BrianG
Senior Member
Curious about this too. I have a 29' Trawler with a 24' mast. Never raised the sail yet. It seems quite tall for a steadying sail and not tall enough for propulsion.
Does a trawler have weather and motion issues like a sailboat?
- Thread starter river251
- 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.
Curious about this too. I have a 29' Trawler with a 24' mast. Never raised the sail yet. It seems quite tall for a steadying sail and not tall enough for propulsion.
Simi 60
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2016
- Messages
- 5,482
- Location
- Australia
- Vessel Make
- Milkraft 60 converted timber prawn trawler
Its what we do, even more if we need to and the cost of retrofitting stabilizers buys a hell of a lot of tacking miles.
OpenCPN for us keeps those tacking miles down as yo can "GOTO" a point and see VMG on screen and throw in a tack on occasion to keep the numbers up.
Hippocampus
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 3,910
- Location
- Plymouth
- Vessel Name
- Hippocampus
- Vessel Make
- Nordic Tug 42
People who are motion sensitive often find a change in direction a great relief. As a 35 y sailor have often changed angle of attack for that reason or to quiet things to make cooking/eating or a repair easier.
There’s a downside to having sails up. That’s microbursts and also being suddenly overpowered in a white squall. Always thought that was so exceedingly rare as to not be a concern. Have avoided being knocked down from either but have had the scary experience of being suddenly over powered and pinned . Have been knocked down but that was from a wave. Of course knockdowns when in very small craft is not uncommon and part of the fun except when frost biting.
Folks do voyage on small trawlers. Nordhavn has a registry. Not all owners contribute to their list. However, they’re now up to 7 million nautical miles. Looking at the list it seems most miles are from vessels 52’ and under. So yes in extreme weather I’d rather be on my Outbound. I know the boat. Have been in weather with her. Have confidence. But as I gain new skills and understanding think I’ll feel the same on our next boat which will be a FD trawler. It’s just this concern that has us aimed at a FD trawler rather than other craft. See the great advantages of semi displacement but from the little I understand even beyond the issue of range blue water trawlers are a different beast.
There’s a downside to having sails up. That’s microbursts and also being suddenly overpowered in a white squall. Always thought that was so exceedingly rare as to not be a concern. Have avoided being knocked down from either but have had the scary experience of being suddenly over powered and pinned . Have been knocked down but that was from a wave. Of course knockdowns when in very small craft is not uncommon and part of the fun except when frost biting.
Folks do voyage on small trawlers. Nordhavn has a registry. Not all owners contribute to their list. However, they’re now up to 7 million nautical miles. Looking at the list it seems most miles are from vessels 52’ and under. So yes in extreme weather I’d rather be on my Outbound. I know the boat. Have been in weather with her. Have confidence. But as I gain new skills and understanding think I’ll feel the same on our next boat which will be a FD trawler. It’s just this concern that has us aimed at a FD trawler rather than other craft. See the great advantages of semi displacement but from the little I understand even beyond the issue of range blue water trawlers are a different beast.
Last edited:
Thud
Member
Outdoor vs indoor
I am looking to switch from 40 years of sail boating to a trawler. I have over 20000 cruising miles in my sailing log. Why the change?
A. Comfort and B. Arthritis . To explain in detail:
A. I am not aware of any sailboats on which you can adjust the sails from inside a cabin or pilothouse: Most motor-sailors do not sail very well either. There a few made in Northern Europe that do. If you enclose the entire cockpit of a good sailing sailboat with canvas and heat it as well then you might get around the comfort issue. However you may find it hard to see the sails well enough in that case. Maybe if you used a hard top enclosure with lots of clear windows it might work... If you are in a cabin or pilothouse, you can heat or A/C as needed. If it rains you turn on the windshield wipers and stay dry.
B. You need to be able pull the sail control ropes (sheets) and then use a winch. Possibly you can install electric winches so you do not need to manually crank the winches. But those are expensive and added maintenance. Most sailboats on the market have manual winches... I enjoyed the physical aspect of sailing, but am no longer able to do so.
I am looking to switch from 40 years of sail boating to a trawler. I have over 20000 cruising miles in my sailing log. Why the change?
A. Comfort and B. Arthritis . To explain in detail:
A. I am not aware of any sailboats on which you can adjust the sails from inside a cabin or pilothouse: Most motor-sailors do not sail very well either. There a few made in Northern Europe that do. If you enclose the entire cockpit of a good sailing sailboat with canvas and heat it as well then you might get around the comfort issue. However you may find it hard to see the sails well enough in that case. Maybe if you used a hard top enclosure with lots of clear windows it might work... If you are in a cabin or pilothouse, you can heat or A/C as needed. If it rains you turn on the windshield wipers and stay dry.
B. You need to be able pull the sail control ropes (sheets) and then use a winch. Possibly you can install electric winches so you do not need to manually crank the winches. But those are expensive and added maintenance. Most sailboats on the market have manual winches... I enjoyed the physical aspect of sailing, but am no longer able to do so.
Last edited:
Hippocampus
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2020
- Messages
- 3,910
- Location
- Plymouth
- Vessel Name
- Hippocampus
- Vessel Make
- Nordic Tug 42
May want to look at current cats. You can adjust sails from inside. Google Razorcat for an example being developed by a friend. For decades you’ve been able to adjust sails from under a hard dodger. We could run the boat with the AP remote in hand or use the MFD for the autotack function. Then had access to all main sail controls. Only left the hard dodger to touch the button on the powered primaries. Our little mom and pop 46’ Outbound had that set up. On Amels and HRs it’s even easier. Have crewed on bigger stuff with reversing and captive winches. On them there’s no reason at all to go outside
mvweebles
Guru
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2019
- Messages
- 7,233
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Weebles
- Vessel Make
- 1970 Willard 36 Trawler
Agree with Hippo - the Amels are nicely setup with a very well protected cockpit. Visibility is also good. Amels are very well respected boats due to their cruising attributes and performance. Hold their value very well. I do not know HRs well except by reputation, which is excellent as Hippo states
Motorsailors excel at, well, motor sailing. There are compromises to a sailboat and to a trawler. A modest sail plan with engine ticking over at low RPMs. The sails provide decent stabilization and a modicum of auxiliary propulsion, though may not give you much option in emergency destination if pressed into service.
Seems many/most cruising sailors use a 28v Milwaukee cordless right angle drill and a winch adapter bit to power winches. Not cheap as far as cordless drills go, but a helluva lot cheaper than even a single electric winch. And can be used on all winches.
Peter.
Motorsailors excel at, well, motor sailing. There are compromises to a sailboat and to a trawler. A modest sail plan with engine ticking over at low RPMs. The sails provide decent stabilization and a modicum of auxiliary propulsion, though may not give you much option in emergency destination if pressed into service.
Seems many/most cruising sailors use a 28v Milwaukee cordless right angle drill and a winch adapter bit to power winches. Not cheap as far as cordless drills go, but a helluva lot cheaper than even a single electric winch. And can be used on all winches.
Peter.
