Stinkpot is a 1982 DeFever 44 Offshore Cruiser. She is 44' length overall, drafts around 5', has a beam of 15', and requires about 21' of overhead clearance with the foldable mast up. You can read about her and see pictures of what makes her special on Curtis Stokes' website. Curtis is a well-regarded yacht broker who sold the boat to her previous owners, and he kindly left the listing on his website for all to peruse. There have been a few significant changes to her since then, most notably a new Kohler generator, but the rest of the detail is pretty spot on.
Why did you call your boat Stinkpot?
This is a question we get probably more than any other. The answer is simple. It's the name we could agree upon. How we got to that point is more complicated, however.
When we purchased the original Stinkpot, a 1987 Bayliner 3870, we knew we needed a good name for her, but the lists of names we both were generating did not seem to have mutual appeal. Stinkpot was first floated as the joke on the list.
While we were shopping for that boat, so many people somehow assumed that we were looking to buy a sailboat. Many asked us what kind we were getting, and we'd inevitably respond, "we not getting a sailboat, we're getting a stinkpot." We answered that question so frequently that Stinkpot ended up on the list of potential names. We both figured it would inevitably fall off the list, but when it was the only name we could agree upon, we decided it was fate and embraced it.
Historically speaking, in the waning days of sail, sailors used stinkpot as a derisive term for the new gasoline and diesel-powered boats that were filling the harbors with exhaust fumes. Even today, you might hear a sailor enter a powerboat-packed marina and mutter, “The place was stinkpots as far as the eye could see.”
Fast forward to our purchase of the DeFever. We decided the name had to stay—it’s part of who we are now. The boat’s existing name, Terrapin, had graced her through several owners over decades, and changing it felt like a big deal. We rationalized the change since a terrapin is a type of turtle—and amusingly, so is a stinkpot. Yes, really—a common musk turtle is known as a stinkpot because of the musky odor it can release when threatened.
That connection sealed it for us. We managed to give the boat a new name without breaking her lineage. She’s still the same slowpoke she’s always been, just with a name that carries both her history and a bit of our humor. She’s Stinkpot, and she wears it well.
When we purchased the original Stinkpot, a 1987 Bayliner 3870, we knew we needed a good name for her, but the lists of names we both were generating did not seem to have mutual appeal. Stinkpot was first floated as the joke on the list.
While we were shopping for that boat, so many people somehow assumed that we were looking to buy a sailboat. Many asked us what kind we were getting, and we'd inevitably respond, "we not getting a sailboat, we're getting a stinkpot." We answered that question so frequently that Stinkpot ended up on the list of potential names. We both figured it would inevitably fall off the list, but when it was the only name we could agree upon, we decided it was fate and embraced it.
Historically speaking, in the waning days of sail, sailors used stinkpot as a derisive term for the new gasoline and diesel-powered boats that were filling the harbors with exhaust fumes. Even today, you might hear a sailor enter a powerboat-packed marina and mutter, “The place was stinkpots as far as the eye could see.”
Fast forward to our purchase of the DeFever. We decided the name had to stay—it’s part of who we are now. The boat’s existing name, Terrapin, had graced her through several owners over decades, and changing it felt like a big deal. We rationalized the change since a terrapin is a type of turtle—and amusingly, so is a stinkpot. Yes, really—a common musk turtle is known as a stinkpot because of the musky odor it can release when threatened.
That connection sealed it for us. We managed to give the boat a new name without breaking her lineage. She’s still the same slowpoke she’s always been, just with a name that carries both her history and a bit of our humor. She’s Stinkpot, and she wears it well.
What was the first Stinkpot like?
Our previous boat, as I noted above, was a Bayliner 3870. She was a looker, don't you agree?
Video: courtesy of Bryan in the "Show Us Your Boat" Facebook Group. Bryan started the group and posts videos of vessels cruising by his house on the ICW near Myrtle Beach, SC. This video was taken during our spring cruise in 2024.
Did you have any boats before the Stinkpots?
Yes!
Dave's boating history goes back to childhood. His first boats were rowboats, which he put serious miles on as a kid. He has also has been a helmsman since his maternal grandfather first set him at the wheel at five years old, likely to stop a steady stream of questions. Given a compass heading, the young mariner would keep the classic, 1959 28-foot Chris-Craft on course for hours at a time, long before autopilot found its way onto such vessels.
Together, we first started boating together in our 14-foot Old Town canoe, which Stacey loved. In 2015, we were invited by new friends, Leah and Steve, for a day out on Maine’s second largest lake, Sebago Lake, aboard their 28-foot Carver flybridge cruiser, the Black Pearl. We jumped at the chance, and we weren’t more than a half mile off the dock when Stacey said aloud, “We should have one of these.”
We sold the canoe.
Dave's boating history goes back to childhood. His first boats were rowboats, which he put serious miles on as a kid. He has also has been a helmsman since his maternal grandfather first set him at the wheel at five years old, likely to stop a steady stream of questions. Given a compass heading, the young mariner would keep the classic, 1959 28-foot Chris-Craft on course for hours at a time, long before autopilot found its way onto such vessels.
Together, we first started boating together in our 14-foot Old Town canoe, which Stacey loved. In 2015, we were invited by new friends, Leah and Steve, for a day out on Maine’s second largest lake, Sebago Lake, aboard their 28-foot Carver flybridge cruiser, the Black Pearl. We jumped at the chance, and we weren’t more than a half mile off the dock when Stacey said aloud, “We should have one of these.”
We sold the canoe.
Appoggiatura underway. Photo credit: Steve and Leah Karantza
We shopped all winter and spring for a boat, eventually settling on a 1985, 32-foot Carver Convertible that we named Appogiatura. We cruised Sebago for three summers aboard her before we bought the Bayliner in November of 2018, logging over 4000 miles on the 49-square mile lake over the course of three summers. It was there that we "learned the ropes" preparing us for the far more extensive cruising we do now.
We consider Appoggiatura to have been our practice boat, and we now encourage anybody considering this lifestyle to get one before taking the plunge. Dave even wrote a blog for Argo about exactly that.
We consider Appoggiatura to have been our practice boat, and we now encourage anybody considering this lifestyle to get one before taking the plunge. Dave even wrote a blog for Argo about exactly that.