A Long-Range Cruiser Designed for Everyday Living

You know that second-home tax deduction – the one you get if your boat has a head, galley and berth? It explains why they try to cram these three items into micro-boats a mere 19 or 20 feet long.

But in the case of the Kadey-Krogen 55 Expedition, you really deserve to get that deduction – this boat is like a house in many ways, and living aboard it for extended cruises would be just as comfortable as staying at a beachfront condo.

Wait a sec. Scratch that. It's even better, because in this case you can cruise that second home anywhere you like. As in, anywhere. Kadey-Krogen's reputation for ocean going vessels is sterling, and the 55 Expedition is no different. In fact, this boat has the capability to cruise far farther than 6,000 nautical miles, so you can take it to ports clear around the globe if you so desire.

MOTOR HEAD

Yeah, yeah, I know – everyone expects a review of a boat like this to start in the cabin. Its décor is fabulous, dahhhling – as it should be on a boat with a base price of about $1.9 million. But you already know it will score an A-plus for cushiness in the cabin, don't you? And there's another part of this boat that gets an A-plus-plus, so let's swing up the hatch in the cabin sole and poke around a bit belowdecks in the engine room first.

Climb down the ladder and the first thing that strikes you is the fact that you're not all hunched over. It's roomy enough down there to stand upright, as you inspect the five watertight bulkheads. Check out those bulkhead doors; they look like something straight out of a submarine. Now swing right, and take note of the huge freezer chest, which will hold enough food for a month. On that cruise to Bermuda you'll be laughing at those poor suckers who haven't yet discovered what the islanders consider "beef," as you grill up piles of USDA Prime night after night.

Now slide aft and get a gander at the engine bearers. There are four-foot-long, 3/8-inch stainless-steel caps over the mahogany-cored stringers. Elsewhere the stringers are foam-cored fiberglass. While you make your way back to the twin 158-horsepower John Deere 6068TFM M1 Tier2 diesel powerplants, make sure you also look at the fuel and water tanks. All of them sport sight gauges, so you'll never have to guess how much you have in reserve, even if the gauges at the dash fail. Before you turn around and head back up also take note of the American Bow Thruster TRAC 250 stabilizer motors (which swing a pair of fins with nine square feet of surface area), the 16-kilowatt Northern Lights genset, the 30-gallon hot water heater, and most impressively, the A/Sea shorepower converter which allows you to plug in virtually anywhere in the world.

After spending a while in the ER, you might ask yourself: why is it so cool and dry down here? Aren't engine rooms usually hot, sweaty, smelly places? Nope, not in this case, thanks to the pair of Delta-T blowers with moisture eliminators.

CONSTRUCTION

Even down here, where you can get a behind-the-scenes look at the way a boat is constructed, there's more then meets the eye. You can't see that the outer two layers of fiberglass throughout the hull are laid up with vinylester resin, the more expensive but less water-permeable variety. Your eyes can't pick out the fact that the hullsides are solid from six inches over the waterline down, and that above this level the hull and decks are cored with Core Cell and end-grain balsa.

Nor can you see that they were vacuum-bagged to attain the ultimate resin-to-fiberglass ratio ensuring maximum strength without additional weight. You can't even get a visual on the Twaron (a super-strong para-aramid fiber, which is just like Kevlar) reinforcement in the stem, keel, transom, and skegs. But it's all in there, and it all works together to make the Kadey-Krogen strong enough to take on the seas any ocean-goer must be able to handle. And there's no doubt it can.

Our test run was limited to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and it was a relatively calm day. Still, there were plenty of wakes from all the boat traffic. And aboard this boat it felt like we were floating in a pond. Three-footers from a 40-something cruiser weren't enough to so much as rock the 55, much less send spray flying or cause a pounding or impact. Credit the full displacement hull, the skeg- and keel-equipped bottom, the wide beam, and, of course, those stabilizers.

ROAMING RANCHER

In the living areas, the Expedition is designed for single-level dwelling in the same way a modern rancher is. Enter the roomy aft cockpit, which is shaded by the full-size hard top. Hesitate and then refresh yourself at the cockpit wet bar before entering the cabin. Pass through into the salon, where you'll find the "full body" beam makes for a spacious interior. There are no walkways around this cabin – line handling is performed from the cockpit and from the bow. You get from the one to the other by walking up the stairs to the bridge, then up to the foredeck. This design allows the entire beam to be utilized in the cabin. Note that the boat's maximum beam is 18 feet and the cabin interior tapes out at 16 feet.

