Best Trawler for a 100k Budget

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No commercial experience in my past at all.
I have cruised well over 1,000 miles each season for over 35 years by now.
Most all of those years in a 45 or 47 Bayliner.
Have been well outside of 5 miles offshore on many occasions in the NE.
I would not choose to cruise in poor weather but at times you get surprised by forecasts that are less accurate than expected.
As with most of you I have also encountered some pretty tough conditions at times.
Did not have any problems with my Bayliners.
 
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!!
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Speaking of ass, only 23 posts on TF and you already showed yours. That might be a new record.
 
One thing to keep in mind is that if you're looking for a lot of boat for not a lot of money you better have a big maintenance, upgrade budget. And you better be hands on since the boat labor norm in a lot of areas is getting close to $100/hr.
 
Diesel Duck said:
Can I ask what is the basis for your, apparently negative, opinion of the larger Bayliners like the 4788?


.
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..me driving a bayliner 3988... :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: it's like drive a pregnant whale...:banghead:
boat3.jpg
 
"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???"


Mr. Garrobito has owned the following:
- Bluewater 40
- Cal 20
- Bayliner Avanti
 
garrobito said:
..me driving a bayliner 3988... :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: it's like drive a pregnant whale...:banghead:
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In my opinion you are just trolling for a argument.

Not the best way to make friends as a newly here.
 
garrobito said:
..me driving a bayliner 3988... :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: it's like drive a pregnant whale...:banghead:
boat3.jpg
Click to expand...


I ask a reasonable and sincere question about the basis of your apparent strong negative opinion of the larger Bayliners and this is how you respond. :nonono:

I appreciate you demonstrating your true colors so early in your tenure here on TF. I will certainly be guided accordingly when, and if, you post here again.

.
 
I looked at a really nice 40' Spindrift - Sundeck/Aft-cabin a couple years ago that had 3 staterooms. Clean, well maintained. Sub 100k. A lot of boat in 40'.

I am not much of a gambler, so I chickened out because of the Volvos. I do think back and kind of wished I had grabbed her. Sigh.

Three stateroom boats are out there. But they tend to be in the 45 - 50 foot range. However, two cabins, plus a hide-a-bed in the salon is pretty doable in a lot of 36'+ boats. That's how my Mainship is set up.
 
sean9c said:
One thing to keep in mind is that if you're looking for a lot of boat for not a lot of money you better have a big maintenance, upgrade budget. And you better be hands on since the boat labor norm in a lot of areas is getting close to $100/hr.
Click to expand...

My partner is a certified marine mechanic, so we are not too worried about maintenance.
 
Phyrcooler said:
I looked at a really nice 40' Spindrift - Sundeck/Aft-cabin a couple years ago that had 3 staterooms. Clean, well maintained. Sub 100k. A lot of boat in 40'.

I am not much of a gambler, so I chickened out because of the Volvos. I do think back and kind of wished I had grabbed her. Sigh.

Three stateroom boats are out there. But they tend to be in the 45 - 50 foot range. However, two cabins, plus a hide-a-bed in the salon is pretty doable in a lot of 36'+ boats. That's how my Mainship is set up.
Click to expand...

Can you tell me more about Mainships? Is your 36 ft pretty roomy? I really love the classic lines of the Hatteras Motor yachts but don't know much about them
 
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!
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I really like the classic lines of the Hatteras but don't know much about them? I don't mind being called "we buy ugly boats." This adventure is more about our family being together and being together. Not too worried about what others think. I more concerned about getting the right boat for us.:)
 
smitty477 said:
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.
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Is there a good place to read up on Bayliner 4788 and it's pros and cons?
 
SavaMathou1 said:
I really like the classic lines of the Hatteras but don't know much about them? I don't mind being called "we buy ugly boats." This adventure is more about our family being together and being together. Not too worried about what others think. I more concerned about getting the right boat for us.:)
Click to expand...

You won't find many boat manufacturers established in the late 50's still around today but Hatteras is still with us. They are a good quality boat. As with many older boats, the hull is subject to blistering but the fiberglass is very thick making the blisters a nuisance more than a problem. Most older Hatteras's were powered by Detroit Diesels and the boat linked has 8V71's without turbos. They are a 2-cycle engine and are generally considered to be loud. At high RPMs, fuel consumption is very high but at trawler speeds, it is more normal. On the flip side, the engines are easy to maintain and parts are readily available and I believe they can be overhauled in place without having to pull the engine.

