What Trawlers are made in the USA/Canada?

Hi folks:
Newbie here. I have been following the threads on this forum for many months with great interest and have learned a tremendous amount. Thanks to all who have contributed so many hours and so much information.
I have just sold my sail boat and am now in the market for a trawler (35 to 40 feet). Since I live in Canada (Nova Scotia) importing a vessel from the States is problematic from a "customs/duty" point of view if the vessel is not manufactured in North America. (Read NAFTA). There are many vessels that I like of Taiwainese origin but they all bear the prerequisite 9% duty if imported. I've heard a few names bandied about in some discussions, but was wondering if we could consolidate a simple list of North American made trawlers. It might serve as a reference point for other "cross-border" shoppers as well. I'll start things rolling with the "Monk" which was made in Nova Scotia.
Thanks in advance.
Cworthy
"Boatless in NS"

This may be too small but check this out

1991 32 ft.Rosborough Diesel Cruiser - Newfoundland Powerboats, Motorboats For Sale - Kijiji Newfoundland Canada.http://http://newfoundland.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-boats-watercraft-powerboats-motorboats-1991-32-ft-Rosborough-Diesel-Cruiser-W0QQAdIdZ373057552

GulfStars, Mainships, Hatteras, Chris-Craft and probably a few others are US made...

Sunnflord, Nordic Tug, American Tug, Ranger Tug, Park Isle, Maple Bay, Willard, Nova Trawlers, Legacy Trawlers, Northern Marine, Delta Marine, Cape Horn Trawlers, Philbrooks.

To name a few.

WESMAC Custom Boats: Maine Boat Builder, USCG certified vessels, Custom Boats, high efficiency, high performance boats
Lyman Morse Boatbuilding - New Designs for Custom Yachts by Leading Yacht Designers and Architects - Thomaston, Maine
Nexus Marine Corporation - Custom wooden boatbuilding Wood boat builders & designers

3 builders that we have been looking into.

Californians and Navigators built in sunny southern California.

Canoe Cove, Tollycraft, Uniflite (37' trawler)

This is currently on eBay. (Don't ask why I was looking at other trawlers)

42' All fiberglass, single screw trawler 42' All fiberglass, single screw trawler | eBay

It looked good in pictures. But they all do.

It's in Mystic, Conn. So the trip would not be wasted no matter the outcome.

Are you looking for a new trawler or is previously owned OK?

My Camano was made in Canada. The company was sold a couple times in the last few years and they may or may not be making them now and if they are, it's possible they are now making them in the USA.

rwidman said:

Are you looking for a new trawler or is previously owned OK?

My Camano was made in Canada. The company was sold a couple times in the last few years and they may or may not be making them now and if they are, it's possible they are now making them in the USA.

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Of course the Camano - been on a number of them; great boats. The 41 is now built by Bracewell in Richmond BC.

Pacific Trawler (not to be confused with Puget Trawler which was made in Taiwan) was a nice looking cruiser made in the Pacific Northwest for awhile. In the late 90s, early 2000s they were being built at the old Uniflite plant in Bellingham, WA. So far as I know they have not been made since then but I'm sure used ones come up for sale from time to time, probably mostly in this area. I believe the Pacific Trawler is a single-engine boat, and I think they are about 40' long. We used to see them under construction in Fairhaven where we did our haulouts until Seaview North opened their big yard in our marina.

Nordhavn. Facilities in both California & Far East.

All of the Bayliners are/were made in the USA.

The 38' series is extremely popular.

Nordhavns are made in Xiamen, China. We've filmed their plant there. The parent company is in the US but the boats themselves are made in the PRC.

The older Nordhavn's (pre-2003) were made in California, but all are made in China now. So for an import boat, a well priced and well kept older Nordhavn would save on import duties. I looked at 40' Nordhavn's quite a bit and the older ones were very well built, the newer ones are a bit shinier with more feminine touch, I think still well built though. Talking with US built Nordhavn owners though, you may get a different opinion.

baldpaul said:

The older Nordhavn's (pre-2003) were made in California, but all are made in China now. So for an import boat, a well priced and well kept older Nordhavn would save on import duties. I looked at 40' Nordhavn's quite a bit and the older ones were very well built, the newer ones are a bit shinier with more feminine touch, I think still well built though. Talking with US built Nordhavn owners though, you may get a different opinion.

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I think you're thinking of the Nordhavn 40's that were initally built by Pacific Seacraft but eventually production went to China, where the other models were being manufactured.

Conrad....you are probably right as I was only actively looking at the 40s.

ksanders said:

All of the Bayliners are/were made in the USA.

The 38' series is extremely popular.

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Talking to the Bayliner dealer that shares my marina, many of the Bayliners and Sea Rays are now made in Mexico.

The OP was trying to save 9% on the price of a used boat. The first thing would be to establish where he is going to be shopping. If Florida, just bear that 9% in mind when dickering on the price. If a Taiwanese built trawler is still cheaper than a domestically built one, it will still win.

rwidman said:

Talking to the Bayliner dealer that shares my marina, many of the Bayliners and Sea Rays are now made in Mexico.

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Could be true. Everything is moving to Mexico for the cheap labor prices.

Sorry, I was thinking of the older units, when Bayliner made larger boats.

In 2002 Bayliner/Brunswick discontinued the motoryacht lines, and re-branded the exact same boats as Meridian, in an effort to seaprate the motoryachts from the runabout lines.

Excellent responses! Thank you. There are so many I would not have even thought about without this input.
I know "Wellington" was associated with Californians for a while. Does the Wellington name by itself imply U.S. built?
Cworthy
"Boatless in NS"

Cworthy your original post mentioned "MONK" as built in Nova Scotia. Actually a MONK could be built by many different builders in different countries as they are boats designed by Ed Monk rather than built by him.
Herte is a picture of a 40' "Monk" that was built in Taiwan that I sold around five years ago.

