I see a wide variety of boats here, so what exactly makes a boat a trawler?

I should not post, as I have imbibed a bit. But, I like Marins post. Its spot on.

When people (usually boaters) at the dock ask what kind of boat I have, I typically respond "a Seahorse Marine Coot. It's was made in China of steel and has a single, 80-horsepower John Deere diesel engine."


When asked by those (usually not boaters) not in sight of the boat, I usually say "a 35-foot steel cruiser with a single diesel engine giving a maximum speed of 8 (statute) miles an hour."


Using the term "trawler" usually doesn't help to communicate information even though the boat perfectly fits Chapman's definition.

markpierce said:

When people (usually boaters) at the dock ask what kind of boat I have, I typically respond "a Seahorse Marine Coot. It's was made in China of steel and has a single, 80-horsepower John Deere diesel engine."


When asked by those (usually not boaters) not in sight of the boat, I usually say "a 35-foot steel cruiser with a single diesel engine giving a maximum speed of 8 (statute) miles an hour."


Using the term "trawler" usually doesn't help to communicate information even though the boat perfectly fits Chapman's definition.

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I'll typically say, we just have a little cruiser. Just something to get out and enjoy the water.

I simply tell people that we have a diesel cruiser. That seems to tell them all they want to know. I don't tell them the make, model or size and we are almost never asked what they are.

Trawler Hi Fi Sports Car , just marketing Hype.

Any more BS Hype terms???

Greetings,
Mr. FF. "...Any more BS Hype terms???" How about chick magnet?

I generally tell people that my boat is a 1936 Raised Deck Cruiser built in Sausalito, CA by Nunes Brothers Boat and Ways Company. If they want more information than that I will tell them more than they ever wanted to know about the boat including the details of all aspects of its construction and the major overhaul I did.

I don't tell them it is a trawler because it isn't by any rational definition. In fact I believe that the boat was originally used as a sport fisher. I even have the 1936 vintage bronze rod holders

TDunn said:

Looking at the boats discussed here and peoples avatars, I see a wide range of boats from pure displacement boats to sport fishers.

By some definitions my boat is a trawler (full displacement hull, top speed not much over nominal hull speed, etc.). hat said, my boat is more of a classic day cruiser despite having overnight accommodations. It is 79 years old after all, so it predates the trawler period by about 35 years.

So what makes a boat a trawler?

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Any "Pleasure Boat" termed as a "Trawler" from onset at factory construction, having no net apparatus and no working catch-hold, is due to marketing hype... pure and simple. Now, that's not all bad... just true!

As has been said in previous posts... a true trawler is a working vessel with working persons aboard that use nets for catching fish to dump into its catch-hold.

I guess if a working trawler is refinished into a pleasure craft, with net apparatus removed and its catch-hold changed into other uses it could still be loosely termed a trawler. But it actually has lost the true meaning of "trawler" and should actually be called its new position as a "Pleasure Boat" - IMHO!

And the big problem with converting a fish boat is the boat will seldom float on her lines.

I like how they put it on the T&T list: "Trawlers and Trawlering" .... "trawlering" (as opposed to "trawling") being a state of mind, an approach to power cruising at mostly slow speeds. The Hatteras MY is not a recreational trawler styled boat but it does go "trawlering" quite nicely.

I do agree however that describing your boat simply as a trawler is wrong, unless you really do have an actual fishing trawler. We were waiting at the Socastee bridge in SC once, a bunch of boats were standing off waiting for an opening. Just as the tender was getting ready to open, a woman came on the radio identifying her boat as a trawler and could the bridge wait for them. They were not yet in sight. The bridge tender delayed the opening, thinking it was a commercial boat. Well this little green fiberglass cabin cruiser comes around the corner and down the stretch. The tender radios out to the trawler and asks their ETA. The woman comes on and says that's us coming at you right now. The tender had a fit, opened the bridge and came back and told her "next time describe your boat correctly... if you can make it here before I close fine otherwise I'm closing it when these bats are through". I don't recall whether they made it or not.

Glad to hear that weight is the defining carachteristic. At. 38000 # my ACMY is more trawler than many here

Frankly I find the concern over the definition of a trawler as a fishing vessel rather pedantic. Particularly so since trawler has been an accepted type of recreational boat for at least 40 years. I think that in the context of a recreational boating discussion, a boat that hauls nets for fish is a "fishing" trawler, while a trawler is a style of recreational boat. Context matters. Had I been interested in the attributes of "fishing" trawlers I would have posted my question to a pollock, cod and halibut commercial fishing forum.

When I was teaching I found the over reliance on definitions to be one of the biggest limitations to actually understanding the material. I always tried to get my students to err on the side of understanding concepts rather than spewing out definitions. That is all I have to say about that.

