Sage advice needed

Help please. I've been dreaming of living aboard a trawler for a year and cruising up and down the Intracoastal Waterway with my wife being wherever the weather is good. There are no oceans to be crossed in our situation. I've done a lot of sailing 30 years ago and nothing recently. The boat will probably be sold after this cruise as this is not a mutual dream, but the wife is willing. We're in our late 60's but fit. It needs to be large enough to be comfortable for two for the year and small enough to be easily handled by two, I'm thinking about 40 ft. We ive in a nice home, quality is important.

I dream about serious trawlers like a Kady Krogen, but realized that that represents more expense and capability than I need. We'll be in marinas some nights but certainly not all.

So the request is "What kinds/brand of trawler would be suitable for this use? Assume the max purchase budget is $250k.

Thanks

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. So am I to understand you wish to buy a trawler, cruise the ICW and then sell it? Why not lease/rent? You can do it in stages perhaps.

If you are mainly sticking to the waterways, a semi-displacement type, like a nice downeast, will give you less wake, more speed, and be more in keeping with current trawler thinking thus better resale than a full displacement Krogen. Maybe more space/length too. I own both a full displacement and a downeast 35-36.

If I had $250K to spend on my version of that dream I would buy a Krogan 42, a Grand Banks 42 or if I also want to go fast a Sabre 42. All are quality boats that owners tend to keep up.

So there is nothing wrong with the Krogen 42 for that mission. You would be very comfortable on one.

David

Thanks, but I have not seen anyone offering a year lease. One week leases at $1000 per week, yes but not doable. Suggested sites where I should look?

Most of the TF members will post boats that they are familiar with. That doesn't mean that they are the best boats for your mission. I fall into that category too!

I have had 9 boats over 30' in length since 1995 and have recently gone back to a model that I had 20 years ago. (Same make and model but not the same boat.) Both my wife and I agreed that, all things considered (ie: speed, comfort, resale, looks, entertaining, cruising, maintenance, single handling, etc., it's really hard to beat an Ocean Alexander 42 Sedan. (IMHO)

We've had boats as small as 29 feet and as large as 54 feet. The Ocean Alexander wins, hands down, in our experience.

We wish you the very best of luck in your search. (I'm 74 & my wife is younger.)

1995 Ocean Alexander 1 Sport Sedan Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Here's a newer OA 42
cruisinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5jeyVB00_E

CruisingRon said:

Thanks, but I have not seen anyone offering a year lease. One week leases at $1000 per week, yes but not doable. Suggested sites where I should look?

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If you can find a lease at $1000 a week, why not doable? At 250k, you will spend half that on broker commission when you sell the boat, and probably all of it including depreciation, repairs, and fix-ups alone.

As I've stated to previous posters asking the same questions....check out Yachtworld and Denison's Yacht sales. Both have LOTS of boats you can peruse at your leisure. On Yachtworld, you can put in your parameters and every week they'll send you an e-mail of boats meeting your criteria...to me, it's just a good way to start seeing what's out there and getting a general idea of what you might like or not like. Once you've narrowed down your ideas, THEN you can start walking docks etc etc etc..anyway, it worked for me...and I have NO connection to either site....I just like lookin at boats, and they have a bunch!

CruisingRon said:

The boat will probably be sold after this cruise as this is not a mutual dream, but the wife is willing.

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You may not want to lease for a year (although it really is not a bad suggestion), but the above sentence does raise a few warning flags for me. You will not at all enjoy the cruising life if the wife is not happy (been there and done that -- except that mine was happy until the lightning strike). So you might consider a compromise -- lease for a bit and see how it works for her.

My suggestion:

tollycraft (Power) Boats For Sale

I am a lover/respector of Tollycraft boats. Great purchase value. Good resale value. YRMV!

Happy Boat-Search Daze! - Art

Couple of comments:

If you are new to 40ft boating, going to just cruise the ICW, and are planning on selling in a year, I would consider a twin engine semi-displacement aft cabin type of trawler. Lots of space, maneuverable for docking. Grand Banks in the 36 or 42 ft range would do well. I suggest you research the resale of these boats as I am not in the market. The single engine boats I would prefer, the Krogens (especially the Manatee) and the American and Nordic tugs require a little learning to get comfortable with docking. Thus with a one year window you might avoid that and go with twin engines.

Also the aft cabins are great if you are going from marina to marina, but not so great at anchor.

a 40 ft Ocean Alexander would also be great, same benefits. Finding 40/42 Island Gypsies and Marine Traders in 1st class condition may take some time, but these have the same benefits. However you again need to research resale. Avoid any custom or small production number boats as I would guess they are difficult to resell.

I'm curious Bay Pelican, and not meaning to start anything, or hijack a thread, but why?


"Also the aft cabins are great if you are going from marina to marina, but not so great at anchor."

wyoboater said:

I'm curious Bay Pelican, and not meaning to start anything, or hijack a thread, but why?


"Also the aft cabins are great if you are going from marina to marina, but not so great at anchor."

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IMO - Sundeck on top of after master stateroom is great for all sorts of enjoyments and elevated viewing conditions... with fly bridge just steps away for even better view elevation as well as nearly immediate boat control having 360° sight capability of boat ends/sides and surrounding water areas.

Cockpits with swing door to transom swim platform are really nice too. Sundeck gets my vote... having owned both models of boat.

Aft cabins not so great as anchor. Perhaps I could have worded that a little differently. We live at anchor in an almost constant 81 to 84 degrees F. Our cabin is in the bow with a hatch directly over our berth. The wind coming through the hatch at anchor makes sleeping quite pleasant. An aft cabin while larger and with more windows would not benefit from the wind as much. Of course the midship master cabin found on many Nordhavn 46s is a better deal underway, but then I don't get to sleep in a cabin underway.

