The Adventure Begins

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Joined
Jul 6, 2012
Messages
8,056
Location
USA
Vessel Name
Alaskan Sea-Duction
Vessel Make
1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
The Admiral and I spent the weekend looking at various trawlers in the PNW. We kept our search confined to the local area for now so she could see what is out there and the different styles. I think I got her off the idea that every boat has to have a cockpit, but we did find a few that had some. We looked at various lengths from 40-50ft. We plan to live aboard and spend our summers in Alaska and winter in the Columbia River and maybe farther south.

I was looking at what engine was in the boat and the number of hours. I found a few that the engine hours did not match each other from the flybridge to the lower helm. I would prefer Cats, Cummins or Detroit. Not really sure why.

We fell in love with the style of the 49ft Defever raised pilot house but the condition of the two boats we looked at were not very good and yet they were still well over 100K.

Here are a few trawlers we looked at:

1986 PT Overseas Trawler Sundeck Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

1983 Ocean Alexander Europa Sedan Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Elliott Bay Yacht Sales (Seattle, WA)&
 
The Admiral and I spent the weekend looking at various trawlers in the PNW. We kept our search confined to the local area for now so she could see what is out there and the different styles. I think I got her off the idea that every boat has to have a cockpit, but we did find a few that had some. We looked at various lengths from 40-50ft. We plan to live aboard and spend our summers in Alaska and winter in the Columbia River and maybe farther south.

I was looking at what engine was in the boat and the number of hours. I found a few that the engine hours did not match each other from the flybridge to the lower helm. I would prefer Cats, Cummins or Detroit. Not really sure why.

We fell in love with the style of the 49ft Defever raised pilot house but the condition of the two boats we looked at were not very good and yet they were still well over 100K.

Here are a few trawlers we looked at:

1986 PT Overseas Trawler Sundeck Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

1983 Ocean Alexander Europa Sedan Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Elliott Bay Yacht Sales (Seattle, WA)&

Very nice!

As far as cockpits go, that really depends on what you want to do. Fishing without a cockpit would be more challenging.

What you REALLY want in Alaska is somewhere outdoors and dry. That can be a cockpit, or a covered rear deck on an aft cabin boat.

I considered a nice mid 40' boat in whittier named Jimel a few years ago. It was an aft cabin with a hard top over the entire aft section of the boat. It also had canvas for the sides with the top and bottom separated so you could open the top and leave from the rails down covered with canvas. It was HUGE back there.

If you haven't been to Seward lately, you might just go walk the dock with your admrial looking at boats and talking with owners, etc... Lots of folks would be happy to show you around, and talk about the plusses and minuses of their design. There's also several boats for sale in the harbor, and at least one looked to me from a distance to be in the size range you're looking for.

If you make it down our boats on e-float. Stop in and say hello if you get a chance.
 
You know it will all come down to condition.

Tough to buy a boat without boarding her and walking the decks.

Look locally first.

Seward, Homer And Whittier of course.

The Admiral has to like the boat first. The cosmetics.
You know cabin layout, curtains, coverings and the like. If it suits her.

Then get into the holy place.

SD
 
Thanks all. We were in the Seattle area last week and looked at these boats. You are right, keep the Admiral happy with heat and a fishing pole! Can't wait to get back to God's country and PWS!
 
When you get home stop over I'm usually on E float.
Every weekend unless I'm out fishing.

Sd
 
The best is too decide what lay out/design you like? You said raised pilot but the boats listed are sun deck/tri level, and Europa sedan? If you are going to be a live aboard the size and lay out/design are very important, and the present condition of a used boat/engine is equaly/ as important as the name brand. If you plan on spending the summer in Alaska and winter the boat in the lower 48, Columbia River and south, you might want a fuel efficient, and capable/stable boat, especially if you are plan on moving the boat up down the Pacific Coast.

When looking at boats let your wife/SO take the lead, you follow and take note of her likes and dislikes. Go on all kinds/sizes of boats until you gravitate to a certain size and style of boats, which will make looking for THE BOAT a lot simpler. My wife liked the 65 Pacific Marine, pilot house, 1+ million, which was out of our price range, and the 47 ft Bayliner, pilot house, more in our price range, so all we looked at were pilot houses and nothing less than 45 ft. So when she went on our 58 ft trawler, she knew as the boat felt right. Also when looking at what boats look like above the water line be sure to also look at what boats looks like below water line.
 
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Good advice Phil. My Admiral does want a sundeck, so that narrows it down a little. The idea of the trip this past weekend was to get some ideas.....
 
All of the boats you linked are packing a lot of HP if you intend to use them as trawlers. They would fall more into what I call motor yachts. Although my personal definition between boats and yachts is dependent on who does the maintenance/work.
 
