What Should I Buy???

greetings all, I am new here and have been pondering on wich to buy a trawler or sailboat .I have looked at both pros and cons to each and find I still have no clue what to get. any feed back or ideas would be grand thanks


Daniel,

Daniel Ward said:

greetings all, I am new here and have been pondering on wich to buy a trawler or sailboat .I have looked at both pros and cons to each and find I still have no clue what to get. any feed back or ideas would be grand thanks
Daniel,

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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.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

Where are you? What do you want to do on the boat? How much do you want to spend?

"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."

Really? First recommendation is a near million dollar Nordhavn? That was out of left field..

. Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

cardude01 said:

"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."

Really? First recommendation is a near million dollar Nordhavn? That was out of left field..

. Sent from my iPhone using Trawler

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Actually closer to $1.4 million. Absent any guidelines it seems a very good first recommendation. But Daniel is a bright guy, he'll get there.

Welcome aboard TF!

From your opening post it seems you may not be too familiar with either type boat... trawler and/or sail. Correct me if I'm wrong. If you do not know much about either type then your learning curve is currently pointing straight upward.

If so, buckle in and be prepared for a couple years intense study. This is a good forum to assist your marine learning experience.

Happy Boating Daze! - Art

Try to meet some boaters and talk with them to get ideas. If there is a marina nearby go by on the weekend and walk the docks boaters are always happy to talk about their boat. Check this and other forums.
Good luck!

Daniel, I suggest that you start by taking a few boating courses. People with boats will be there. Also, if you can find a boating group to join it would be good. You will be socializing with boaters. Some will be looking for crew. You can ask here, but keep your eyes and ears open to different boating styles. You will start gravitating to the one that appeals to you. Take your time and enjoy the process. There is a wealth of specific knowledge here. Use the search feature in the red line near the top of the page. Type in your subject and see what comes out. Have fun.

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 ?

boatpoker said:

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 ?

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bp - A couple more simple questions, if I may!

How much $$$ do you have to put toward purchasing a boat and then the expensive, ongoing act of boating?
Do you realize that purchase price of boat is just the firing salvo to non stop capital drain?
Do you know what the term "boat dollar" stands for?
Are you really ready to become a committed "boat owner"?

Inquiring minds want to know... and you should too!!

Happy Boating Daze! - Art

sunchaser said:

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.

Click to expand...

...and make sure he ^^^ get's the payment book

ehirtz said:

Where are you? What do you want to do on the boat? How much do you want to spend?

Click to expand...

boatpoker said:

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 ?

Click to expand...

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 ...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

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OD

the majority of my interactions with the "trawler" community, has been either boarding them (fishing trawlers), or admiring them dockside (cruisers).

Then by now you have noticed there is no commonality.

A pickup and an 18 wheeler are both trucks , fish boats and trawler yachts only share a name , and little else.

FF said:

the majority of my interactions with the "trawler" community, has been either boarding them (fishing trawlers), or admiring them dockside (cruisers).

Then by now you have noticed there is no commonality.

A pickup and an 18 wheeler are both trucks , fish boats and trawler yachts only share a name , and little else.

Click to expand...

Yepper, picked up on that right off the bat.

thanks everyone for the grand feedback. to try and answer a few of your questions.
1. right now im in Georgia hoping to relocate to Florida in December.
2. looking at becoming a live aboard with my wife.
3. hoping to find a trawler between 40 to 50 foot, more would be nice but money will only go so far.
4.i know a grand bit about fishing boats and crew boats , but know nothing about trawlers in general.
5.we hope to island hop the spanish main and virgin isles for the next few years if our health lets us.
6.looking to say good bye to the mainland for a while ,and live life to its fullest.
7.looking to learn anything and everything i can to make the change of lifestyle happen smoothly .
8. my wife Raine is also eager to make the plunge with me.
9. any feedback or experience is welcomed

Wow, some important information just came out. If you are planning to go offshore - actually island hopping an important issue becomes seaworthiness and to some extent range. To get to the Virgins you have a couple of 130+ nautical mile hops. If you are island hopping, as opposed to multiday overnights you will be going along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. Even if you hug the coast you can expect 5ft+ swells on the beam. Most power boats that make this trip are either full displacement or very good semi-displacement.

If you are unfamiliar with these terms, full displacement is similar to a sail boat hull. Slow speed hull never comes out to the water. Planning boats go fast raise the hull out of the water and can obtain speeds of 20 mph. Semi-displacement are a cross between the two. In general displacement hulls are seaworthy at slow speeds. Planing hulls in heavy weather are only stable when going fast and then they bounce. You need to know more about these hull types so do some reading.

While not the most expensive element of owning a boat, fuel becomes an issue for a power boat in the islands as you are no longer paying the cheap US prices (can't believe I said cheap) but usually 50% more and up. Most of the power boats in the islands (sport fish excepted) are single engine. Many have stabilizer systems. All have big water tanks or a water maker.

As far as electronics two items become more important, radar as you will travel at night and an SSB radio which is the telephone in the islands.

Expensive boats that come to mind, Krogens, Nordhavns, Nordic Tugs, American Tugs, Monks, Willards. There are others like that.

Some people would consider the Grand Banks, Marine Traders and Island Gypsys as coastal cruisers as they are generally twin engine semi-displacement. You might consider these but I haven't seen these in the islands.

There are a number of other boats to consider but you must start somewhere.

Marty