Top 3 Trawler builds?

Thank you. I posted the same question at some other forums.
The count so far among the top 5:
Krogen
Tollycraft
GB/East Bay
Nordic Tug
Hatteras LRC

My boat is a long bit different then say Art's boat. Both well built, both cruisers but different. You really need to define the mission requirements to refine the answer.

I have yet been able to walk away from the dock and not look back, but I bet y'all do that.

My "mission" so to speak is to cruise the Loop next year. (I'm retired, former USMC jet mechanic and current furniture builder.) Kids have graduated college and married. No wife, just an old Lab and a shop full of equipment. I'm looking for the proverbial "house with good bones"...a pedigree that needs some equity. I've spent a lifetime around boats, just never any trawlers. (There aren't Trawlers on the 3 Rivers.)

Take a look at a Monk 36, fiberglass decks, we love ours. A bunch have done the loop plus coastal cruising and the Bahamas. Quite a few owners are full time liveaboard cuisers.

Iknowimcrazy said:

My "mission" so to speak is to cruise the Loop next year. (I'm retired, former USMC jet mechanic and current furniture builder.) Kids have graduated college and married. No wife, just an old Lab and a shop full of equipment. I'm looking for the proverbial "house with good bones"...a pedigree that needs some equity. I've spent a lifetime around boats, just never any trawlers. (There aren't Trawlers on the 3 Rivers.)

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My "mission" is to do the loop and great thought went into the boat selection, the Pilgrim was designed with the loop in mind. 3.5' draft with hinged mast to clear bridges to very slippery hull giving 5+ mpg, bow thruster and easy to lock side decks.

Designed for a couple with a convertible salon for the once in a while other couple as guests not a bunch of wasted space on sleeping areas. Nice open or enclosed aft deck for relaxing out of the sun with a sunny boat deck and FB up top with lots of room for solar panels.

The use intended does matter a bit when looking, and the fun sure is in the looking.

Good luck and best regards in your quest.


These are some of the reasons we chose as we did. However speed aint in the mix as we go 7mph as a rule with 8.5 as flat out.

Greetings,
Mr. NS. I don't know about Nabisco. They tend to get soggy in milk. Lego? Seems the only crew I've ever seen on those vessels are little people. REALLY little people. Playtex? Ahh....no. Wouldn't want to be associated with vessels famous for carrying boobs. Guilty by association ya know...

How can one rank the best if they haven't owned, operated, or maintained them. Every model has their advantages, disadvantages, querks, and issues. The key is to love the one your with, so when you decide to make a step up, you can sell yours. As far as I'm concerned, I own the best model at this time.

Hard to answer the question. A little web searching proves it's a hard especially between 30-40ft. I am assuming it should be a modern boat built within 10 years or still in production? If your talking about old boats then it's another story.
<edit> sorry I see you said "last 30 years". never-mind. <\edit>

Under 40'

Great Harbor N37
NORDHAVN 40
Ranger 31
AMERICAN TUG 365
HELMSMAN 37 SEDAN
Beneteau Swift 34

Here's a list 40-50ft I found:

Cherubini 45
Coastal Craft 4500 IPS
Defever 48
Grand Banks 46 Classic
Kadey Krogen 42
Mainship 43
Nordhavn 46
Ocean Alexander 45 Classic
Sabreline 47
Selene 47 Ocean Trawler

Then there are the so called "pocket trawlers" which I think if I were doing the loop would be nice to have.
Nordic Tugs 26
Ranger 29 or 27Ranger 25SCRosborough RF-246

Anyway, fun topic and got me looking at what's out there.

Daddyo said:

Krogen
DeFever
The others were good for some specific models. These were good across the board

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My mistake. Add Willard to that list.

When me thinks of a fine "Trawler", water tight doors, a clear site line from the helm, good fuel consumption, and most important, and a fine women who owns a bar in every port I enter.
Did I miss anything?

Well, I'm going to define by my own terms then since the OP won't.

The three that have had the most impact on boating in the last 20 to 30 years.

1. Grand Banks. They were the perfect older couple, younger family boat. Built one of the strongest and most active owners' groups. I think got a lot of people into cruising. Some came over from sail, some up from smaller boats, and some started there. I also want to add a current note. Just released numbers show Grand Banks has made a recovery to their first profitable year in a long time. Sales are up and costs down. A new CEO plus the acquisition of Palm Beach Motor Yachts. I'm glad to see the recovery after some hard years and a lot of internal conflict.

