My wife and I are planning on attending the Stuart FL Trawlerfest in March. As Trawlerfest virgins, can anyone offer a few tips on navigating the event? I'm not sure if we'll attend any of the seminars this time (young kids in tow) but wanted to get opinions on the best way to "see it all" without being too overwhelmed and not looking like the "new to the trawler world goobers" that we are..........
Trawlerfest virgins
- Thread starter Casey6404
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
FoxtrotCharlie
Guru
We attended Trawlerfest in Annapolis last fall as newbies - very easy - everyone was very helpful. We did attend a few of the free seminars during lunch which were very informative. Most fun was just looking at all of the boats - at that marina it was very easy to climb on and off of the boats. We've been looking for a Loop boat and we met two couples selling their boats after completing the Loop - my wife got much more comfortable with the Loop idea after talking at length with them
Go and have fun
Go and have funWe attended at least four of them over a 2 -1/2 year period before we selected our boat and we found Trawlerfest to be an excellent resource. No need to worry about looking like goobers, this is a very friendly group and there will be people of all different experience or non-experience levels.
If you don't have deck shoes, at least wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off as most boats will expect you to take them off prior to entering.
Climb all inside and outside walkways, even stand inside a shower if it has one to imagine usable space. Stand or sit at the helm and turn all around to notice visibility and sight lines. If you run into other folks that have recently bought or are in the search process, they also can be useful to chat with. You might take a small notepad to take notes because after a dozen boats and a hundred photos on your smart phones you'll be driving back home saying "hey which boat had that cool engine room access door....?". It might be worth it to write down the sequence of models you walk through so the photos make sense later. Better yet upon approaching a boat, make the first photo be of the brandname plate; then every photo will be of that boat in your sequence until the next brand name comes up (helps for reviewing later).
Saturday is typically much more crowded getting on boats so if you can go thursday or friday morning, you'll have less people to deal with.
Finally, assuming you're potential boat owners, the seminars are really useful so you might try for them next time if not on this go-around.
A couple of the best are "Boat buyers survival guide", and "What to look for before you call a surveyor".
Have fun and let me know if you have more specific questions.
If you don't have deck shoes, at least wear shoes that are easy to slip on and off as most boats will expect you to take them off prior to entering.
Climb all inside and outside walkways, even stand inside a shower if it has one to imagine usable space. Stand or sit at the helm and turn all around to notice visibility and sight lines. If you run into other folks that have recently bought or are in the search process, they also can be useful to chat with. You might take a small notepad to take notes because after a dozen boats and a hundred photos on your smart phones you'll be driving back home saying "hey which boat had that cool engine room access door....?". It might be worth it to write down the sequence of models you walk through so the photos make sense later. Better yet upon approaching a boat, make the first photo be of the brandname plate; then every photo will be of that boat in your sequence until the next brand name comes up (helps for reviewing later).
Saturday is typically much more crowded getting on boats so if you can go thursday or friday morning, you'll have less people to deal with.
Finally, assuming you're potential boat owners, the seminars are really useful so you might try for them next time if not on this go-around.
A couple of the best are "Boat buyers survival guide", and "What to look for before you call a surveyor".
Have fun and let me know if you have more specific questions.
ranger58sb
Guru
You might hum a few bars about your follow-on objectives. Might be a slightly different approach if you're intending to buy a new (really, brand new) boat versus buying a used boat of one vintage or another... or even another approach if you're really still deciding whether a "trawler" might be at all the kind of boat you might like sometime in the future.
-Chris
Great info and thank you very much. To follow up, the plans are to buy a used boat (we prefer the trawler style but are open to others) and initially do the Great Loop at least once. I'm retired and would cruise some short trips solo and my wife retires in a few years. We love the idea of a liveaboard. I realize that once we take that leap, one or both of us may hate it so I want to enter the process gently so we can bow out gracefully if needed. I'm sure attending Trawlerfest in March will help us to narrow down what we want.
stubones99
Guru
The Stuart Fl Trawlerfest venue is terrible, with fixed docks way too high to get in some boats without a ramp or ladder. I loved trawlerfest in the past but not at the new location. If you go, bring a folding ladder.
Casey,
I'd humbly suggest you're on the right track with a trawler. The loop as you might know is about 5000 miles, so something that burns 5gph or less makes it more manageable. If you havent found it, the thread Boat Search 101 in this forum is very long but might be useful to you.
