Boatless and looking

Hello to all - After just selling our baby, (Red 2009 Ranger Tugs 21-EC), we are feeling as if our last child has flown. "Kamalani" served her purpose well, however, in that we ordered her to give my wife the chance to "learn the ropes" about boating without the intimidation factor of a big boat with big engines. She took complete control, and we enjoyed every minute of the experience, not to mention all of the attention that little boat attracted. "Kamalani" was bought within one week by a USCG Lt. living in Balboa Island, Newport Beach CA. A huge step up from a storage shed in Bakersfield!

So we are hoping to rely on Trawler forum members as we start the search for our next boat. Some of the boats that we are considering are Nordic Tugs, American Tugs, Grand Banks, Beneteau Swift Trawler, and Mainship. And that's just the beginning.... Lots to learn about.

Thanks, Alex & Sherry

Welcome aboard. Seen lots of good prices on boats in CA.

Beneteau Swift 44

Hi,
We have the Beneteau Swift Trawler 44, which we bought new in November of 2012.

Love her! Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Best of luck in your search.

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. OK, I hesitate to ask but what size range are you contemplating? In anticipation of your answer......

kolohe9 said:

So we are hoping to rely on Trawler forum members as we start the search for our next boat. Some of the boats that we are considering are Nordic Tugs, American Tugs, Grand Banks, Beneteau Swift Trawler, and Mainship. And that's just the beginning.... Lots to learn about.

Thanks, Alex & Sherry

Click to expand...

Wow! quite a spread, other than Nordic/American those others have nothing in common other than that they float.

So many boats so little time.

kolohe9 said:

Hello to all - After just selling our baby, (Red 2009 Ranger Tugs 21-EC), we are feeling as if our last child has flown. "Kamalani" served her purpose well, however, in that we ordered her to give my wife the chance to "learn the ropes" about boating without the intimidation factor of a big boat with big engines. She took complete control, and we enjoyed every minute of the experience, not to mention all of the attention that little boat attracted. "Kamalani" was bought within one week by a USCG Lt. living in Balboa Island, Newport Beach CA. A huge step up from a storage shed in Bakersfield!

So we are hoping to rely on Trawler forum members as we start the search for our next boat. Some of the boats that we are considering are Nordic Tugs, American Tugs, Grand Banks, Beneteau Swift Trawler, and Mainship. And that's just the beginning.... Lots to learn about.

Thanks, Alex & Sherry

Click to expand...

Hi Alex and Sherry

There are a lot of excellent trawlers available in the new and used markets. I have owned an Camano Troll, an American Tug 435 and am waiting delivery of and American Tug 485. I am happy to answer any questions about the Camano or American Tugs.

My wife and I spent a lot of time figuring out what we wanted to do on the boat before we purchased our trawlers. As you might imagine, our needs changed over time causing us to go from a weekender (Camano) to a live aboard style, like the AT435. The AT485 is being modified to be an even better remote destination platform.

I am pretty lucky because my wife is the skipper and very active and knowledgable about the design characteristics she expects. Even with all of our experience, we still got the pad and paper out (well actually the IPAD) and developed a list of must haves, like to haves and don't care features. We then had a very pointed discussion with a number of manufactures about the strengths and weakness of each candidate vessel. We ultimately pick American Tug because it fit most of our desires. It helped that it was manufactured in the North America and we were very familiar with the builders. If you get a chance take the Factory Tour, it is very illuminating.

I hope this helps. Good luck and I hope you find a boat that fits your needs.