Ugliest Trawler in the World? Nordhavn?

So I wanted to share this post with you guys about ugly boats and get your feedback on what you think are the ugliest trawlers in the world. While I like Nordhavn boats, I must say that I think they're in the running for being the ugliest.

Nordhavn are both the ugliest and the prettiest, just depends on the model. Some of the new ones remind me of wedding cakes with all the layers stacked up. I think the 46 is one of the nicest production trawlers on the market, also the 76, while too big for me, it's a beautiful thing.

I've always thought that the original 57 foot Nordhavn had nice lines whereas the rest tend to have the bull in a china shop look. Not to say that they are bad boats though.

Nordhavns are for*my next life, unless a Diesel Duck catches me.

With the Nordies the 47,52,55 are all ok as long as they don't have a fly bridge otherwise they look a bit on the wedding cake side.
I really like the 62 but the it's getting too big for any of the cruising I would like to do.
The difference between a 52 and a 62 is not going to make any difference out in the wild blue, they are all smallish boats.
I like the glass being further back from the bow.
But once you get where you want to go draft becomes the issue and the 62 draws over 6' a bit on the deep side.

A Salene 48 "Furthur Adventure" is in my home port marina at present and she is on her way round the globe.
She is from the USof A some where a very nice looking boat and I am a bit partial to the Salenes they don't look quite as boxy as the Nordies.

My 2 c worth.
Benn

The Nord 46, 57, and 62 are great, great looking boats IMO. Even their 35 looks nice- just ridiculously overpriced for a small coastal cruiser!

Leave the Nordies alone. I can think of a very popular Krogen that might make the list.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!** JohnP

**There is a fine line between ugly and pretty , the line even gets finer between ugly and practical *or pretty and impractical.

*It is often said that the Jaguar xj something, at the time was considered by some to be the most beautiful *car in the world, however, not a great car for *picking up a weeks groceries.

**We all in our minds eye know what appeals to us, *today my favorite color is blue, yesterday it was orange, *this is an example of our changing view of what appeals to us.

*We all have a choice to decide what appeals to us at a given *point in time.*

*When it comes to music , over time our *taste may change, is this a sign of old age or maturity?

**When it comes to boats the Naval Architect is faced with almost unsurmountable problems and also the dictates of the board of directors who are faced with keeping the business going, that is profit over pleasure and pretty.

**It is not for me to choose one boat over another just because it is pretty.

**It is for me to choose a boat which is practicle and safe as far a pretty goes, ok ! Paint it * pretty pink.

*I have in the past drawn many house plans, these homes had to be *practicle and at the *same time be appealing, my clients got the best and what they deserved, it is my gift .

*You put a homesless man in a mansion and he becomes a king> ( don't debate me )

In my *opinion.

*Mozart was gifted, but not all will agree.

Oriental architecture is beautiful , but not all will agree*

*Roman architecture is magnificent, but not all will agree.

**It is all about balance or the relationship between geometrical criteria.

*We as humans find with in ourselve that *great gift to discover that magical formula,

to make that choice.

*When we build let it not be for present delight alone ,let us think that we build for ever.

*So !

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-- Edited by SOMERS on Friday 1st of April 2011 08:06:51 AM



-- Edited by SOMERS on Friday 1st of April 2011 08:17:58 AM


-- Edited by SOMERS on Friday 1st of April 2011 09:37:59 AM

JohnP wrote:
Leave the Nordies alone. I can think of a very popular Krogen that might make the list.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!** JohnP

Click to expand...

*LOL, nobody ever bought a Manatee for it's stylish good*looks, but you do get used to it.

*

The*question is better asked in two parts, what is the ugliest blue water trawler and the ugliest coastal cruiser. Then you get into separating form from function.

As I walked the docks the other day in our marina, I marveled at the newer 55' coastal cruisers and their good looks but lacked a level foredeck space to work when anchoring and a fine entry for entering the seas at displacement speed. Or how about Dashew's FPB designs that are likely the best blue water trawlers but look like*navy vessel. Selenes are finally coming to the party as a blue water vessel by adding tankage. Brian Calvert's older Selene 48 Tidapeh mentioned, needed deck fuel tanks to cross the Pacific.

Too many of us have been trapped into thinking the "traditional" pilot house trawler design is pretty. Copycats galore with the pilothouse way up front beating you to death in a big head sea so the salon can be longer. What a horrible use of space*too which is why Nordhavn abandoned the older 57' design for the newer 55/60' design.

Also, it is all too often about money. I not sure the owner of a Chevy volt should be knocking the looks of a Bentley.

DCBD wrote:JohnP wrote:
Leave the Nordies alone. I can think of a very popular Krogen that might make the list.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!** JohnP

Click to expand...

