David Ross takes delivery of Europe’s first Schaefer V44 and modifies it to suit his boating requirements
When I was a child, I was enthralled with the Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau. Those TV adventures took me far away from suburban life into a world full of adventure. I loved Cousteau’s freedom to escape on his famous expedition ship, Calypso, and when I grew up, my love of the sea remained strong.
I did an RYA competent crew course and sailing holidays in Greece. At first, work and family made boat ownership impossible, but when I turned 50, the urge couldn’t be denied…
Before the Schaefer V44: The boating CV
My first boat was a Sessa Key Largo 30, with two 250hp Yamaha outboards and wonderful seakeeping. It proved to be safe, fast and immense fun, but provided only limited sun protection. So in 2015, as my family grew in size, I traded up for a seven-year-old Sessa C52, Vamos II.
The Sessa Key Largo 30 made a great first boat
This was a handsome sportscruiser with large, D12 800hp Volvo diesels and three cabins. She had been unloved, with only 122 hours of use from her previous owner. Though the upholstery and paint were pretty awful, the boat was structurally sound and, after some cosmetic work, Vamos II proved a dependable boat that carried our family to some wonderful areas around Denia and the Balearics.
However, after 15 years, she was starting to develop recurring and increasingly expensive problems, including a leaking fuel tank.
Throughout this time, Vamos II was maintained by Amanda and Paul Osbourne at A&P Marine in Denia. Paul suggested that once the current crop of issues had been addressed, it might be time to consider selling up and looking for something simpler. This was all the more relevant as I was now approaching retirement and not as nimble as I once was! And so earlier this year, my wife and I went to the Düsseldorf boat show to look for a potential successor.
The new boat search
In our search for a 40ft boat capable of reaching the islands, we found ourselves looking at a number of centre console boats. We investigated several models, including the excellent Fjord 41 XL and the Pardo. At that stage, my intention was to look for a good used model of about 2-3 years old. But then
I climbed aboard the Schaefer V44.
The Sessa C52 was a fine Balearics cruiser
I was only familiar with this brand from the odd advert in MBY, but I was immediately struck by the practical design, the impressive helm station and the quality of finish. In addition to this, the boat had a huge roof, providing real sun protection, plus an excellent social space that was made even larger by a pair of drop-down terraces.
I had been pretty clear that we needed a hi-lo platform with diesel inboards, preferably on shafts, and this boat had no rear platform and three enormous Mercury V10 400hp Verardo outboards? But two critical factors now came into play.
Firstly, my wife had left me alone at the show. And secondly, I had reached that moment when you know you’ve found the boat you want – the boat you really, really want. Yes, it blew the budget and deviated from the brief but somehow, it remained perfect…
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Refining the plan
Over the next two months, I read as much as I could about Schaefer and the Schaefer V44, and was impressed by the online reviews, including the one from MBY’s own Alex Smith. That said, there were several obstacles ahead, including selling Vamos II and working out the finances.
Thankfully, A&P found a buyer quite quickly but I still had to see the Schaefer again so I contacted the Spanish agent, Tot Nautic in Mallorca, and arranged to see the Düsseldorf model that was housed by Schaefer EU in Belgium. Anton Boone, the owner of Schaefer EU and the agent for Northern Europe and France, showed me and my son around the boat and that helped confirm how many desirable qualities it had in terms of design and finish.
The all-important Vetus bow thruster is installed
Jeremy Hurney at Tot Nautic worked hard to make the figures work, but the brand was a novelty in Europe and the question of support was ever present. From the start, Jeremy and Jimmy Schwartz, the owner of Tot Nautic, went out of their way to ensure that back-up would be rapidly accessed.
But the key event was a drop in the US$ in late March, and the idea that Schaefer would have to ship the boat back to Brazil at significant expense. This led Jeremy to get the deal over the line and in April, I became the owner of a beautiful new V44, called Fox.
The Schaefer V44’s delivery day
She arrived in Denia in early June and, while she was very well equipped, she didn’t have a bow thruster, so A&P started by managing the installation of a Vetus unit that would integrate with the joystick system.
At €15,000, it was expensive but it immediately made mooring bow-to in a breeze much easier. I also ordered six sets of Phender Pro fender clips, which have made attaching fenders quicker and easier.
Zorro gets the “Flaming Orange” paint job it deserves
Another cool bit of kit we installed was a Scanstrut Atmos – a built-in air pump that allows rapid inflating and deflating of your toys and tender. As for the style, Fox was finished in white gelcoat, with an anthracite roof and dark orange boot stripe but I wanted something more interesting.
I eventually settled on Flaming Orange, which my friends deemed “bold” but which I thought fitted the spirit of the boat. And so finally, the job was complete. Fox became Zorro (Spanish for Fox), and plans were made for handover at the end of July!
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