All of the boats you linked are packing a lot of HP if you intend to use them as trawlers. They would fall more into what I call motor yachts. Although my personal definition between boats and yachts is dependent on who does the maintenance/work.

Would seem so. Reading this forum I have learned a lot about trawlers and the differant type of engine manufactures. Having a Sea Ray going fast was part of the game. We have purposly been slowing down to see what doing 8kts is like. Going slow does have its advantages and its cheaper!
 
Going slow does have its advantages and its cheaper!

It's also really, really, REALLY boring.

If our first diesel cruiser had been a 15 knot or faster boat we NEVER would have been able to lower the bar down to an 8 knot boat if we had decided to get a different boat. As it was, when we decided to put a specific amount toward getting into a cruising boat an old, slow boat was what fit the amount we were willing to spend at the time. So we ended up with the GB. Once you get below about 1985 or so GBs are dirt cheap and this one was a bargain too good to pass up.

We've enjoyed the boat on a year-round basis for the last fourteen years--- we are departing this weekend for a two-week cruise into BC--- but the one aspect of it that we truly hate is its glacial 8 knot cruise speed.

As you are used to a faster boat my advice to you is forget 8 knots. I suspect that if you get one it will always be bugging you to be going so damn slow. Our fishing boat cruises at about 30 mph and after using it going out on the GB is like watching paint dry in terms of forward progress.

Life's too short to waste it going 8 knots. I've noticed that the people who say they love going slow all have boats that can't go fast.:)
 
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Life's too short to waste it going 8 knots. I've noticed that the people who say they love going slow all have boats that can't go fast.:)


Knot true for everyone. My boat is capable of 12-13 kts, yet I prefer to run it around 7-8:whistling:. It all depends on how you view boating (are you boating for the cruise or the destination). I grew up on REAL trawlers (shrimp boats), all of my owned by me boats were bow riders, ski boats, and Shamrocks,...until now. I can't get anywhere as fast in my Mainship as I could in the others, but then it very seldom I was going "somewhere" as I was just going for a ride. If you are a destination boater with a schedule, get a fast boat. About the only times I'd like a fast boat is when there is no breeze and the sun is under the awning and I just wanna get home!
 
Would seem so. Reading this forum I have learned a lot about trawlers and the differant type of engine manufactures. Having a Sea Ray going fast was part of the game. We have purposly been slowing down to see what doing 8kts is like. Going slow does have its advantages and its cheaper!

We like the slower speeds on our 4788. You will get used to it, and learn to enjoy the trip.

Life at 8 knots is more comfortable, the boat is level, and nothing happens in a hurry.

We could cruise fast, but on our boat we chose not to.
 
We spent 25 years going 30 plus mph on our Bayliner express cruisers. The last 5 we've spent at 8-9 kts. The boat is capable of 12 if we need to get away from weather. But I love it at 8
John
390 Mainship
 
It all depends on how you view boating (are you boating for the cruise or the destination).

I boat more for the cruise than the destination, but I hate going slow. In anything. If our boat did 20 knots it would just mean we would get somewhere faster which would mean we could head out for the next place even sooner.

This is my idea of boating. Eighty feet @ 45 mph. Eight knots is pathetic in comparison. It's better than not being out on the water at all, but it's still a staggeringly boring way to go in my opinion. Cheap, yes, but big yawns are cheap too. :)

image-1542329036.jpg
 
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Several years ago our 2859 Bayliner had an out drive problem that allowed it to slip if pushed more than 6 mph. We saved our money to replace/ regear the out drive for about 6 months. During that time we occasionally puttered out to Lake Ponchatrain and would anchor for the day. We found out that we actually liked going slow. No pounding and very peaceful. After the repair we often ran slow for the enjoyment. :)
 
QUOTE=Marin;101038]I boat more for the cruise than the destination, but I hate going slow. In anything. If our boat did 20 knots it would just mean we would get somewhere faster which would mean we could head out for the next place even sooner.

This is my idea of boating. Eighty feet @ 45 mph. Eight knots is pathetic in comparison. It's better than not being out on the water at all, but it's still a staggeringly boring way to go in my opinion. Cheap, yes, but big yawns are cheap too. :)

View attachment 12663[/QUOTE]

:D:dance::speed boat::speed boat::speed boat:[
 
Europa sedan is the way to go, in my mind,if you'll be liveabords. You're always on the same level and that cockpit sure makes it easy to just get out and enjoy the air/view, or just get on the dock. My two cents.
 
I concur with Fotoman's assessment of the Europa design. Particularly for climates like the PNW. The covered aft deck can be enclosed with windowed curtains that can be rolled up when it's decent weather and put down when it's windy or rainy or both. Some boats even have this space heated.

