Kingfisher is a Dyer 40, Hull #3, which was introduced in 1960. Like her smaller sister, she was designed by naval architect Nick Potter and has the same classic hull shape as the Dyer 29 which was first introduced in 1955. The Anchorage is one of the first yards in this country to build boats using fiberglass starting in the late 1940’s. The solid fiberglass hand-laid hull on Kingfisher is 1” thick. Kingfisher was USCG documented when launched in 1962 and has remained documented under that name ever-since.
The Dyer 40 series was introduced with a sleeping cabin aft of the express bridge and a full cabin forward. The April, 1965 edition of Yachting Magazine references Kingfisher and features the background and history behind the introduction of the series. This design provided privacy for two couples while cruising. Bill Dyer, who built the Dyer 40 Blue Pigeon, for his own use, created this ‘Out Island’ design specifically for yachtsmen heading south to the Bahamas for the winter. Kingfisher was also of this design when launched and most probably ran twin 277 hp Seamaster engines which were later changed-out to 4-53 Detroit Diesels to achieve greater range as she was cruising between Florida and New England on a regular basis.
In 1994 Kingfisher was expertly rebuilt and refitted to her current updated layout by LAMB’S YACHT CENTER in Jacksonville Florida.
Manuals for most systems and equipment on Kingfisher have been stored digitally. Maintenance logs since the 1994 rebuild have also been maintained.
More