TDunn said:

Frankly I find the concern over the definition of a trawler as a fishing vessel rather pedantic. Particularly so since trawler has been an accepted type of recreational boat for at least 40 years. I think that in the context of a recreational boating discussion, a boat that hauls nets for fish is a "fishing" trawler, while a trawler is a style of recreational boat. Context matters. Had I been interested in the attributes of "fishing" trawlers I would have posted my question to a pollock, cod and halibut commercial fishing forum.

When I was teaching I found the over reliance on definitions to be one of the biggest limitations to actually understanding the material. I always tried to get my students to err on the side of understanding concepts rather than spewing out definitions. That is all I have to say about that.

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Seeing your point, and knowing that a word's meanings can take avenues of travel through the years/decades... I propose the following.

F Trawler for fishers and P Trawler for pleasures. Calling both type boats by the same name of "Trawler" leaves no distinguishing reality as to which is which... and... there is a vast difference.

In fact, this "Trawler" designation to pleasure craft is pretty much meaningless except to advertisers/promoters selling boats!

Pleasure Boats are what I have always owned and plan to continue owning. Same as 99.33333% of what is currently owned by TF members.

I tell them "it's like a fish boat w/o any fish gear".
And they, of course think of a troller if they know anything about boats.

In the 50s people called what we call trawlers "Heavy Cruisers". PNW Monk boats come to mind. Ten knot strip planked soft chine cruisers much heavier than the Chris Craft of the day and w a big anchor winch and ground tackle to match. Also the big Shane cruisers fit neatly in here. Usually their anchors were held firmly in a hawsepipe like a ship. Heavy Cruisers were frequently seen on their way to Alaska. Perhaps that's why many here are so dead set on big anchors and all chain. It's conformation of their trawlerman status.

There's two kinds of Trawlers and mention of the fishing varity on this "toy boat" forum is silly.

The Coot's builder variously describes the boat as a "pocket cruiser" and "coastal cruiser." "Trawler" is not mentioned. Its long range and stregth is mentioned, not its slow speed.

I find the notion of applying the term "trawler" to a recreational cabin cruiser to be ludicrous given what "trawl," "trawling," and "trawler" actually mean. To say that there are "fishing trawlers" and "recreational trawlers" is simply silly. That's like using the term "commercial airliner" to describe a Cessna 150.

I fully understand the reason why the term "trawler" has become applied to recreational boats, but to actually defend what in fact originated as a marketing scam is, to me, a fairly ignorant position to take. Why perpetuate a totally bogus description instead of defining one's boat accurately as Mark and the manufacturer of his boat have done?

Because boats often grouped into categories for recognition...like downeast, motortyacht, sportfish, convertible, center console, cuddy, express, trawler...et..etc


Not a perfect system used by many and it has changed with time.


Keep trying...maybe you will change the masses

psneeld said:

Keep trying...maybe you will change the masses

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Oh, I don't expect to change the masses. "Ignorance is bliss" has become a well-used cliché for good reason, right?

I don't think it is particularly pedantic when you are describing your boat to entities like, say, the aforementioned bridge tender (and his fellow tenders everywhere) or SAR personnel, especially when you are in an area where a lot of real trawlers operate. I like the use of "trawler style" power boat or pleasure boat.

Hi,

Not a Trawler, never was.

Slow cruise - 7 to 7 1/2 knots
Heavy - displacement 150,000 pounds
Pilothouse - not exactly

Originally - Compact Coastal Combat Vessel
No guns (armament) presently mounted

Mark, will your cannon shoot slugs?:lol::lol:

I am told the present conversion design was done by
Ed Monk

Ted

caltexflanc said:

I don't think it is particularly pedantic when you are describing your boat to entities like, say, the aforementioned bridge tender ...

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when bridge tenders ask, I say "the boat with the yellow pilothouse roof."

Ted said:

...
Mark, will your cannon shoot slugs?:lol::lol: ...

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Haven't seen any 10-gauge slugs on store shelves but have seen Internet ads offering them for $2 each. Still haven't seen a blackpowder version.

funny..all those years of SAR and assistance towing even commercial vessels...


about 99% of the time I hear Fishing Vessels call themselves fishing vessel "XYZ" ....not trawler "XYZ " or pot vessel "XYZ" or troller "XYZ" or shrimper "XYZ".....


Thankfully they don't care who uses what term...for people I wouldn't necessarily expect to know what a pleasure trawler looks like then I use it because it helps more than hurts... using trawler helps distinguish me from the pack.

psneeld said:

..for people I wouldn't necessarily expect to know what a pleasure trawler looks like then I use it because it helps more than hurts... using trawler helps distinguish me from the pack.

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Only in your own mind. Look at the avatar photos on this forum alone. Everything from Sea Rays to Bayliners to Sabres to Nordic Tugs to trailer boats to Nordhavns, all considering themselves a "trawler." Look at the boat ads. Every style of boat imaginable is being called by their manufacturer or ad agency a "trawler."