We have found the tri-cabin arrangement of our boat to be very user-friendly. The forward cabin ends up being a storage area but it's great on the rare occasions we have guests with us for a cruise because they have their own space and head, as do we in the aft cabin. The main cabin is neutral ground where people can get up, make coffee, read, etc, without disturbing anyone in the fore or aft cabins. A Europa in the same size boat would require us to make up a berth in the main cabin whenever we had guests.

However were we doing it again and knowing what we know now, and since it's just the two of us 99 percent of the time, we would be very tempted to get a GB36 Europa if we still wanted a GB.

An even better arrangement than GB's is the pilothouse Europa. Examples we would be inclined to get are the Krogen 42, Fleming 55, and de Fever 46.
 
This is my idea of a trawler alternative :thumb:
Studied this boat quite a bit...
1971 Huckins Linwood Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com


I boat more for the cruise than the destination, but I hate going slow. In anything. If our boat did 20 knots it would just mean we would get somewhere faster which would mean we could head out for the next place even sooner.

This is my idea of boating. Eighty feet @ 45 mph. Eight knots is pathetic in comparison. It's better than not being out on the water at all, but it's still a staggeringly boring way to go in my opinion. Cheap, yes, but big yawns are cheap too. :)

View attachment 12663
 
This is my idea of a trawler alternative :thumb:
Studied this boat quite a bit...
1971 Huckins Linwood Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Yeah, now that's a good cruising boat. You can actually get somewhere the same day you left. Unlike these plodding things that go by the misnomer "trawler" that take two days just to get to the horizon you can see from your starting point.

If one is actually dragging a trawl net around I can see the slow speed. But just bo move a couple of people from Point A to Point B? Eight knots? Seriously....?
 
I'm feelin' a bit of "tongue in cheek" Marin :socool:
 
Nope, not this time. I truly hate creeping along at 8 knots. It's tiring, it's boring, and it's a giant waste of time. If we didn't have money earmarked for other things we'd be rid of the GB in a heartbeat and buy a 15-20 knot boat and run it at that speed.

We enjoy being out on the water and seeing what there is to see but we find we see just as much and enjoy it just as much at 30 mph in the small boat as we do at 8 knots in the GB. The difference is that things are constantly changing and we are constantly seeing new things at 30 mph where things just ooze by at 8 knots and it's like being stuck in Groundhog Day.

I have no time for nor tolerance of slow. We do it because going fast has not become a high enough priority in our cruising to do anything about it. However we have been thinking more and more seriously about repowering our old boat to at least get up in the 13-15 knot range. We'll see......
 
This is my idea of boating. Eighty feet @ 45 mph. Eight knots is pathetic in comparison. It's better than not being out on the water at all, but it's still a staggeringly boring way to go in my opinion. Cheap, yes, but big yawns are cheap too. :)

So why don't you get some gold chains and a poker run boat? :confused:
 
I said I hate going slow. That doesn't mean I want to run a dumb-ass kind of boat.
 
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If you are looking for a good live aboard cruiser in a good price range you sure can't go past a 46 or 48' DeFever RPH with sensible engines.
They still rate as one of most desirable boats in looks and capability IMHO.
One thing about the USA there are plenty of boats on the market and prices are low compared to other parts of the world.
 
Thank you so much everyone. I do appreciate the advice and comment and keep them coming. The Admiral is still a little shy about the idea of living on a boat, but as we look at different styles, lengths and options she is slowly changing her opinion.
 
There is a deFever 46 in our marina a few docks from us. In my opinion it's the best looking pilothouse cruising boat I've ever seen. The Fleming is a very close second, which is understandable since Tony Fleming took his design from the deFever.
 
I'm torn- our current boat (Bayliner 4087) and future boat (52 trawler) both have the ability to move at a good clip should the need arise. That being said, we really enjoy cruising along at hull speed and enjoying the journey (and the economy!).

Were our boat capable of 8-10 knots max, we'd simply rethink our time factor when traveling.
 
I'm fine with 8 knots in the PNW, except when I'm transitting from Seattle to the San Juans, and from roughly the same area up to the top of the Straits of Georgia. An all day run at 8 knots is indeed...leisurely. Certainly no stress on the crew or mechanicals (or fuel!) but it would be nice to get there earlier in the day (or leave later, or not have to pay as much attention to currents).

I've had several 25 knot smaller boats in the San Juans and they were indeed fun and made it easy to hop over to FH for lunch from the cabin we had there (16nm each way), and a small boat is much easier to tuck into a marina for a couple of hours.

Our dinghy is at the upper end of what's practical to carry (though not to tow), and we used it to make a day trip from Poulsbo down to Port Orchard. And to go from Van Isle marina to Butchart Gardens in let's call it breezy conditions. When you can combine high speed with great fuel economy (guessing at least 6nmpg) it really opens up some possibilities.

If I had unlimited funds I'd probably go another route, but having an 8 knot boat with a 20 knot tender is a good compromise for us.
 

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