2. Kadey Krogen. Made the slow cruise popular. People felt comfortable and safe. 600 yachts and they're remained amazingly true to their heritage. Over 200 42's.

3. Nordhavn. They led people to dreams. People buy a boat they believe will take them around the world even if they only intend to go down the block.

Now I'm going to add one more group of honorable mentions. Before we talk million dollar boats people have to start. They don't start thinking of oceans. Affordable boats are very important to the entire industry. No boat ever changed things like Bayliner did. Now they're known most widely for their runabouts but their cruisers and motor yachts made it all possible for those who couldn't have afforded any of these other boats. Everyone else made fun of them but they rocketed to the top of the industry. They brought the prices down. The rest of the world new there was competition and a new boat there. And the quality of their larger boats when built in Arlington, Washington was quite good. Look at the Bayliners still owned by those on this forum and holding up well. Also if you think of Sea Ray and their influence the advent of Bayliner sure pulled their pricing down.

There are many other great boats and I may have overlooked some very influential ones. I think Fleming is an incredible boat but they've built far fewer boats and just haven't really changed the market along the way. I am a fan of broad appeal. The more people a boat helps get into the pleasure of boating the more I applaud it. What good is the best boat if no one can afford it? Then there are some very fine boats but the builders are no longer with us. The 3 I listed above have endured.

Excluding the Krogen 42:

Nordic Tug
Pilgrim
Willard

Diesel Ducks may not be as well known as all the other boats mentioned in this thread, and although they are built in China, they are extremely well built trawlers and I know this from a very seasoned owner of a DD46 who spent time at their factory while his boat was being built. They are built of steel, very economical to run, and are well-priced for what you get.

1) Nordhavn (Surprised??)
2) Marlowe
3) Willard

N4712 said:

1) Nordhavn (Surprised??)
2) Marlowe
3) Willard

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Not surprised at your number one, but extremely shocked at your number two.

BandB said:

Not surprised at your number one, but extremely shocked at your number two.

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Why?

N4712 said:

Why?

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Google "Kakawi vs. Marlow" and then pay if you must to read the court abstracts. If 10% of what was claimed was true, it's horrific. And since Kakawi won the case, I'd guess someone thought more than 10% was true. Now I don't know if there were still more appeals or if Marlow finally gave up.

I might also add that all three 97's were on the resell market within a very short time of the new purchase. To my knowledge no more have been built but I haven't followed it recently. Kakawi and Irish Rover are still listed for sale and they both have been on the market since 2013.

Edit for update: Latest appeal filed on 12/10/14 so case still going strong.

The question posed by the OP is one of the many wide open opinion polls that pop up on this site. What you get is opinion that may be based on ones experience(often limited),and the color of the tint applied to the glasses through which that individual looks upon the world (of boating). I see no inherent harm in this exercise but am not always Shure where it is going and if there is any significant end point. Sometimes I wonder if the boats held in high regard are not just the end point of good long standing brand marketing. There is also commonly the issue of design purpose vs actual use of the particular brands and price range. To compare an ocean going million dollar+ brand to a perfectly adequate $400,000 boat where the boat is unlikely to be used for significant blue water may have some theoretical value but not much when it comes to writing the check. I think polls like this in both the auto and boat markets are a good measure of the effectiveness of brand building and marketing. I have been a long time subscriber to consumer union magazine and often note that the well entrenched brands under the scrutiny of independent testing do not score well. This has been at times notable with Audi-BMW-Mercedes-Volvo-infinity etc. Yet I often come across people who are not only unaware of this and the brand so well imbedded in their opinion that any mention of testing results is totally ignored.

Iknowimcrazy said:

What are your opinions on the top 3 factory trawler builders over the past 30 years. Mid 30' to mid 40' range.

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The Top three are the top three.

What criteria for the top. Quantity or perhaps quality. How about design? Some great designs were built by numerous builders.

I think more specific criteria would provoke more specific answers.

Factory builds to me means production so your question must be about quantity, no?

Since most here seem to focus on quality I'm only guessing you want to know everyone's favorite in your size range.

Since Very few production boats meet this forum's standards be prepared for a long thread getting off "YOUR" topic.

Based on what I think your criteria is, I think a krogen 42 should be pretty high on that list...whoever built it.


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