Daniel:
Welcome. You are definitely in the right spot to get your question answered. I recommend you buy the updated version of Boydski's Nordhavn 47, the 52. It is a proven world traveler and just sips fuel. You can read all about it on James Hamilton's blog site.
Forget the sail boat notion, you will get wet and cold. And ignore Mark too, don't buy a boat under 50 feet.
...and make sure he ^^^ get's the payment book
Where are you? What do you want to do on the boat? How much do you want to spend?
A few deceptively simple questions and you should arrive at the right answer.
Why do you want a boat ?
What do you want to do with it ?
What will you really do with it ?
I agree with both the above statements.
Intended use, where you (primarily) intend to use the vessel, and how much you want to spend, are all good questions to be answered.
Also, search this forum for more specifics regarding trawlers, and hit up some sail forums as well. I've only been here a short time, and prior to this, the majority of my interactions with the "trawler" community, has been either boarding them (fishing trawlers), or admiring them dockside (cruisers).
By reading and researching this board, and listening to the stories of those that have BTDT, I've learned a ton, and already had a lot of the questions I had answered. I've found the information found here to be invaluable
You'll find (or at least I have) the people here to be very forthcoming (to a fault at times
) and willing to help.
As was mentioned above, go walk the docks, hit up the in water boat shows, and step foot or hitch a ride on, as many different styles of vessel's that you can, that you think you'll be interested in. All will aid in your overall decision.
All the best, and ...
Greetings,
Welcome aboard.
OD