A Boat Owner’s Insights – Willard Marine 47 Dover Pilothouse
In this review of “A Boat Owner’s Insights,” we focus on a Willard Marine 47 Dover Pilothouse.
The Willard is for sale by Waterline Boats / Boatshed Port Townsend with direct links below.
Make Your Cruising Dreams Come True Aboard This Extensively Upgraded Willard Marine 47 Dover Pilothouse
Having both comfort and performance, life aboard this Willard Marine 47 Dover Pilothouse is a pleasure. Willards are known for their robust construction, and the multiple journeys this vessel has made to and from Alaska with the current owners certainly proves this point. The hull and deck were built in 1967, in an era when fiberglass hulls were made to be exceedingly stout (the hand-laid hull is 1.5” thick). Virtually everything else aboard has been replaced in recent years.
If Inside Passage or liveaboard dreams have ever called to you then read to learn more, directly from the current owners, about this spectacular boat. Truly, you’ll have a near impossible time finding a boat so cruise ready and comfortable at such a price point again!
Comfortable Alaska Cruising
The current owners of this Willard had been cruising Southeast Alaska for 20 years when they decided to make the move to a more comfortable ride. Given that they had mostly been cruising in wooden, round bottom, single screw vessels – and typical Southeast Alaska weather was 15 knots wind with 3 foot seas, “the vessels [they previously cruised] were typically a rough ride.”
With that, they were looking for a larger pilothouse vessel, with twin screws and a fiberglass hull. “When we saw this Willard”, they say, “we knew she would be the boat for us, and for Southeast Alaska.”
Comfortable and Spacious – Plus Amazing Visibility!
When asked what they’ve most enjoyed about this vessel the owners are quick to respond with an impressively long list of incredible attributes. From the number of bunks, to the view from aboard, the boat is admirable for many reasons. The current owners report they have most enjoyed:
- The overall comfort and spaciousness.
- Openness and range of vision throughout the vessel, “The visibility from the pilothouse is incredible…the view from the galley is 270 degrees. It is possible to cook and be part of the conversation in the salon.”
- The entertaining spaces, “We love the enclosed back deck, for evening events in all weather.”
- The fact it is a great family boat. The vessel can sleep up to nine, and even with that many aboard, “there is a lot of room to socialize, including pilot house, salon, back deck, foredeck and upper decks in nice weather.”
- Plenty of storage, “On the back deck there is locker storage for tools, cleaning supplies, and trash, and a toolbox with full complement of tools. Below the galley and salon, in the tank room there is storage for luggage, as well as storage bins for tools, and sundry maintenance supplies. Additionally, there is a battery powered Feintool Kit, and a battery powered Dewalt drill/screw kit stowed in this space.”
Top-Notch Performance
With a solid build, the performance of this vessel is first-rate. Impressive notes on performance include:
- Stability: “This Willard is a very stable vessel. With her 1 ½ ” thick fiberglass hull she is a heavy boat. The semi-displacement hull with a hard chine is very stable in most side swell seas. When making the crossings of the big open sounds on the route to and from Alaska she performed very well.”
- Quiet run: “Since the boat was repowered, it is very quiet.”
- Maneuverability: “When the boat was repowered, we [increased the rudder size by] 1/3, which makes it very maneuverable. The twin screws allow the vessel to be turned around in its own length. Both of these features make the boat easy to dock, even in tight conditions.”
Hull soundness: “At first I was worried about taking the fiberglass hull into ice filled fjords,” says the current owner, “but as the Port Townsend Shipwrights said, ‘you could set off a depth charge under this boat and not hurt the hull.’ “
From Music Festivals, to Glaciers, to the Beautiful Waters of Southeast Alaska, this Boat Has Seen It All
Over the nearly 15 years the current owners have owned this Willard Marine 47 Dover Pilothouse they made four round trips from Puget Sound to Juneau. Juneau was the vessel’s home port, so they often cruised the waters of the Inside Passage.
“Each summer we would make weeklong cruises to Sitka for the music festival, to Ketchikan to visit friends, or just cruise the beautiful waters of Southeast Alaska,” say the owners, taking along friends, family and business associates with them. “Often we would cruise to the Tracy Arm and the Sawyer glaciers,” they continue, “and the cruise up the Tracy Arm fjord, with its steep 3000’ cliffs that come to the water line with the glacier at the very end, was absolutely spectacular.”
Some summers the owners would spend as much as 6 weeks cruising, and in 2019 they had a truly memorable trip to Glacier Bay. “After some 20 years of boating in Southeast Alaska we were finally able to get a reservation into Glacier Bay. It was the cruise of a lifetime.”
Notable Attributions Make this Willard A Stand Out
Though Willards are exceptional vessels all on their own, unique and notable attributes that make it stand out above the rest include:
- The 1 ½ inch fiberglass hull makes the boat, “a very stable vessel.”
- The enclosed back deck. “It is a true asset,” the owners say of this cockpit, “We have spent many, many enjoyable hours dining, snacking, enjoying company in that space. The enclosure provides protection from the wind, rain, and BUGS, and given the long days is Alaska, an evening spent back on that deck is most pleasurable, and great place to watch a sunset.”
- The hydraulic davit for lifting the tender on and off the boat. “This makes life very easy,” say the owners, “this was a feature added when we repowered the vessel.”
- The deployable 6-man life raft is an added safety benefit.
- An electric windlass with the 250’ of 5/8” chain, and substantial anchor makes anchoring out worry free.
Passing on the Helm
Though they had many great experiences and cruises aboard this Willard, the time has come for the current owners to pass on this exceptional vessel.
“Before listing with Waterline, we visited with several other brokers,” the owners say, “and frankly we found the folks at Waterline, very personable, knew about the Willards, and the quality of boats that Willard has built. The Waterline folks demonstrated that they appreciated the boat and could see her value, even given her age. I will say, the work Waterline has done to market the boat, has been most impressive.”
Where to Learn More
Fourteen years of love, care, impeccable maintenance, and thoughtful upgrades by experienced PNW boaters mean this Willard is optimized and well-equipped for safe, comfortable cruising. Find the full listing, including photos, video, and 360 degree perspective, in the Boatshed Presentation.
