Best Trawler for a 100k Budget

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SavaMathou1

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Oct 12, 2016
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We are looking for a live aboard Trawler that we can use in the winters. We are looking to be based out of Florida. We want to do some coastal cruising, island hopping in the carribean, and eventually would like to do the Great Loop. We are a family of five. We would love 3 Stateroom layout. We will be good weather travelers. Our budget is 100k. We are looking for a boat that is economical on diesel fuel. We are looking for a boat that has good range, and has the ability not to be stuck in the marina all the time. We like to go off and explore. We would like a boat with twin engines. We feel safer with that extra engine to be able to get to a safe harbor if the other engine is having issues. We want a salon and decks that are open and airy and can be made to feel like our second home.
Hope this tells you a little about us and what we are looking for in a boat. Any and all suggestions and ideas welcome.
 
The requirement for a family of five and three staterooms kind of knocks you out of boats in the $100k range. If you could add another $100k to the budget, a Bayliner 4788 would be a great boat but only 2 staterooms and they sell in the $200k range. If you could add $150k to the budget, the Endeavour Powercat 44' would be in reach. It has three staterooms but they are all queen size beds.

If the budget is REALLY fixed and you can tolerate an older boat and don't mind being called "we buy ugly boats", something like the Hatteras 44' Motor Yacht would give you three staterooms. Here is one in Fort Lauderdale FL for $60K:

1968 Hatteras Motor Yacht Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Good luck on your search!
 
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Agreed on the Bayliner 4588 and the 4788 - they do have 3 staterooms and two heads. Early model 4788's can be had for mid 100's and the earlier designed 4588 can be had for 100 or so.
I think I have a floorplan I can attach later here somewhere.
 
smitty477 said:
Agreed on the Bayliner 4588 and the 4788 - they do have 3 staterooms and two heads. Early model 4788's can be had for mid 100's and the earlier designed 4588 can be had for 100 or so.
I think I have a floorplan I can attach later here somewhere.
Click to expand...

Oops, forgot some came with a three stateroom configuration but isn't the 2 stateroom config what most were built to?
 
All were built with 3 staterooms but some owners converted them to two over the years. The bi-fold door that separates the fwd port convertible bunk room from the fwd master queen stateroom and head is pretty solid with a solid post it links to. When closed the actual entrance to that fwd port bunk room is by a sliding door (4588) or regular swing door (4788) that is not shown in the floorplan attached. That slider is also pretty robust as it is heavy wood door with decent hardware.
 
Any boat purchase requires concessions and flexibility.
Can you change your budget?...maybe. Can you change your requirements, easier, and maybe.
Almost every trawler will have 2 "cabins", so the question becomes what other sleeping space is available. A friend of mine has spend considerable time on a traditionally rigged tall ship, and is quite comfortable with his allotted space of a 6'X3.5' berth, with the same amount of storage underneath, that's in a shared space with 30 other berths.
He can happily spend a month on the couch with no complaints.
So if the budget is fixed, maybe re-evaluate your cabin/sleeping requirements? Many boats in the $100k range will sleep 6 or more...just depends on how flexible everyone is. :)
Bottom line?...if everyone wants to do it bad enough, you'll find a way.
 
If you buy into a pretty old boat that fits your criteria and $100K budget, you had better be very handy at fixing things or have a big wallet for hiring others to do the work. The $100K is just the beginning!!!
 
Sleeping area tends to be a minor issue. It's all the cr@p everyone wants to bring. Young kids can sleep in a pile on a sofa. Boxes of stuff you trip over all day long.
 
It's not precisely a trawler but extremely comfortable.. Navigator 52.. I lived on one for 5 years and it's great..
Mostly time come with volvo TAM engines
 
There are quite a few Hat 53MY on the market, most having DD engines. Plenty of room, 3 staterooms, huge salon, big aft deck, besides this boat is well built and can be found for $120,000 in decent shape.
 
SavaMathou1 said:
We are looking for a live aboard Trawler that we can use in the winters. We are looking to be based out of Florida. We want to do some coastal cruising, island hopping in the carribean, and eventually would like to do the Great Loop. We are a family of five. We would love 3 Stateroom layout. We will be good weather travelers. Our budget is 100k. We are looking for a boat that is economical on diesel fuel. We are looking for a boat that has good range, and has the ability not to be stuck in the marina all the time. We like to go off and explore. We would like a boat with twin engines. We feel safer with that extra engine to be able to get to a safe harbor if the other engine is having issues. We want a salon and decks that are open and airy and can be made to feel like our second home.
Hope this tells you a little about us and what we are looking for in a boat. Any and all suggestions and ideas welcome.
Click to expand...


There is a difference between your average coastal cruising boat and one you'd want to island hop the Caribbean with.

Unless you are talking about cruising the Bahamas. Which are not in the Caribbean and much easier to get to then the real Caribbean islands.
 
Mona Passage in a Bayliner!!! Yay!!!
 
Ski in NC said:
Mona Passage in a Bayliner!!! Yay!!!
Click to expand...