*LOL, nobody ever bought a Manatee for it's stylish good*looks, but you do get used to it.

*

*When you look at beauty as a function of useability the Manatee becomes a stunning vessel.

I can think of few better boats for calm water cruising. If we had to pick a great loop boat, the Manatee would be high up on a very short list.

The Nordhavns follow suit. *They are great looking in a very functional way.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!** JohnP"


No. Beauty is about the elements of art. Line, form, visual mass, texture, softness and many other things. If something is beautiful in 1750 it will be beautiful in 2050 also. You've heard of "timless beauty"*** ...well design itself is timeless. The kind of beauty you guys are talking about is VISUAL ASSOCIATION. Think of anything you associate w words like nice, awesome, sexy, pretty and beautiful. This thing you're associating will bring warm and fuzzy and positive feelings to you. You quite likely will think this thing (if it is a thing) is beautiful having nothing (or practically nothing) to do w the elements of art. Style and the likes and tastes of people during a certain period of time or the association w the Nazi movement or a certain race of people or the products of a certain culture have NOTHING to do w beauty. In my art background I have gained just enough knowledge to know a little bit about what is beautiful and what is not. One need's an education about art and it's elements to know what is beautiful. Parade a bunch of boats or cars past a bunch of designers and artists and ask them what ones are beautiful and what ones are not and a surprising amount of agreement will result. Do the same w a group of people that know little about art and there will be far less agreement. And of course there is other beauty like a series of words or sounds. But one needs specialized knowledge to know beauty from ugly. Most people who say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" offer that as an excuse to not knowing what their talking about hopefully without divulging that fact. But knowing and not knowing is not even close to black and white. Having said all the above I actually have not said anything bad about John. He, like most of us prpbably have average knowledge about beauty and don't really understand it. ALL of us THINK we know beauty from non but all we can do really is express likes and dislikes. And to that end I'll say the only Nordhavn that can be associated with the word beautiful is the 46. The 62 is not a bad looking boat but all the rest are unattractive. The 46 must have been designed by another NA.



-- Edited by nomadwilly on Friday 1st of April 2011 01:13:10 PM

DCBD wrote:JohnP wrote:
Leave the Nordies alone. I can think of a very popular Krogen that might make the list.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!** JohnP

Click to expand...

*LOL, nobody ever bought a Manatee for it's stylish good*looks, but you do get used to it.

*

*Hmmm....I was assuming you meant the Whaleback 48.

*

I know/recognize*beauty when I see it ... I think.*
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-- Edited by Phil Fill on Friday 1st of April 2011 01:55:50 PM



-- Edited by Phil Fill on Friday 1st of April 2011 01:56:33 PM


-- Edited by Phil Fill on Friday 1st of April 2011 01:57:51 PM

Eric, Even to my uneducated eye, I agree the Nordhavn 46*has fine looking lines.

Also I can see why you find the design appealing. Not saying anything bad about that.

JohnP

John,

It dos'nt sound like you're mad at me and I'm sure glad of that. You obviously have a good eye as you see the similarity between the N46 and the W30. Both boats could stand a little re-shaping of the stern and a more plumb stem. Both boats need a longer footprint on the water. One has 40hp the other 100. The stern of the N46 has an ugly radius line and the W30 has a hooked and abrupt stern. Ther're are many rounded sterns and it's amazing how very subtle differences in shape can go from beautiful to homely. Here is a stern that differs almost not at all (other than in size) from the W30 but is much better looking. One could say "no wonder** ..it's a Bill Gardner design". The Willard has a nice looking stern but this Gardner boat has a truly stand-out stern. Anyway the N46 is my very favorite boat so being favorably compared to the Nordy is a good thing***** ...I'd say.

Eric,* I am so mad at you I am almost going to buy the 46 in my photo, to make you jealous.* They only want 318k,* not bad, but I don't think the Admiral will give me permission.

Maybe if I say please.** JohnP

Guys,
You are right the old 46 is a bloody good looking and practical boat.
John P I was looking at that 46 myself last night , what a good but=y.
There is a similar older Berlin registered 46 here in our marina.
The German couple are on their 2 nd circumcision of the world on it.
They have done a couple previously in their sail boat.
I saw their boat down in Tasmania about 6 weeks ago and now they are back in Queensland , they sure get around.

I just really like the aft wheelhouse style like the 62 .
Benn

I'm not sure there is such a thing as an ugly trawler.* For an actual trawler to have functionality requires a kind of beauty that may not match every person's ideal form, but somebody's. I don't think the same can be said for all planing hulls, especially those with 'contemporary' looks.* If my dog was as ugly as some of those, I'd shave his butt and teach him to walk backwards.