As another poster mentioned, the Hatteras 53 Motor Yacht is also a good choice at the $200K range but keep in mind, the bigger the boat, the higher your costs will be. When you pay $15/ft for a slip and $2-3 per foot for a transient slip, you start eating into your bank account real fast.
 
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"Is there a good place to read up on Bayliner 4788 and it's pros and cons?"


You will find a great deal of information at the Bayliner owners club......baylinerownersclub(dot)org. If you do buy a Bayliner someday you will also find a large amount of knowledge for maintenance and repair there and sources for parts as well.
There are/were a few reviews as well banging around the internet that for the moat part were accurate. Many years back I just searched "Bayliner (insert size and type) reviews" and got some decent hits. If you get serious about one of the 45 or 47's send me a PM and I will dig out whatever you are looking for and send it to you.
 
"I really like the classic lines of the Hatteras but don't know much about them?"


I actually like many of the early Hatteras boats in these size ranges and cruised along side of two of them for a number of trips our boating club was doing. We did seriously a few of them including a 53 Hatteras more than one time before we purchased. They had a lot of things going for them but in our specific case (not necessarily someone else's) They fell short on the list. They have huge spaces and full sized appliances that will amaze you. But things like draft, air height, travel lift capacities, parts and conversion costs as well as fuel costs per season kept us away.
I think that many of these can be dealt with dependent upon where and how you boat if they appeal to your list of needs/wants.
 
Well, after all this gaffaffel about the Bayliners earlier in this thread, I looked a few of them up on Boattrader, damn, at least on paper that mid to late 90's 4788 ticks a lot of the right boxes. I may have to go have a look at one or two "in the flesh" lol.
Similar layout to the Navigator, little smaller engine room, but I prefer the Cummins BT's especially at 330 hp, to the Volvo's Tamd's, and wayyyyy better than the worn out 6V92's in most of the Hatts and SeaRays for the same bucks. And the 3 1/2' draft is great for east coast intracoastal and Canadian canal cruising.
Easy side deck access from the nice pilothouse for singlehanded docking/locking. Very few of the SeaRays have inside driving so your on the flybridge constantly, wrapped in an isenglass enclosure, scrambling down a ladder to tie off.
That small third cabin can easily be converted to full laundry/office/storage.
Galley's look like the need to be upgraded a bit to modern appliances, but that's most any 20 yr old boat, no big deal.
Definitely worth a look.
 
"Similar layout to the Navigator"
That would be partly due to a few of the Bayliner 45 designers who left Bayliner and went to Navigator early on.


"And the 3 1/2' draft is great for east coast intracoastal and Canadian canal cruising."
The actual draft on my 95-4788 was 39". My 4588's with the prop pockets was a bit less.
"Easy side deck access from the nice pilothouse"
Not to mention the heat and A/C as needed while underway.


If you get serious about these look up the owners site so you can find out what weak points and common issues which to look for.
Good luck
 
I have two things to add here.

1. This sounds like the opie's first cruising boat. As a relative novice, I wouldn't get too hung up on going down to the Caribbean. The Bahamas offer nearly unlimited options for cruising grounds and are much easier to get to in a coastal cruiser. I've spent time in a few Caribbean locations and quite a bit of time in the Bahamas. Because I like to fish, freedive, spearfish and go places where there aren't a lot of other boats I actually prefer the Bahamas. Plus, if he really wanted to he could make it all the way to the DR without going through the Mona Passage. You can also throw Cuba into the mix now. Plenty to see without overeaching the capabilities of a well maintained $100,000 boat.

If you work through all of that and still want more, you will most likely upgrade the boat anyway. Buy a starter boat, get your feet wet. Worry about Mount Everest later.

2. Mainship offers great value for the money. Though I don't know about three staterooms, in a 390 you can put two in the master, two in the port side guest cabin and one on the couch. You can get a really nice 390 built in the 1990's for not much over $100,000.
 
I have toured the Bayliner Motor Yacht facility many years ago and was impressed. We looked at a 4588 when we were buying a boat last year. Absolutely the best layout in a 45' boat. The only reason we did not buy one was the very tight engine room and I am not a small guy. I could not see myself being able to do the work required in there. Other than that I would have had one.
 
smitty477 said:
"Similar layout to the Navigator"
That would be partly due to a few of the Bayliner 45 designers who left Bayliner and went to Navigator early on.


"And the 3 1/2' draft is great for east coast intracoastal and Canadian canal cruising."
The actual draft on my 95-4788 was 39". My 4588's with the prop pockets was a bit less.
"Easy side deck access from the nice pilothouse"
Not to mention the heat and A/C as needed while underway.


