47 Commander Flush Deck

When she was introduced back in 1966, the 47 Flush Deck was the largest yacht in Chris Craft’s rapidly evolving all-fiberglass fleet. (Indeed, only the Hatteras 50 Motor Yacht exceeds her in size among all-fiberglass designs of her era.) The heavily built hull of the 47 is overkill by today’s lightweight standards, and all of the deck hardware was custom-crafted at the old Chris Craft plant in Algonac, Michigan. A comfortable cruising yacht, her three-stateroom interior was originally arranged with a built-in dinette a step down from the salon. This was changed early on in favor of locating the dining area and galley on the salon level. Note that the forward head is in the bow section—an unusual layout. Note also that there are twin single berths in the aft stateroom rather than a walkaround double bed. Aside from her age, the biggest drawbacks in considering a used 47 Flush Deck are her extremely tight engineroom and limited fuel capacity. The seakeeping and handling characteristics of this boat are exceptional. Among several gas and diesel engine options, twin 8V53 Detroit diesels cruise at a sedate 12–13 knots (about 15 knots top).