Carl,

Most trawlers aren't ugly but the're chunky looking things that don't stand a chance of winning the beauty contest compared to Sport Fishermen or fast European yachts. I know what you're thinking about**** ...the kind of Bayliner type boat that looks more like a jacuzzi or spa than a boat in the stern and the over styled pilot houses/salons that**** ...I give up but they don't look like any part of them could possibly have come from a boat. But if you, no I were going to show someone a really beautiful boat I would'nt even look at trawlers*** ...I'd go straight to availible pictures of large yachts** ...mostly faster than a trawler. A Fleming or a GB Alaskan are the only trawlers I can think of that are beautiful. But the're are lots of custom yachts and Sport Fishermen that are stunning. Sorry Carl but I think trawlers are mostly on the stogy side. Form may follow function but it's usually an accident if it results in real beauty. Here is a heavy cruising yacht (not a trawler) that is truly beautiful but not stunning however timeless it's beauty may be.

Hey Nomad Willy, I saw that picture and I went through my old files and found this. It was about five years ago here in Everett, WA. She was on the hard, but I drove by and thought what a pretty boat.


-- Edited by Max Simmons on Friday 1st of April 2011 11:48:01 PM

Tidahapah wrote:
There is a similar older Berlin registered 46 here in our marina.
The German couple are on their 2 nd circumcision of the world on it.
They have done a couple previously in their sail boat.
Benn

Click to expand...

*Hey Benn,

If that is Jonathon and Heidi Haas please say hi from Don & Anja (ex sv Kekada). We met them in Panama and they were somewhat instrumental in our decision to switch to power. We also love the N46 but preferred a newer boat. We didn't like the newer Nords and eventually discovered the Seahorse we are currently having built.

Don

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Nordy has the same problems as other trawler assemblers.

Few if any will be beyond the 100 fathom line , but it seems ALL want the space of a 55 meter boat in a 55 ft boat.

Since form follows function , and the owners function is mere volume , that is what sells.

While they were sold (with more honest descriptions of their day) I think many of the old Trumphy "House Boats " (there term not mine) were perfect for what most "trawlers" actually do.

The Choy Lee 66 looks good enough that I would not sell a free one.

For really good looking trawlery boats Bill Garden is one of my heroes.

But unsellable today as the BQ (bloat quotent). is too low

Don,
That is they. I will say hello.
A well travelled couple if ever there was one.
My biggest problem with the Nordies and other LRC units is that they do not have a big enough back deck.
It all seems to be about inside space and a toilet for each person on board.
The back deck & BBQ are where it all happens either at sea, at anchor or in port.
Gees I'm getting verbose about these things.

Benn

My biggest problem with the Nordies and other LRC units is that they do not have a big enough back deck.
It all seems to be about inside space and a toilet for each person on board.
The back deck & BBQ are where it all happens either at sea, at anchor or in port.
Gees I'm getting verbose about these things.


Come visit!

Our 50 loa toy has the last 15 ft as deck area.

The fridge freezer is there aw well as the BBQ.

With a 10x10 sun cover (box store $60. US) and RV reclining chairs or a set of hammocks its grand.

Of course the interior is reduced to what one would have with a 30 ft boat (5ft unusable for collision bulkhead).

The PH is 10x10 and opens on all 4 sides , so it works.

Sleeps 2, parties , well the Navy carried 150.....

On the subject of Krogens: I have seen a couple of 42' "Silhouette" models on YW which look nothing like the traditional Krogen trawlers. They have asking prices considerably below the standard build 42's, but otherwise I haven't been able to find out anything about them, other than they were only made in a few numbers.

Anybody familiar with the boat?


-- Edited by ARoss on Saturday 2nd of April 2011 09:04:34 AM

The boats name in the picture is the Montego and its moored in the new Everett Marina.* She was for sale when we bought the Eagle but to much boat and required to much work and big bucks to be invested in her. *The Everett ship yard was out side our gate.* The Everett ship yard was forced to move to a new location.
*
Ugly is in the eye of the beholder.* I think most post 1990 trawler, especially trawlers with with the high profile and wantabe forward slanting windows are on the ugly side.* The older classic boats/trawler had lines/style/class to them as they where more sleeker and low profile.* On my work computer I have a site of older classic boats*that will make you drool that I will post Monday.*****
*

Phil,

You better not let us down now after that promise as I'm already drooling.

Phil wrote "wantabe forward slanting windows are on the ugly side.* The older classic boats/trawler had lines/style/class to them as they where more sleeker and low profile." You're showing you're connection to association as the means to preferring a certain style. However I agree w you and probably partly or largely due to my age.

Ok. So after all of these responses, I will consider myself wrong on this point. The general consensus here is that Nordhavn's are fine looking vessels. Great discussion. Good points raised. Just fyi: I've quoted a few of the posters here on the positive side to give the article some balance!