If you get serious about these look up the owners site so you can find out what weak points and common issues which to look for.
Good luck
Click to expand...
I have been checking out the Bayliners, and they seem to really fit for our family too. Plus, my partner is a marine mechanic who has a lot of experience with working on Bayliners. This may be the boat we go with because we are familiar with it. Also, we are moving up from Lake boating to Coastal cruising and it just may be better to purchase a boat we are both familiar with? We can also get the three cabins. The small cabin will be perfect for our youngest son. Plus, we like the updated styles that the "newer" models can provide. We feel like we could just jump on and Cruise without having to do many cosmetic changes or updating.
 
"The small cabin will be perfect for our youngest son."
Due to unusual circumstances I once slept in that bunk room with no issues - I am 6'3" and had a decent sleep. A few pics of that small bunk room....





 
Actaully as Ron pointed out, the "small" state room is not really all that small.

Yes, the berths are not all that roomy for a large adult, but they are quite large for kids.

We use the third state room as a storage area. I use the drawers as parts storage. The bunks make great storage spaces for large items like paper towels, and a host of other things.

I told some one this recently, and I believe it. The Bayliner 4788 is probably the most liveaboard friendly boat in its size that I've seen.

From the salon deck, you have three steps down to the cabin deck, and four steps up to the pilothouse. One straight hallway. Factory built in features like a washer/dryer and trash smasher.

There is a reason why even though a whole bunch of them (several hundred) were made, there are very few for sale.
 
ksanders said:
Actaully as Ron pointed out, the "small" state room is not really all that small.

We use the third state room as a storage area. I use the drawers as parts storage. The bunks make great storage spaces for large items like paper towels, and a host of other things.

I told some one this recently, and I believe it. The Bayliner 4788 is probably the most liveaboard friendly boat in its size that I've seen.
Click to expand...

Will that third stateroom closet, gutted if need be, be large enough for and least a compact or apartment sized stack individual washer / dryer set, sorry but that all-in-one units' just not going to work for me. If there is any room left make shelves for laundry accessories etc??

I've joined the BOC and have been trying to get more familiar with the boat, and most seems OK. The only thing that I've run across so far that seems a bit oddball on the surface (it may make more sense in practice) is the weird 110 v only power system. Hmmmm, 110v on a 12.kw system, no 240v, just doesn't make sense to me. I've read a few posts of 2 and 3 30A single phase power cords to run the boat, why not a single 240v?? I'm definitely going to have to spend more time investigating that one. All modern cooktops are 240 and so is washer/dryer, and could easily lighten amp load on a/c and heating etc.
Also same, but not quite as drastic is 12v DC systems, windlass, davits etc could benefit from 24v, especially if upgrading to heavy duty inverters to carry house loads on anchor. Just me. Still early days of looking into the 4788.
 
"Will that third stateroom closet, gutted if need be, be large enough for and least a compact or apartment sized stack individual washer / dryer set"

The current washer/dryer backs up to that closet so there will be plenty of room between the two areas. Leave access at the top drawer roof area as that has a 4" tube which allows you to run wiring and the like from the Pilothouse to the engine room and the lower helm.


"110 v only power system. Hmmmm, 110v on a 12.kw system, no 240v, just doesn't make sense to me."
110Volts is the standard you will find at most Marinas and for every appliance on board. The power is split into 3 lines each of 110 volts and 50 amps - more than enough for additions and changes as you see fit.
The 12.5 Westerbeke can put out whatever you like with a quick re-wiring at the output end but what would you do when you get to a marina that only had 110 volts?


"Also same, but not quite as drastic is 12v DC systems, windlass, davits etc could benefit from 24v"


Absolutely but the standard again is 12 volts for most boating and boat devices you will find. I just sold a 24' boat that had both 12 and 24 volts but I can tell you the hydraulic 24 volt motor was much harder to source than anything 12 volts. Not to hard to dual wire the system if that is what you want but all of these are 12 volts and it works out fine from what I have heard. I will look for an electrical panel pic to add later on.
 
For me the perfect boat for $100,000 would be a NT 32 w a good survey.
Not a perfect boat but very nearly so.

Like most other boats though I would like to be able to repower it w a smaller engine.
 
The 4788 electrical panel. The left side is all AC and the right side is all DC. The panel can be laid flat for working on all the wire looms, switches and breakers by removing two screws and rotating it on its lower hinges - it is then held in place by existing straps at a flat level.




 
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