Ah, okie dokie. Was just curious as to your reasoning. A fresh air flow is a great sleep inducer, I agree. But, as in all things boatish, compromise is a necessary thing.

Not to mention the invention of fans and portlights.....

caltexflanc said:

Not to mention the invention of fans and portlights.....

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When (late 70's / early 80's when I was away from boating) and for what reason (promotion purposes) did port holes become called portlights? Just wondering! :lol:

wyoboater said:

Ah, okie dokie. Was just curious as to your reasoning. A fresh air flow is a great sleep inducer, I agree. But, as in all things boatish, compromise is a necessary thing.

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Agreed

Art said:

When (late 70's / early 80's when I was away from boating) and for what reason (promotion purposes) did port holes become called portlights? Just wondering! :lol:

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About the same time automobiles became cars.

Here's a discussion of the very topic:

Terminology: Portlight vs Porthole - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

After reading the above you will know about as much as you did beforehand!

jwnall said:

You may not want to lease for a year (although it really is not a bad suggestion), but the above sentence does raise a few warning flags for me. You will not at all enjoy the cruising life if the wife is not happy (been there and done that -- except that mine was happy until the lightning strike). So you might consider a compromise -- lease for a bit and see how it works for her.

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BINGO!!!! I would not be asking what kind of boat. I would be asking for advice from people that have had wives in the same position. And asking how to ease her into it. Her enjoyment of boating is immediately related to yours. So the renting suggestions might be better for test driving HER...and not the type of boat!!!!

I shopped almost 2 years for "our" boat. The wife shopped for almost 10 minutes and it's the perfect boat,,,, for us.

My advice is go rent a Mainship 40 or something for a week or two on the Chessie. You'll know everything you need to know after that.

The most important thing you can do is NOT take the wife out on any boat you are not totally competent with. If you can't dock it easily, maneuver it comfortably, and seem perfectly at ease with all aspects of handling the boat, leave her ashore until you are. Then, pick a beautiful calm day to take your first outing.

Many guys have urged their partners out on the water and due to their own lack of experience, scared the crapola out of the other half. Do that your first time out and you have ended your boating career and lifestyle. There ain't no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

Do it right the first time, and you can enjoy it forever. Good luck, Howard

caltexflanc said:

About the same time automobiles became cars.

Here's a discussion of the very topic:

Terminology: Portlight vs Porthole - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

After reading the above you will know about as much as you did beforehand!

Click to expand...

Wow! That is as sideways as any discussion can get! Was brought up calling em portholes - so - for me... portholes they remain!

[STRIKE][/STRIKE]

Codger2 said:

Most of the TF members will post boats that they are familiar with. That doesn't mean that they are the best boats for your mission. I fall into that category too!

I have had 9 boats over 30' in length since 1995 and have recently gone back to a model that I had 20 years ago. (Same make and model but not the same boat.) Both my wife and I agreed that, all things considered (ie: speed, comfort, resale, looks, entertaining, cruising, maintenance, single handling, etc., it's really hard to beat an Ocean Alexander 42 Sedan. (IMHO)

We've had boats as small as 29 feet and as large as 54 feet. The Ocean Alexander wins, hands down, in our experience.

We wish you the very best of luck in your search. (I'm 74 & my wife is younger.)


Hard to argue, with that experience backing it up.

Jeeze that's a lovely looking boat Walt. I bet you let out a long sigh…rather like when you slide into a nice warm bath on a wintery night...when you got back into a boat like that, and even maybe had to admit…as nice and all as that Gourmet Cruiser was….oooooogh….aarrrgh...

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Portholes can open/close while portlights cannot.

Greetings,
What I've heard is port lights/port holes can be opened and dead lights cannot. Both can appear the same when closed. I think we're talking semantics here. Windows-ports, doors-hatches, floors-decks, rope-rode/hawser/line...Potato-potahto...Let's call the whole thing off.


BUT one thing for sure is it IS saloon! How's THAT for sage advice?

RT Firefly said:

BUT one thing for sure is it IS saloon! How's THAT for sage advice?

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Salon - Not Sage... Just Fact! :lol:

wyoboater said:

I'm curious Bay Pelican, and not meaning to start anything, or hijack a thread, but why?


"Also the aft cabins are great if you are going from marina to marina, but not so great at anchor."

Click to expand...

Another problem with this style of boat at anchor is climbing a 6' tall ladder to get on deck from the dingy. We have a double cabin and that is bad enough. Neither is a problem when you are young and spry, but the older you get the more of a problem it becomes. If the wife is not too keen right now she really won't be when she is standing on the swim platform and has to climb a ladder that is taller than her.

The best advise I can give the op is to take the wife looking for a trawler to charter and let her pick the charter boat and go for a month and see how it goes with both on you.

Don't forget the Defever 43 and 44's
Very popular boat for good reasons,and had a very long production run.
I had a 43 and for two it suited us fine,a lot of room for 43 feet.
Walk in engine room with headroom was great for a boat that size.

At 40+ feet most any boat will do the job. The interior accommodations, dock and anchor handling access will make all the difference in the admirals experience. A washer dryer adds greatly to convenience.


As above I strongly recommend an aft cabin because of the multiple spaces to afford some privacy at times. I would avoid narrow trunk cabins in favor of a large salon. Not every moment will be spent outside.


look at a lot of boats and make sure that the admiral never gets on a boat and says I wish we had seen this one when we bought ours. She wont care much about the trawler vs MY discussion and in reality it doesn't mean much for your use. Her investment in the decision will greatly affect the outcome.


Whatever she likes to do at home will be the same on the boat so make sure the boat fits that.