seaworth true or fales

In our search for a 40 to 44 foot trawler we ran across a 32 foot that was not much wider or longer then the sailboat we live on now. The dam thing is so cute we are actually perverting all of the ideas of thing we were looking for in a bigger boat to justify considering this little gem.
Someone please tell us that the Fales Trawler is a piece of crap! This one is a 1974 and has a fly bridge. It is not the motorsailer. If it were a sailboat I would say the narrow beam and soft chimes were signs of a good seaworthy boat, but such a sailboat relies on ballast in its keel for stability where a flat bottom power boat relies on buoyancy for stability. Does the Fales (non motorsailer) have ballast in its keel? The boat looks like it like it can take some heavy seas with its long keel, deep draft for its size, canoe stern, not to mention how they used small ports and windows.
So, is this boat as seaworthy as it looks or is it a tipsy turby punching clown that rolls every which way.


*

Standby for a lot of "replies" on your question. The guys on this site "love" Willards & Fales boats. Guess what kind of boat is pictured in the banner for TrawlerForum. (The blue hull boat)** Fales boats for sale - New and Used Fales for sale





-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Friday 19th of November 2010 10:58:50 AM

Yes, there is ballast.

I happen to be the owner of the boat the Seahorse posted.* If you go to my web page you will find a brochure that was found on the boat when I bought it back in 1997.* It specifies 6000 lbs in a 3 1/2' full keel.

However, because of the soft (read zero) chines, she rolls.* A lot.

Feel free to email me with any questions that you have.

Doug, how effective is the staysail in reducing roll?* May I presume the ballast adds "snap" to the roll?

I wouldn't say it reduces roll, it's more like it "dampens" the roll.* If you are under way with some rolling it seems to have a nice way of taking some of that snappiness out of the roll.* I use it as much as I can if there is any rolling motion at all.

As far as the OPs question on it's sea worthiness, as small and rolly as it is, I have never felt that the boat was in danger.* John Baker might want to pipe in here on this.* He has been on Boomarang in a nice squall when we had 11 souls on board!* He has also been running by my side in his old Prarie 29 during a nice Norther that blew into Galveston Bay one Spring a few years ago when we were making a crossing.* I know what all of you real men are thinking, Galveston Bay - 20nm - crossing?* Well let me tell you, in a 30ft 5.5 kt boat in 5 and 6 ft swells - it was a crossing!

I have really enjoyed the boat over the years.* If it had more than a 250 mile range and more room to store rum, I probably would have driven the thing to Venezuela (before Chavez jacked it all up)!

dougd1 wrote:

... *If it had more than a 250 mile range and more room to store rum, I probably would have driven the thing to Venezuela (before Chavez jacked it all up)!

Click to expand...

I thought the boat had a range of something like 800 miles.*

*

markpierce wrote:
I thought the boat had a range of something like 800 miles.*

Click to expand...

*

I wish! 4JH3E, 60 Gals.* Maybe 350 miles at a slow pace, nothing close to 800.

dougd1 wrote:

*I know what all of you real men are thinking, Galveston Bay - 20nm - crossing?* Well let me tell you, in a 30ft 5.5 kt boat in 5 and 6 ft swells - it was a crossing!
Cool. Tell me more.

Click to expand...

*SD


-- Edited by skipperdude on Friday 19th of November 2010 03:18:04 PM

I can tell you more! I was on that crossing with them too. There were 4 of us as I remember. My 43, a 34ft or so sailboat, and the Fales and the Prarie. It was a wild ride! Boomerang looked like a bathtub toy. It was a rough ride on the 43, I sure would not have wanted to be on one of the smaller boats. I was getting green water, sheets of it, completely over my enclosure. I've ran Friendship around 20,000 miles (including several Gulf crossings) in 9 years and that is in the top 3 roughest water I've been in.

For those that have missed it, that is my boat, Friendship, in the center of the banner at the top of this page!

Doug, I read the information on your web page. Wow, that is a lot of ballast. With that much ballast and the design of the hull, the Fales trawler must be a rugged little boat.
it also looks like it would be a lot of fun on Corpus Christi Bay where we live but we are leaning towards getting a larger trawler because reality dictates that we need more room. We will see.

I have never seen a fales in person but what nice lines! Doug- I checked out your webpage for boomarang- LOVE the paint job! Talk about a shine!!!

reality dictates that we need more room.

For?

Doug....that is as sweet a 30 footer as I've ever seen, but it looks like a new boat, or should be.