So calling yourself a "trawler" does not distinguish you from the pack, it puts you right smack in the middle of an amorphous crowd. You tell me you have a "trawler." So what do you have? A Bayliner 3888? A Grand Banks 42? A Tollycraft 34? An Eastbay? A Nordic Tug? A Carver sun deck? A Willard? A Uniflite Mega? A Sea Ray?

Get the picture? Every one of these boats is now considered to be a "trawler." So telling me that you have a "trawler" tells me absolutely zip about your boat.

So far Mark is the only one here who has described an intelligent way to describe his boat to a bridge tender.

Marin said:

Only in your own mind. Look at the avatar photos on this forum alone. Everything from Sea Rays to Bayliners to Sabres to Nordic Tugs to trailer boats to Nordhavns, all considering themselves a "trawler." Look at the boat ads. Every style of boat imaginable is being called by their manufacturer or ad agency a "trawler."

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Yup...seems NONE of us have Trawlers it seems (except in our minds!)

(28' Diesel Power Cruiser here!)

If I had a yellow roof (or pink or red,or blue) I could more accurately describe my vessel!

Heron said:

...
If I had a yellow roof (or pink or red,or blue) I could more accurately describe my vessel!

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Yup, saying "I'm the white boat" usually won't help.

psneeld said:

funny..all those years of SAR and assistance towing even commercial vessels...


about 99% of the time I hear Fishing Vessels call themselves fishing vessel "XYZ" ....not trawler "XYZ " or pot vessel "XYZ" or troller "XYZ" or shrimper "XYZ".....


Thankfully they don't care who uses what term...for people I wouldn't necessarily expect to know what a pleasure trawler looks like then I use it because it helps more than hurts... using trawler helps distinguish me from the pack.

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You missed the point, think again. By the way I have heard them refer to themselves as trawlers, as well as scallopers, seiners et al. ;though by default they are indeed fishing vessels (which in the rules are defined as commercial type vessels, not anyone fishing) so its somewhat redundant. Again, I see nothing wrong with calling yourself a trawler style power boat if that floats your boat.

Marin said:

I find the notion of applying the term "trawler" to a recreational cabin cruiser to be ludicrous given what "trawl," "trawling," and "trawler" actually mean. To say that there are "fishing trawlers" and "recreational trawlers" is simply silly. That's like using the term "commercial airliner" to describe a Cessna 150.

I fully understand the reason why the term "trawler" has become applied to recreational boats, but to actually defend what in fact originated as a marketing scam is, to me, a fairly ignorant position to take. Why perpetuate a totally bogus description instead of defining one's boat accurately as Mark and the manufacturer of his boat have done?

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Wifey B: I think Marin was one of my college professors. However, when one gets into Etymology, the list of words that have been taken to different meanings vs. their origins will drive you like completely bat crazy if you take it too seriously. Madam, a perfectly innocent and respectful word until it becomes a procurer of prostitutes. The word "Nice" is from the Latin for ignorant.

Oh and car enthusiasts can argue for hours over what is a "Sports Car."

The key is whether the word is effective in communication and whether the speaker and listener will interpret it the same. So in this situation, it's like if you say Trawler will the other person know what you mean. Well, I think quickly here they will know you're not meaning you own a fishing boat. Will it though clue them in to the type boat? Does Cruiser? I don't think Trawler or Cruiser either one does it better. They're both general and vague. It's going to take naming the brand or further expanding.

But the bit about trawler being inappropriate outside fishing, I'm like "get over it, dudes". No one here is confused thinking that the forum is about fishing. Everyone here had some vision of trawler that told them they belonged here.

Now, we don't have a trawler by any definitions but we are into "Trawlering"" although we might be an abomination of that as we're into "fast trawlering." But then Beneteau has used the term "Swift Trawler" quite successfully and the use of that term immediately gave most who saw it a picture of what they were trying to accomplish.

What image or distinction do you get with the use of the term "Trawlering" vs. "Cruising?" I immediately get a feeling of slower power boating where as Cruising sounds broader and even includes those funny boats with the things sticking up in the air trying to catch the wind so they can move.

Only about half the boats here are trawlers Marin.

And Kevin,
Coastal Cruiser is'nt a time homered name at all. It was because a lot of boats that wer'nt trawlers being called trawlers because the owners wanted into the trawler group. So the expression Coastal Cruiser was coined to identify those cruisers that wanted in the club but didn't have the credentials but needed a name that implied some sort of importance. "Coastal" implying that they cruised far and wide along the coast ... not just fishing out at the point. But Heavy Cruiser already had this covered. They just forgot about that.
I could be wrong about this so tell me if I am.

Marin you say your OB boat is a sport fishing boat. What makes it "sport" and what features make it a fishing boat. Looks like just a boat to me.

BandB said:

But the bit about trawler being inappropriate outside fishing, I'm like "get over it, dudes". No one here is confused thinking that the forum is about fishing.

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I don't think anyone here is confused about whether or not they have a fishing boat. They're just using the language in a dumb-ass way.