms both aft and forward.”
Greg Andrew, Van Isle Marina Yacht Sales; www.vanislemarina.com
“The Tollycraft 44 is a lot of boat for the money. The biggest cost of ownership is moorage. It’s 54 feet overall because of the dinghy hanging off the aft davit system, and the pulpit is quite long as well. The boat I have listed is rather unusual in the sense that it’s equipped with twin Mercruiser gas engines. They built several of the 44 aft-cabin motoryachts with diesel engines, either CAT 3208s or Detroit Diesels, and this boat is pushing the envelope for where most people will still accept gas power. It’s very well suited for short-term cruising—not so long distance—along our Gulf islands and San Juan Islands. Because if you treat it like sort of a fast trawler, it’s not hard on those engines. A lot of the people it’s appealing to are first-time boaters as well as seasoned boaters that have had smaller cruising boats that have wanted a bit more living space and amenities for extended stays onboard. Most buyers want to get out and experience the cruising grounds that we have to offer here on the Pacific Northwest and go through the islands. But what they perceive or what they envision doing generally is not always what they do in the end. I get a lot of people up from Washington State that have had smaller models, and they’re interested in the one that’s currently for sale. They bring their posse of other fellow Tollycraft owners to scrutinize the boat and there certainly is a cult following in the Northwest because of the heritage and tradition of the builder.”
Read our used boat review of a Tollycraft 44 CPMY on BoatQuest.com here ▶
