Maple Leaf 48 Advice

[LobeliaBlue]

Hi Everyone on this thread. I'm the owner of a 1980 Maple Leaf 48 in Southern California.

I love this boat. It's the layout I dreamed of for decades, and was worth the work over the last couple years. Plumbing, Tanks, Engine accessories, etc.
When i'm walking around deck I can't believe it's under 50'. The rear fish deck is a treat and I've got a hand shower installed there now =)

One of my subcontractors is a Salvadorean chap named Melvin, who actually worked at the Cooper Yard in the 80's in PoCo (Port Coquitlan for non-Canadians).

He's got a ton of info on how they were built, and after close to 50 years as a Ship Wright, he says they are some of the highest quality builds he's ever seen.
I've redone all my thru fittings and the Hull is dry as a bone after 40 years. My vibe with this is to reduce all the accumulated clutter and have it a very basic coastal for now - yeet the red german genset, H2O maker, and 'primitive but elaborate' navaids.

I'm happy to forward any questions to Melvin from the forum.
-fun fact: the 48' and the 56' are the same hull, from the same mold.
The odd transom line is where they did the coupe. No wonder it rides well...


Have fun, stay safe -
Lo

[MARK98110]

Great to hear Lo!
We recently closed on the Maple Leaf 48 we were looking at. Survey found some issues, but nothing we don’t feel we can tackle. Love the layout, and looking forward to years of adventures ahead. I agree, can’t believe it it less than 50’. Feels huge! Launching on Thursday for a shakedown cruise

[LobeliaBlue]

Hey, that's awesome! Congrats! I'd love to be able to discuss further as you get into it.
If you'd like, send me a PM and i'll send my contact/call sign.

lol - did you see Bob Perry try to take a piece off of Stan Huntingford?
Cheeky monkey.

"Thar Maple Leaf series featured a hull with a hard turn to the bilge and that probably produced a boat with a snappy motion. But I think they are good designs and well suited to the type of cruising we do in the PNW. You might want to be careful with the survey. Some of those boats had delamination issues and required extensive repair work. I would not consider the overall build quality good from what I have seen."

[GRIT]

Bob Perry... Have you ever seen him spar with with Brent Swain? I think Brent's ideas threaten Bob's view of the world. You can see his face turn red, just by reading his posts. Just mention Brent's name, and Bob jumps right in to tell you how much better his boat's are than Brent's.

By the way, the Maple Leaf 48 was one of my first "dream boats". Really loved those boats. Congrats.

Paul.

[MARK98110]

Just wanted to post a follow up for all that are interested! We spent 3 months sailing her in the PNW while on parental leave. Though we were stuck in the states due to Covid, we probably did around 2,000 nm just moving constantly under sail.

I cannot believe how well she sails, even in a light breeze. we had her up to 10knts water speed on a close haul w/ 15nts of true wind. given her displacement, we did not expect that! when the wind pick up, given the weight and beam, she barely heals even with a modest sail plan. only downside so far is here flat foredeck... we were crossing the straight of Juan de Fuca in some chop, and she tends to slap when there is short wave length and your not healing. when the wind dies, the Lehman 120 is a great work horse. have had zero issue with it. plenty of power to twist the boat when docking w/ out a bowthruster.

We are on the hard in Anacoretes working on winer projects. We have pulled about three large trash bags of old wiring, re-built the nav area, updated electronics, re-building the rudder (slight delimitation), beefing up the rudder post, recording the back deck, new winches for the davits, new thru-hulls, removed old transducers / glassed over, new hatchs, on and on! excited for the boating season this year!

for anyone interested, I created a facebook group for all owners to pool their knowledge of these boats. feel free to join and share!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/3177654048987788

Mark-