You are right about the import duty on boats that were not built in the USA or Canada. However if you find a boat built in Taiwan or elsewhere that has already been imported into Canada there is no addtional import duty.

I should clarify some of the questions that have been posted.

I'm looking for a used trawler in the under $90K range probably between 35 & 42 feet. I realize this probably puts it in the 1980's market (or thereabouts.) The vessel should exhibit signs of great love and care by the PO. As the boat is destined for the North Atlantic in the role of a coastal cruiser, the lower helm is far more important than the upper (which would see occasional use). Fog and hurricanes are frequent visitors to our fair province so it needs to be sturdy and well equipped for navigation. (Not that I intend to brave some of these more challenging freaks of nature. There are times however, when we have no choice.)
I am a frequent flier with Yachtworld plus a dozen other broker's sites.
Thanks to all for your input.
Cworthy
"Boatless in NS"

yachtbrokerguy said:

Cworthy your original post mentioned "MONK" as built in Nova Scotia. Actually a MONK could be built by many different builders in different countries as they are boats designed by Ed Monk rather than built by him.
Herte is a picture of a 40' "Monk" that was built in Taiwan that I sold around five years ago.

You are right about the import duty on boats that were not built in the USA or Canada. However if you find a boat built in Taiwan or elsewhere that has already been imported into Canada there is no addtional import duty.

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This is why this web site is so great! And here I thought that the Monk's built in my back yard were particular to Nova Scotia! Thanks for the heads up.

Cworthy
"Boatless in NS"

I believe you're thinking of Wellcraft. Not sure about the whole line, but the Wellcraft Californians were built in the US on the east coast - Florida, I believe. Carver also built the Californians in the eastern US for a short while, including NC.

Buried in these articles are mentions of the history of the lineage.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/...ticles-specs-factory-options-list-4314-2.html

cworthy said:

I'm looking for a used trawler in the under $90K range probably between 35 & 42 feet.

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In addition to the "trawler" types (a term I hate but will use here since you are), don't overlook the boat made famous in your part of the world, the lobsterboat. While a working lobsterboat is not much on accommodations, there are some very nice cruising lobsterboats around. The photo below is the boat belonging to our best boating buddies, Carey and his wife of this forum. The hull is a 36' commercial lobsterboat hull but the accommodations for cruising are terrific.

While these boats are typically pretty high-powered--- Carey's boat has a 420 hp (I think) Cat in it--- they can be cruised quite economically with the extra speed available if necessary. Carey's boat is designed and powered to do about 14-15 knots all day. However for the last few years he's been running it at about 8-9 knots most of the time to conserve fuel. And it does just fine at that speed except in rough water when it is beneficial to speed up some.

I have no idea what role aesthetics play in what's important to you in a boat, nor do I know what you think looks good. But speaking strictly for myself I think most of today's "condos" as FF likes to refer to the typical, slab-sided "trawler" are supremely ugly. Good user space inside but the boats aesthetically have no appeal to me whatsoever.

But the lobsterboat is a gorgeous design as well as being very practical and seaworthy. And if a cruiser version of one is designed right, as I believe Carey's is, a recreational lobsterboat can be as pretty as the working ones.

So don't overlook what's in your own backyard. And is built there, too.

This came from another forum. I think just some of the little guys are made in MX.

"The most efficient plant, funny enough, is the Reynosa Mexico plant, where many hulls are shared, such as the Bayliner 175, Maxum 1800MX, and Sea Ray 175BR."

I have no idea what role aesthetics play in what's important to you in a boat, nor do I know what you think looks good. But speaking strictly for myself I think most of today's "condos" as FF likes to refer to the typical, slab-sided "trawler" are supremely ugly. Good user space inside but the boats aesthetically have no appeal to me whatsoever.

But the lobsterboat is a gorgeous design as well as being very practical and seaworthy. And if a cruiser version of one is designed right, as I believe Carey's is, a recreational lobsterboat can be as pretty as the working ones.

So don't overlook what's in your own backyard. And is built there, too.[/QUOTE]

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Thanks for the reminder about our local craft. They are very seaworthy vessels and do yeoman service for thousands of local fishermen in tough ocean conditions. The one in the photo looks like it's been nicely upgraded. Am I correct that the photo was taken at the mouth of the LeHavre River in Bridgewater, NS?
Personally, I guess the choice of boat comes down to aesthetics.... which are unique to each of us.
Thanks for your suggestions.
Cworthy
"Boatless in NS"

No, I took the photo from our boat as we were passing the Turn Point Lighthouse on Stuart Island in the San Juan Islands in Washington State. The light marks the east side of one of the main turns in shipping channel from the Pacific through the Juan de Fuca Strait through the islands to the Strait of Georgia and on up to Vancouver, BC. Very busy shipping lane to say the least.

IIRC, Carey's hull and superstructure were made in Maine and then shipped out here for completion. Or his hull was made in Maine and shipped out here for the completion of the rest of the boat. Hopefully he'll chime in here and set us straight. He's told me who made the boat but I can't remember.

There are a couple of other lobster boats from the same manufacturer out here. One of them for sure does not have the flying bridge, and it looks very nice, too. The main cabin of Carey's boat is huge for a 36' boat--- thir boat is the "mother ship" when we cruise together as they can seat eight around their main cabin table. A big forward stateroom with a head, shower compartment, and large closet aft of that.

It's a great boat and one of my favorites in our 2000+ boat marina.