I don't know about Mona Passage, but we take our Bayliner 4788 out in the Gulf of Alaska every time we leave port.

It seems to do just as well as the other SD hulls we see.

I generally make a no go decision if we get above 6' 7 second beam seas. If the seas are not abeam we have no issue with larger close in waves.

Thats wind blown waves, not long duration ocean swells.

Our tolerance for sea state seems about on part with the similar size charter boats in our area, which seem to prefer a SD hull built by a company called "Delta". The only difference being that I am not inclined to sit at anchor all day long getting tossed around just to catch a fish.
 
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Mona Passage has a reputation of being "stood up" for long periods of time. If you want to get from Hispaniola to Puerto Rico, you are going to cross the passage. If you have a fair water boat, you may be waiting a long time for a window.

Did not mean to pick on Bayliners specifically. Heck, I would not take mine there.
 
Yup, going south out of Ft Laud to the Carib in Dec can get (98% of the time) really effin nasty, I usually run 120'-160' boats and Mona has kicked my butt more times than I care to count. The "Christmas Winds" kick in, straight into your teeth all the way down, 1200 mi just to the VI's, then you start cruising south from there.
The OP's problem is that a Carib transit boat wants to be as deep a draft as possible, where as a loop boat needs to be as shallow as possible. One's a blue water cruiser, one's a brown water boat.
 
going with the general flow.. I would not take a bayliner more than 5 miles off any coast.. Incredible somebody run one on Alaska....
 
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garrobito said:
going with the general flow.. I would not take a bayliner more than 5 miles off any coast.. Incredible somebody run one on Alaska....
Click to expand...

Clearly someone that has not actually been on a large Bayliner.

When you get some actual sea time in a large Bayliner, then you will have earned the right to speak about what you at this time have no knowledge of.

BTW, the Bayliner 4788 is by far the most popular 50' class pleasure boat in Alaska.
 
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garrobito said:
going with the general flow.. I would not take a bayliner more than 5 miles off any coast.. Incredible somebody run one on Alaska....
Click to expand...
One of the last sinkings we talked about here was a Nordhavn...

And that was in benign waters along the Delaware River.

To think every Bayliner is an accident waiting to happen indicates beginner boating experience/mentality.
 
ksanders said:
Clearly someone that has not actually been on a large Bayliner.

When you get some actual sea time in a large Bayliner, then you will have earned the right to speak about what you at this time have no knowledge of.

BTW, the Bayliner 4788 is by far the most popular 50' class pleasure boat in Alaska.
Click to expand...

wooww man! so you know how many hours I have on the water?? great you love bayliner... period. you do not need to attack my skills hours (75K miles logged as commercial and private captain, 35 years on the trade) just over a comment...
 
psneeld said:
One of the last sinkings we talked about here was a Nordhavn...

And that was in benign waters along the Delaware River.

To think every Bayliner is an accident waiting to happen indicates beginner boating experience/mentality.
Click to expand...

Man.. it's my opinion... opinion are like ass.. everybody have one, like you or not.. Not necessity to start a rant over an opinion... geez!!
 
Consider a Bayliner 3587 like this:

1997 Bayliner 3587 w/ Diesels

Or a Bayliner 4087:

1999 Bayliner 4087

They are seemingly very available. The ones I have seen are Cummins-powered and they have a third small stateroom under the dinette, that might work well with the kids.

These well-respected cruisers (link below) took their 4087 all over the Pacific NW and put 4500 or so hours on it, so I think it's mighty capable. I would be delighted to own one.

Bayliner 4087 – MV Dirona

Good Luck
 
garrobito said:
Man.. it's my opinion... opinion are like ass.. everybody have one, like you or not.. Not necessity to start a rant over an opinion... geez!!
Click to expand...
He does it all the time, you get used to it. Just step around it.
 
garrobito said:
wooww man! so you know how many hours I have on the water?? great you love bayliner... period. you do not need to attack my skills hours (75K miles logged as commercial and private captain, 35 years on the trade) just over a comment...
Click to expand...

So if you are so knowledgable, how about you share with us specifically what about a ocean going Bayliner that surprises you they can make it to Alaska???

Or could you share why you would not take one more than 5 miles offshore???
 
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Donsan said:
The requirement for a family of five and three staterooms kind of knocks you out of boats in the $100k range. If you could add another $100k to the budget, a Bayliner 4788 would be a great boat but only 2 staterooms and they sell in the $200k range. If you could add $150k to the budget, the Endeavour Powercat 44' would be in reach. It has three staterooms but they are all queen size beds.

If the budget is REALLY fixed and you can tolerate an older boat and don't mind being called "we buy ugly boats", something like the Hatteras 44' Motor Yacht would give you three staterooms. Here is one in Fort Lauderdale FL for $60K:

1968 Hatteras Motor Yacht Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Good luck on your search!
Click to expand...

You are correct. We need to have two staterooms, but a place (such as a pullout) for our youngest son to sleep.
 
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