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Sea Y’all: Empty-Nesters’ 1988 DeFever 44 Trawler


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When these empty nesters moved from Texas to California, they never imagined they’d choose full-time life on the water! But they discovered that purchasing a boat home was far more affordable than they’d originally thought, and they are now celebrating 5 years of marina life.

After two years in a smaller boat, they upgraded to 1988 DeFever 44 Trawler. It has a large main bedroom, a forward berth for guests, and two heads. In their kitchen (galley) you’ll find a bunch of adorable red retro appliances which they use to cook and entertain their friends.

And their decks, of course, provide an awesome place to enjoy the sunny San Diego weather. Watch their tour below!

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Their Marina Lifestyle with Two Pups

1988 DeFever 44 Trawler Sea Y’All 2

Images via Tiny Home Tours

Their “salon” or living area, with recovered cushions.

1988 DeFever 44 Trawler Sea Y’All

Images via Tiny Home Tours

They have come to love their “Marina Family.”

1988 DeFever 44 Trawler Sea Y’All 3

Images via Tiny Home Tours

VIDEO: Empty Nesters Downsize to a Gorgeous Trawler

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Our big thanks to Erika for sharing! 🙏

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Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.

Latest posts by Natalie C. McKee (see all)

{ 12 comments… add one }
  • Eric
    August 25, 2021, 3:26 pm

    Downsize…??? Well ok, but that boat will see you spend $$$$ on upkeep. Oh well, it’ll keep you/tradies busy thats for sure. Enjoy while you can.

  • Cate
    August 25, 2021, 3:46 pm

    Y’all Y’ALL not ya’ll, I can tell you’re not Southern.

    • James D.
      August 25, 2021, 7:03 pm

      Sorry Cate but not all Southerners have the exact same accent, there’s actually 3 dominant variants…

      Coastal/Lowland Southern English – Basically the classic southern accent that is often used in various media like films and TV, which features non-rhotic speech, gliding vowels, and elongated pronunciation of vowels.

      Inland/Mountain Southern English – Encompassing areas like Appalachia, Texas, and Tennessee. A common trait is words ending in im, en, or em sounding more like in (Ben would sound more like Bin). Long “O” sounds are also usually fronted more (goose can sound more like gus).

      New Orleans English – Exclusive to the city of New Orleans. The accent developed from the mixture of French as well as the Creole language that was predominant in Louisiana. Traits of the accent include the lowering and rounding of “A” and “O” sounds and the loss of rhoticity in words ending in T.

      Though, Charleston, South Carolina has a fairly unique accent variant that was affected by the local African-American Gullah dialect, as well as different European influences. Tending to avoid final and middle “r” sounds, so examples like the name of the city is pronounced Chaahs-tun.

      Among each state there can also be sub variants as not everyone talks exactly like everyone else and neighboring areas could have influenced them over the years.

      Texas in particular, being at the edge of the Southern region and influenced by the areas it borders, has a range of accents and dialects, including African-American Vernacular (black), Tejano (Spanish-influenced) and Cajun in the far southeastern corner of the state.

      The primarily white Texan accent has two major sub-divisions, which includes East Texas accents and West Texas accents.

      The tradition “cowboy” sound is more prevalent in the west, while the eastern sound has more twang to it. Examples like actors John Wayne and Sam Elliott are prime examples of the West Texas drawl (though neither is from there!) and former Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot is a strong representation of the East Texas twang.

      So just because they don’t pronounce it exactly like you do doesn’t mean they’re not Southern, just not your particular flavor of Southern…

      Can’t just judge an entire group of people by a stereotype!

      • Celia E.
        August 25, 2021, 8:45 pm

        Y’all is the combination of the words “you” and “all” and is the only correct way to spell if you are from any state or region. Look it up.

        • Natalie C. McKee
          August 26, 2021, 1:43 pm

          Sorry. Y’all are correct. I’m a Yankee through and through LOL. I will fix the spelling mistake. My bad!

        • James D.
          August 26, 2021, 7:53 pm

          Apologies Celia E, if you were referring to a mistake in the article… I was talking about the couple… My mistake…

        • James D.
          August 26, 2021, 8:59 pm

          Yes, my mistake, I wasn’t referring to the article… Again, apologies for the confusion.

      • James D.
        August 25, 2021, 11:42 pm

        @Celia E. – I’m aware but the spelling wasn’t the issue but rather how they said it, which was what was being judged… That’s why I specifically referred to accent to point out not everyone says it the same way and they can still call themselves Southern, because they are…

        For spelling, you can check their youtube page, “The Sea Y’all Life” and see that they indeed spelled it correctly…

        • Celia E.
          August 26, 2021, 8:56 pm

          The author sent a very nice reply and corrected it to what you are now seeing. It was originally “Ya’ll.”

  • jerry dycus
    August 25, 2021, 6:23 pm

    My standard warning get a boat as small as you can so you can own the boat, not it own you.
    Note this boat is worth $200k-$500k depending on condition which looks good and dock rates, etc are by the foot.
    A simple TH style with a kitchen, head/shower , Settees/couch beds can be done in just 16′ and easily trailable to live on land or water. With a solar shaded deck sitting up on top in the breeze with a cool drink is the good life.
    While some places are pricey, there are places that are not and free to anchor out, my favorite.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      August 26, 2021, 1:44 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing!

    • Mary
      October 18, 2021, 6:01 pm

      Or maybe, just maybe, these are functional adults who can do their own research and know what they can afford and so they bought what they want. A lot of resentful jerks reading and commenting. Don’t want or can’t afford a boat like this? So don’t buy one. Imagine that.

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