The interior of our test boat was cherry with a parquet sole, though the décor of these boats can be chosen by prospective owners at the onset of construction. In the salon, I saw perks like a wine cabinet, granite countertops, a pop-up flat-screen television, Bose surround-sound, and Ultra-leather chairs and settees.

The galley is forward to port, and is open so food prep won't put a crimp in the conversation. Appliances are top-notch: the upright refrigerator/freezer is a Jennair, the stove and cook-top is a Viking four-burner, and there's even a Miele dishwasher under the counter. The galley also sports dual stainless-steel sinks, plus a large microwave. Major items like the appliances and the wine cabinet won't come swinging open in rough seas, either, because Kadey-Krogen fits them with aircraft-style locking latches. More in the seaworthy department: there are dual overhead grab rails running the length of the cabin.

The master stateroom had a queen-sized pedestal berth, opening ports large enough to toss a football through, and a flat screen mounted in the aft bulkhead. The starboard stateroom is designed to serve double duty as an office at sea, laundry room (with a Asko washer/dryer) and double-berth guest suite. Now check out the day head: it's about what you'd expect with one exception that becomes clear when you poke your head in the shower: it's actually roomy, unlike the coffin-sized stalls found on so many other boats.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Climb the stairs just aft of these staterooms, and you'll find yourself in a huge enclosed bridge that's set off by a pair of super-comfy Stidd helm seats. The dash has three massive flats for your electronics – a Glass Bridge system will be perfect here – and a small settee aft.

Helm access is another important item on a boat that will be cruising to distant ports. If your chartplotter wiring goes kaput or the transducer plug shakes free, you'll want to be able to fix it. And on this boat, you get all the access you could ever want. In fact, to get a gander at the electronics wiring I popped open the hatch next to the helm station, and climbed in – literally. The hatch is large enough and the access area is wide enough that I could crawl right inside and get a look at the back of the helm. Added bonus: that means there's plenty of room to mount hard drives, black-box units, and the like.

The wheelhouse is lined with large weather-tight windows, so visibility forward and to the sides is excellent. Unfortunately, with the 13-foot Boston Whaler tender on the aft hard top of our test boat, aft visibility was severely restricted. Docking could be a real piling-cruncher. If, that is, Kadey-Krogen didn't provide you with exterior docking station controls. Pop out of the wheelhouse, and into the walkway port or starboard – either side will do, because there's a set of controls on each side. Between the Deeres and the 22-horsepower hydraulic bow thruster, you now have complete control of the boat and can see aft without a problem.

Now grab the wheel, and swing it around. It'll surprise you how quickly the boat responds, despite its size and weight. Oppose the engines, give a few shots with the bow thruster, and spin her in a circle. Again, surprising how the 55 Expedition responds, considering its heft. Hit the throttle, and at a maximum RPM of 2450 you'll top out at 10 knots. Not exactly fast, but remember, this boat rides on a true displacement hull. That's why, even at full throttle, you burn a mere 15 gallons per hour. Slow but steady definitely wins this race.

But wait – something seems missing. I know, it's the roar of the engines. That's something you most certainly won't hear on this boat. In fact, my db-A meter measured the lowest set of sound levels of any boat I've ever tested, period (and that runs to hundreds of boats). It never even broke 60 from the sound of the diesels, while the voices of people quietly conversing at the helm jumped the meter to 67 and 68.

ON DECK

The wheel house might be where you spend your cruising time, but you'll spend your relaxation time just aft of it, on the "back porch." This is defiantly my favorite area of the boat.

On the aft wheelhouse bulkhead there are several stowage compartments, a sink and a gas grill. Fire up the barbi, and get ready to toss on those steaks while you enjoy the cool ocean breezes. Just one complaint: the hatches on those stowage compartments are heavy, and they don't rise up on gas-assisted struts. In fact, I found this true of many hatches on this boat. Adding some struts would make it easier to get them open, and prevent the slams that come from dropping them shut.

Another high point of that back porch is the Whaler sitting on it. Even with a 50-horsepower four-stroke outboard slung on the back, there was plenty of room for this rig. A 1,200 pound capacity Nautical Structures davit with auto-rotation will make launching it relatively simple. Again, the ability to stow a big "dinghy" aboard contributes to the 55 Expeditions competence as a world-wide cruiser. You can launch it and run to that favorite dockside restaurant, whether you're in the islands or the Med or the Northwest Passage. And you will, because you can visit all of these places in cruise mode without ever leaving your favorite abode – if you're on the Kadey-Krogen 55 Expedition.

Lenny Rudow was senior technical editor for Boating magazine for more than 10 years, and is currently the electronics editor for Marlin and GoBoating magazines.

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