Stevens 47 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The Stevens Custom 47 has a 37-foot 9-inch waterline, a 14-foot 3-inch beam, a 6-foot draft, and a displacement of 32,000 pounds. Her 14,500 pounds of ballast produce a ballast-to-displacement ratio of 0.45, while her displacement-to-length ratio is near 266.

The hull is solid fiberglass, with a low-deadrise form and an elongated fin keel; the deck is balsa-cored. A sharp bow entry keeps pounding at bay in all but the heaviest weather. Major weights, including the engine, are carried well away from the ends, helping give the boat an easy motion in a seaway.

The large rudder is skeg-hung and carried on three bearings. Its lowest bearing is set well above the skeg heel, making a hard grounding less likely to jam the blade.

Rig and Handling

The mast rises just over 65 feet with standard masthead fittings. The cutter rig’s sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 16.7 reflects a powerful, flexible sail plan. It gives the 47 strong light-air performance and sensible options for shortening sail as the wind builds, placing her among the faster cruisers of her time.

She remains a settled sea boat rather than a featherweight racer, yet she can carry a full cruising inventory without a dramatic fall-off in performance.

Under power in forward, the Stevens 47 can turn within roughly twice her length, which is handy in tight quarters. At low speed in reverse, however, she tends to back into the wind, a handling quirk noted by Cruising World. It’s worth keeping in mind during a breezy stern-to Med moor.

Accommodations

Below, the interior is finished in solid teak and teak veneer, with a substantial teak-and-holly sole. The centre-cockpit arrangement provides port and starboard passages aft from the companionway, each with just over six feet of headroom. They lead to a large master stateroom and aft head.

Forward of the saloon are a starboard head with shower, a port bunk room, and a forward V-berth stateroom. Each stateroom has a hanging locker. The galley runs along the port walkway, while a full, forward-facing navigation station sits to starboard.

The engine is tucked beneath an ample counter under the cockpit well and can be reached from three sides. This access should make routine servicing more manageable.

An L-shaped saloon table seats four comfortably or six with the leaf extended. Pilot berths above the settees make the saloon narrower, an arrangement Cruising World judged safer underfoot in a seaway. Most owners have since boxed in those pilot berths to create cruising storage.

Ventilation comes from six hatches, 14 opening ports, and five closable dorade vents. The water tanks are beneath the settees, with more stowage beneath the pilot berths.

Machinery, Tankage, and Cruising Use

The 65-horsepower Ford Lehman provides a useful power margin for charging and docking. Tankage is generous, with capacity for 200 gallons of water and 115 gallons of fuel.

The three-stateroom interior adapts readily to long-term cruising, as owners have demonstrated by reclaiming the pilot berths for storage. Three-sided engine access also makes the boat relatively straightforward to live with and maintain.

Known Issues

The balsa-cored deck is the one area where long-term water intrusion would warrant a careful tap test, given the material used.

One owner-observed boat, Aquila, showed no blistering below the waterline after years of neglect. Its tired deck also responded well to refinishing.

The Verdict

The Stevens Custom 47 is a well-considered S&S cruiser that combines a quick, sea-kindly hull with a genuinely practical centre-cockpit interior. She isn’t a minimalist boat, but her numbers and layout point to a design intended to carry people and gear offshore without sulking.

Pros