On The Water Duffield 58
Passage Maker|September 2017

It’s not every day that a brand-new 58-foot performance trawler appears on the marketplace radar, but that seems to have happened with the debut of the Duffield 58 Motoryacht.

Jonathan Cooper
On The Water Duffield 58

More peculiar still is that this new entry—and you may recognize her name—sporting graceful, downeast lines and a New England navy hull, comes not only from Southern California, but from the same builders of the highly successful, if not ubiquitous, Duffy electric boat. As most waterfront homeowners know, you can’t throw a Titleist very far in Newport Beach, California, or Fort Lauderdale, Florida, without hitting a Duffy or two, such is their penetration into the quiet, clean, leisure pocket-craft market. So when you think of building a 58-foot, 53,000-pound fast trawler on the heels of this business, you’d be hard-pressed to find an analogy that suits. Perhaps if Honda suddenly decided to build limousines? But when you scratch past the surface and dig deeper, there was considerable thought, preparation, and inspiration poured into the design.

Beginnings

Marshall “Duffy” Duffield won’t say so himself, but he’s a bit of a legend in Orange County circles. The boatbuilder, yacht designer, cruising enthusiast, and next mayor of Newport Beach, Duffy’s family has cruised for 25 years on Following Sea, a C. Raymond Hunt-designed/Bertram-built 56-foot motoryacht. The wooden boat has served the family on countless trips to Santa Catalina Island, and, through design tweaks and improvements to make the boat better every season, the decades-long process has provided all the inspiration necessary to conceive of the need for the Duffield 58. Armed with a concept in mind, Duffy made a single phone call to Doug Zurn, the prodigal naval architect responsible for, among other successes, the high-performance MJM Yachts, Marlow Marine, and the sleek and stunning Shelter Island runabout.

Design

This story is from the September 2017 edition of Passage Maker.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the September 2017 edition of Passage Maker.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM PASSAGE MAKERView All
Nord2AK: Nordhavn's 2016 Rendezvous
Passage Maker

Nord2AK: Nordhavn's 2016 Rendezvous

The seeds were planted in 2012. We had been cruising for several weeks in the remote waters of northern British Columbia, where it isn’t unusual to go for several days without seeing another boat. Then surprisingly, two other Nordhavns sailed into Sea Otter Cove where we were anchored on the west side of Vancouver Island.

time-read
4 mins  |
November/December 2016
Cuban Sojourn
Passage Maker

Cuban Sojourn

The second part of a journey along Cuba’s northern coast.

time-read
10 mins  |
November/December 2016
Shop Talk
Passage Maker

Shop Talk

Daniel Harper Q&A Founder & CEO of Siren Marine talks with us about how marine products are beginning to take advantage of onboard data.

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2017
Bye, Bye, Birdie #5
Passage Maker

Bye, Bye, Birdie #5

The Need for Speed

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2017
On The Water Duffield 58
Passage Maker

On The Water Duffield 58

It’s not every day that a brand-new 58-foot performance trawler appears on the marketplace radar, but that seems to have happened with the debut of the Duffield 58 Motoryacht.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2017
Castro's Mystery Motoryacht
Passage Maker

Castro's Mystery Motoryacht

Gianma and the voyage that changed the world.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2017
Bye, Bye, Birdie #6
Passage Maker

Bye, Bye, Birdie #6

A Star to Steer Her By.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2017
Glass Living
Passage Maker

Glass Living

Testing the Modern and Versatile Okean 50.

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2018
Navionics Spearheads Post-Irma Re-Mapping Effort
Passage Maker

Navionics Spearheads Post-Irma Re-Mapping Effort

Boaters Can Contribute Cartography And Debris/Wreck Locations.

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2018
Coping With Fog
Passage Maker

Coping With Fog

Dealing With One of the Most Dangerous Elements of Seamanship.

time-read
7 mins  |
January/February 2017