Also, a couple where both people are equally enthusiastic about boating is perhaps not common but a blessing when it happens. The better half and I caught the bug when we happened to get invited on a friends boat for a couple days as they were crossing lake Huron during their loop trip.
If you can get a chance for both of you to get out on a trawler, even for a short ride, it can really help to see if you both like it.
Best of luck and if you don't mind sharing, let the forum know how your journey goes
-David
I'd humbly suggest you're on the right track with a trawler. The loop as you might know is about 5000 miles, so something that burns 5gph or less makes it more manageable. If you havent found it, the thread Boat Search 101 in this forum is very long but might be useful to you.
Also, a couple where both people are equally enthusiastic about boating is perhaps not common but a blessing when it happens. The better half and I caught the bug when we happened to get invited on a friends boat for a couple days as they were crossing lake Huron during their loop trip.
If you can get a chance for both of you to get out on a trawler, even for a short ride, it can really help to see if you both like it.
Best of luck and if you don't mind sharing, let the forum know how your journey goes
-David
Bearkeley
Veteran Member
There will also be an opportunity to see trawlers at the upcoming MTOA Rendezvous at the new marina in Ft. Pierce this April. The attendees will have an ‘open house’ for other attendees to see other boats. If you aren’t a member yet, it’s worth checking out!
stubones99
Guru
MTOA = Marine Trader's Owners Association
stubones99
Guru
The tides for that area are listed below:
Th 8 High 3:15 AM 0.9 6:38 AM Rise 12:02 AM 66
8 Low 10:27 AM 0.3 6:26 PM Set 11:12 AM
8 High 3:23 PM 0.8
8 Low 10:52 PM 0.2
F 9 High 4:07 AM 0.8 6:37 AM Rise 12:55 AM 56
9 Low 11:24 AM 0.4 6:26 PM Set 11:55 AM
9 High 4:14 PM 0.8
9 Low 11:50 PM 0.3
Sa 10 High 5:05 AM 0.8 6:36 AM Rise 1:45 AM 47
10 Low 12:24 PM 0.5 6:27 PM Set 12:40 PM
10 High 5:13 PM 0.8
Su 11 Low 12:50 AM 0.3 7:35 AM Rise 3:34 AM 37
11 High 7:07 AM 0.8 7:27 PM Set 2:28 PM
11 Low 2:24 PM 0.5
11 High 7:16 PM 0.8
M 12 Low 2:47 AM 0.3 7:34 AM Rise 4:21 AM 28
12 High 8:06 AM 0.8 7:28 PM Set 3:18 PM
12 Low 3:19 PM 0.5
12 High 8:16 PM 0.8
Th 8 High 3:15 AM 0.9 6:38 AM Rise 12:02 AM 66
8 Low 10:27 AM 0.3 6:26 PM Set 11:12 AM
8 High 3:23 PM 0.8
8 Low 10:52 PM 0.2
F 9 High 4:07 AM 0.8 6:37 AM Rise 12:55 AM 56
9 Low 11:24 AM 0.4 6:26 PM Set 11:55 AM
9 High 4:14 PM 0.8
9 Low 11:50 PM 0.3
Sa 10 High 5:05 AM 0.8 6:36 AM Rise 1:45 AM 47
10 Low 12:24 PM 0.5 6:27 PM Set 12:40 PM
10 High 5:13 PM 0.8
Su 11 Low 12:50 AM 0.3 7:35 AM Rise 3:34 AM 37
11 High 7:07 AM 0.8 7:27 PM Set 2:28 PM
11 Low 2:24 PM 0.5
11 High 7:16 PM 0.8
M 12 Low 2:47 AM 0.3 7:34 AM Rise 4:21 AM 28
12 High 8:06 AM 0.8 7:28 PM Set 3:18 PM
12 Low 3:19 PM 0.5
12 High 8:16 PM 0.8
Donsan
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AKA Taiwanese Tub Owners Association
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What's a Hurricane SS 188?
Donsan
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It's not a Taiwanese Tub!
Basically it is a called a Sport Deck. Its most endearing quality is it fits on the lift in the boathouse of our new to us house which limited us to something under 20 feet.
texasnielsen
Senior Member
It's not a Taiwanese Tub!
In the water I float on its the runabout the captain gets when the admiral won't go full sail for a wake board or bass boat..... 
Last edited:
- Joined
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- Messages
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- Location
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It's a small dink to some of these guys...
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