Two-decade chapter closes, new one begins

Last week the sale of Nordhavn 50 Dana A officially closed. It was the end of an era, of sorts, because its owner, Dick Pedone, was the last of the original N50 owners. Dana A is number 14 of 29 hulls built and Pedone took delivery of her in 2000, making his the fifth longest tenured ownership in Nordhavn history.

Nordhavn has evolved its product line since rolling out the first 46 in 1989, introducing new generations of models in waves. Of that first guard, which includes the N46, N62, 50 and N57, only a handful of original owners remain: four 46 owners, the owners of a 62, and until last week, Pedone.

When talking to Pedone about his beloved N50 Dana A, the confidence he had in the boat is patently obvious. He amassed an astounding 80,000 nm during his 20-year ownership, never going on massive ocean-crossing journeys, instead going up and down the U.S. east coast as far as possible in either direction multiple times – and then venturing off into the Caribbean and Bermuda every now and then. “I bought a Nordhavn strictly for its seafaring capability,” he said. And why the N50? It was the right size. “The 46 was too small. And I wanted something I could handle on my own, so the 62 and 57 were out. That left the 50.”

After much consideration, Pedone decided to sell his boat in favor of more space needed for his and partner Diane Maloney’s plans for extended stays aboard. Dana A was listed for one day before being snatched up by a gentleman who had been waiting specifically for a Nordhavn 50 to hit the market.

It’s not surprising that Pedone moved up to a larger version of his N50, which he found in a brokerage N57 purchased days after the sale of Dana A was made final. He follows in the wakes of other N50 owners who stayed true to first generation Nordhavns; two owners moved up to the N57, including Dick and Gail Barnes who have gone on to put more than 70,000 on their 57, Ice Dancer II. Another N50 owner moved up to a 62. Only one of the N50 owners upgraded to a newer generation N68.

Although he had considered 63-, 64-, and 68-foot Nordhavns, Pedone decided to focus his jump on the N57 model. “There’s a comfort level there,” he said. “The 57 has everything the 50 had plus 30 percent more space.” Now that he is part of a duo, “the 57’s size is right”, just as the 50’s had been when he was boating solo.

Pedone admits it’s been a fun ride on the Nordhavn 50. “She’s been a huge part of my life,” he said. She’s been a huge part of Nordhavn’s history, too, with her ownership and mileage milestones. As an homage to the boat, he and Diane have christened their 57, Dana A, a last nod to the past. The new Dana A will be shipped in August from northern California to Florida and then brought up to its home port in East Greenwich, RI. And with that, a new chapter begins…