What the heck is this

[Belleisleboy]

Hello, we are new to trawlers, know almost nothing. We are starting our journey to purchase a trawler to complete the great loop.

Any idea what builder this boat is. All we know is that it’s a 1980 43ft. Single screw.

 

[Delta Riverat]

It's a Florida Homemade Boat

 

[Nomad Willy]

Big beamy boat w very minimal deck space. Obviously the designer was very interested in interior accommodations. Other than that I see a typical Taiwan Trawler.

But all the curves and depressions the was required for the cabin moulds reeks of professional building. But if she IS homebuilt .. I’m really impressed.

DR,
When a rebuild project gets to a certain level is it documented as a homebuilt boat?

 

[Delta Riverat]

I don't know. I just googled up "FLZ boat" and the Coast Guard site was on the list and they ought to know.

As to when the State issues a number...not a clue.

I agree with the quality though, seems like you would either have to be a boat yard or work at one.

 

[ClChnge]

Sabreline?

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. I would be surprised if it was a homebuilt boat. Probably didn’t have a HIN from the builder or the documentation on the HIN was lost so they got Florida to issue one.

 

[psneeld]

If unable to obtain a title or manufacturers Certificate of Origin, AND/OR there are significant changes to the original build....a "homebuilt" designation can be had.

It is very common in smaller boats without titles that have changed hands so often a history of the vessel is unknown to the current owner.

For a boat like this.... it must have been a struggle to get it designated as a homebuilt without some good misrepresentation or even more impressive is it is truly homebuilt.

 

[psneeld]

This is a 1991 Ocean Commander top picture.

Boat in question. Bottom.

But many other comparisons are close too......

 

[tpfbdf]

Did a google image search and came up with something called a North Sea Trawler 37

https://seattle.boatshed.com/north_sea__trawler_37-boat-225447.html

 

[Comodave]

Did a google image search and came up with something called a North Sea Trawler 37

https://seattle.boatshed.com/north_sea__trawler_37-boat-225447.html

The OP said his was a 43’.

 

[tpfbdf]

Length is rather abstract when it comes to ads, and insurance, and marinas... LOL!

 

[Comodave]

But not usually 6’.

 

[Nomad Willy]

Lots of trawlers look very similar. Especially those of the Taiwan Trawler look. On post #8 they look close … but if you look at the fwd end of the chine .. it high on the stem, much chine up and out of the water. With a way different basic element of the boat (hull) .. not this one.

And it’s not a CHB. … I was looking at tpfbdf’s link. Looks like the bridge windows are not fwd like a CHB. But the photographer probably was further ahead and closer to the boat. Better have another look.

Look at the 4 dark spots under the rub rail. Don’t know what they are but think wouldn’t be common on other hulls unless it was the same brand. Looks like a CHB for that reason but I don’t know what those dark spots are. A small thru-hull could be it but 4 in a row like that … don’t think I’ve seen. But I could’a missed a lot of little through hulls painted same as hull. Could be at the same level as the walk-around decks. Small scuppers? Not likely IMO.

The last full window on the cabin side going fwd is very typical of the CHB though. Looks like a CHB to me still.
I say that and then see the same window on the Sabreline post #5.

Look at the pic fm aft looking fwd post 1 mystery boat. The space in the picture indicates there is only a few inches of space behind the back of the cabin and the back of the boat .. inboard. Dosn’t look as though there’s space to walk behind the cabin. Is that unique? If so there-in lies the feature that will identify the boat.

 

[Giggitoni]

Look for an original USCG documentation number in the engine room (if ever documented). One could look up the specs for that doc number.

 

[tpfbdf]

But not usually 6’.

I agree... 6' is a bit of a stretch... I was focusing on the windows (number of, shape, etc), that port door, and what appeared to be thruhull locations.

 

[jgwinks]

Glen-L boat design has a 42' model called the Corinthian for amateur build that looks pretty close. Aft cabin trunk is a little different but being home built the details vary. If it's one of those it looks like they did a really good job, at least on the outside. The FLZ hull number could indicate a home built from Florida, or several other reasons a factory number wasn't issued. There were no hull id numbers prior to 1972, and if one was required later on by financing or insurance or something, you would end up with a "Z" number.

 

[EngNate]

Both hull and cabin look like a Marine Trader to me.

 

[Zeus]

That's a Marine Trader I'm pretty sure. Lien Hwa is likely somewhere posted in the vessel.

 

[JosieWhales]

I think it's an Albin Double Cabin.

 

[Steamguy]

Something about the hull and flybridge shapes tells me that's a DeFever design. If you scratch away a little white paint under the gunnel and find the color blue, that would seem to confirm it.

 

[Turtle Blues]

Hull definitely came from one of the Hwa boatyard. The Florida registration plate is a stateside addition curious to know if there is something else underneath, but it was possible to import unfinished. Somewhere someone started a listing of all the brand names imported from just the 2 biggest yards and it was well over 50.

 

[koliver]

Both hull and cabin look like a Marine Trader to me.

My C&L44 hull looks identical. The same chine forward, at the waterline, same guard, same teak break at approximately deck level. I agree too with the 37' length, as the foredeck is longer than a lot of 34s, but not as long as my 44 and the aft deck is far too short to accommodate the same size aft cabin as mine. I have 14. of kayak between the back windows of the main cabin and the transom. No way that one has close to that length.
Many Taiwan builders used the Marine Trader hulls. The deckhouse looks close to Albin, especially with that side door. The main cabin is also shorter than mine by about 4' just in the lengths of the windows.
37 makes sense.

 

[High Wire]

If it was an "old" 37 but the new title wanted LOA, it does have a bow pulpit and swim platform, it might make 43 make sense. 2.5 ft of pulpit and 3.5 ft of swim platform puts it at 43.

 

[koliver]

If it was an "old" 37 but the new title wanted LOA, it does have a bow pulpit and swim platform, it might make 43 make sense. 2.5 ft of pulpit and 3.5 ft of swim platform puts it at 43.

But those photos show both the bow plank (12") and the swim grid (20"), so don't add enough. The PO doesn't say where the 43 claimed came from. It is likely not from any actual measurement.

Some Taiwan boats in those years had a HIN specific to the dealer, so you can expect deviations from the "HIN Decoder" rules.
My own omits the first 3 digits, those that identify the builder, leaving only 44-1180678. "44" (length) "118" (production number) *0678" (date of hull layup). The importer was the original owner, so no "XYZ" preface.

 

[MVDarlin]

Looks like an OA without port lights.

 

[Shrew]

It looks very much like a Albin Double Cabin to me. However, many taiwanese boats were all built in the same boat yard under a variety of names.

 

[Mako]

Not sure about the boat model, but I don't like that anchor. Makes me suspicious of the owner's intentions