converting to trawler

[georgelr]

I am reaching an age where converting to motor from sail is becoming a reality

I very much like the look of trawlers but no little about them

I suspect I am looking for a 80' vessel no more than 10 years old with accommodation for two crew and a fuel consumption that does not require a bank loan

No advice would be too simple

Best

George L-R

 

[O C Diver]

Go look at some boats first. Without the constraints of sails and sailboat hull design, you may find a smaller length vessel has substantially more space than you are expecting. With much more useable interior space above deck, there are more configurations to choose from. Personally my preference runs to pilothouse with galley and saloon above deck.

Ted

 

[Mako]

How much space we each need is so individual. I once lost the sale of my 65ft motorboat because the buyer decided he would not close since his giant rear-projection tv would not fit. THAT was his requirement.

 

[Pete Meisinger]

Sounds like you have pretty deep pockets, congratulations on a life well lived ! Remember though, fuel is one of the very smallest expenses you will encounter owning an 80' vessel.
Personally, the best advice I can give you is to think smaller. An 80 foot trawler will have the space of a 125 foot sailboat, literally nobody needs that much space.

Since you are way out of my league I can only guess at the expense of owning/operating an 80 foot boat, especially with a crew of two. Probably upwards of $10,000 a month. Just for comparison, my 36 foot Albin costs me monthly about $500 fixed cost up to around $1,000 if something goes wrong or I get "itchy" for a new toy. (That includes fuel, and I use my boat a lot)

Welcome Aboard, keep us posted, remember, we like pictures !!

pete

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard.

 

[dhrowe]

I suspect I am looking for a 80' vessel no more than 10 years old with accommodation for two crew and a fuel consumption that does not require a bank loan

George L-R

Do you have plans for what you are going to do with it?

North Sea maybe to Iceland. Canals in Europe? Around the world? Party barge on the weekend in Portsmouth? With one other? Crew?

Your style? Fast every once in a while? Always slow. Want to be approx 80% of hull speed at cruise.

Charter one that looks interesting to see if like it?

 

[georgelr]

george lr

Many thanks for input

 

[dhays]

Welcome George!


Any information on how you anticipate using the boat and in what waters would be helpful. When you say room for two crew, are you thinking friends/family or paid crew?

 

[georgelr]

Blue water usage and two paid crew

many thanks
G

 

[dhays]

Blue water usage and two paid crew

many thanks
G

Great. That will give TF a bit more to go on as far as ideas.



I have no ideas to offer as all my experience is in inland coastal waters with smaller boats. We have a number of folks here with both blue water experience and experience with larger vessels.

 

[CaptainSEA]

Blue water usage and two paid crew

many thanks
G

Hi,
You may have a look at the Selene 66 (72 ft LOA), I took delivery of my Selene 78 ft (72 extended for fishing deck) end of April and it is a fantastic boat, plenty of space for guests and crew, very strong build and very good value for your $$$

 

[sbu22]

I went from a 43' sailboat to 43' aft cabin power. I thought I appreciated the increase in internal volume when I did it. It was only later and with some use of the power boat that I fully understood the increase in living and storage space. For my usage, if I had it to do again, I might have chosen a 34-36 footer.

 

[Crusty Chief]

Best of luck in your search George and plenty of boats out there to ponder over.
Moorage, on the other hand can be hard to find on a boat that size.
Welcome aboard and Cheers!

 

[Mischief Managed]

I would look for an FPB78. They are probably the finest blue water power boats and were designed by folks that used to sail. The are also ridiculously easy on fuel.

 

[FF]

England is a great place to look for a boat as many British , German and Dutch boats are constructed as sea boats , if you want to go offshore.


In the USA larger boats do have better scantlings , but their extra depth can be a hassle in coastal cruising , where the sites are.

 

[Sleepwalker]

There is a FPB for sale in Seattle, WA. they are asking 2.25 million.

 

[MOJO]

Shameless self-promotion, but MOJO would easily accommodate a crew of two and is certainly blue-water capable, built to go around the world. "Only" 50' though. See http://www.mvmojo.com

 

[sbu22]

Sweet, Mojo. If I was in the market .......

 

[Group9]

I went from a 43' sailboat to 43' aft cabin power. I thought I appreciated the increase in internal volume when I did it. It was only later and with some use of the power boat that I fully understood the increase in living and storage space. For my usage, if I had it to do again, I might have chosen a 34-36 footer.

Same lesson learned here. We went from a 42 foot sailboat to a 42 foot power cruiser. We now realize a 34 foot power boat would have given us about the same room as the sailboat had.

 

[nemier]

Look for Nordhavn, or Berings.

Let us know how you get on.




.

 

[jsbraga]

Selene 53 For Sale

Not 80’, but certainly blue water capable with bulbous bow. This one is freshly painted with updated interior, new cushions, covers, everything is beautiful. It may be worth a look. The range is easily 1,500 NM.

 

[RoseLoper48]

Lady Krogen 55 or 58 will give you seakinflyness, comfort and efficiency.

 

[kc_excursion]

This is a fun topic, we spent 2 years going through this process to find our boat. You have identified 2 requirements as a starting point; now you need to identify the others that are important to you!



Items for thought: ocean crossings (range), steel versus fiberglass, tankage (fresh water, fuel, black water), food storage cold and dry. Single engine versus dual, generator(s) size. Adequate storage for spares in all categories when passage making.



Not many production boats in the 80ft range that come to mind. Now from 55-75' more options become available. It may be you seek a custom or semi-custom boat that was built in a reputable yard.



One challenge is the 10 year mark in the trawler marketplace. There just isn't that many trawlers being built overall. I can't speak to the European marketplace or brands as we limited our search to North America, mainly the US.


Of course one item is budget and ongoing operational costs which may affect the above choices.

 

[MOJO]

I went from a 43' sailboat to 43' aft cabin power. I thought I appreciated the increase in internal volume when I did it. It was only later and with some use of the power boat that I fully understood the increase in living and storage space. For my usage, if I had it to do again, I might have chosen a 34-36 footer.

We transitioned from a 42' ketch to MOJO, a 50' trawler. I realized that the interior volume is so much greater that if you took the masts off the ketch and removed the internal bulk heads in the trawler you could probably put the hull of the 42' ketch inside the hull of the 50' trawler and still have room to spare! We were amazed at how much more room we had on-board MOJO just by gaining another 2' of beam and 8' of length, and we gained a large deck-house to boot!

http://www.mvmojo.com

 

[rsn48]

Where do you intend to go with your 80 yacht?