A new type of "Coastal Cruiser"?

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Mac2 said:
Love your boat! The krogen 54 is a favorite of mine. Came very close to buying one. Did you used to have it on the ship canal by Fred Meyer in Ballard?
I will attempt pictures soon.
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Thanks, me too and I still can't believe she's ours. Our 54 was named Oasis and moored in Bremetron for a long time, before that it was in Florida and NC. Owner lived in CO, brought it around on it's bottom and then used it for two weeks a year to go to the SJIs. Needless to say it was PNW green and in rough cosmetic shape.

It's in slightly less rough shape now :)

The one you referenced was likely SeaBear (another member here) who was in Hatton's for an engine replacement. SeaBear is likely one of the two or three top examples of 54s due to an all in owner who's updated just about everything.

Our home slip is Shilshole but we haven't been there since October. We'll likely be back mid May. Mark me down if you ever give a TF tour. I'd love to see your trawler.
 
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Mako said:
Sounds like a good goal. However I’d drop the wind generator idea. Save the money for some more solar, perhaps on some swing out mounts if you don’t have the deck space.
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Thanks for the advice. I will use the solar panels and see how productive they are before purchasing the wind generators. I was thinking the wind generators would work much better way high up on the flybridge roof and might be useful for the winter months.
 
Very cool boat. We did the NW Exploration tour Juneau to Ketchikan and the captain of the flotilla got nervous when I took the 46 GB Classic through the ice up closer to the glacier. Reason being turns out someone had just taken the Out Islander too close and knocked a hole thank goodness above the waterline as noted here. When the tour boats came in off the cruise ships they were all metal. The yellow mark near the waterline is a very rough application of some sort of emergency patch.
 

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These must be the skegs you are speaking of?
 

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Mako said:
Sounds like a good goal. However I’d drop the wind generator idea. .
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Absolutely, not only are they mostly noisy and annoying, had a mate of ours had his wind gen crap out and self destruct during 50+ knots a few weeks back

One blade went through the fiberglass cabin top and fractured his wrist.
Could have ended worse.

Save the money for some more solar, perhaps on some swing out mounts if you don’t have the deck space
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Or flybridge roof framework is a good spot
Always thought if we had one we'd extend it aft for maximum top deck shading, maximum solar.
 

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Simi 60 said:
Absolutely, not only are they mostly noisy and annoying, had a mate of ours had his wind gen crap out and self destruct during 50+ knots a few weeks back

One blade went through the fiberglass cabin top and fractured his wrist.
Could have ended worse.



Or flybridge roof framework is a good spot
Always thought if we had one we'd extend it aft for maximum top deck shading, maximum solar.
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holy Toledo that would kill ya

 
Adopo said:
This is my favorite metal boat for sale right now, add deck gun and you'd be set. Crawled all over her in Ft Lauderdale last year. Besides somethings I did not desire, like the 15,000 hour genset, she is set to go. I was told those gens could run 20,000 hours plus easy. Loved it, wife not so much and you know the saying about happy life....

https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2006-custom-wj-development-7384164/

Custom Builds - Windward Marina Group


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Beautiful boat! Aluminum hull too. Very unique.
 
I would have to agree with everything you stated!! We also have a "bluewater" passage-maker with our 2006 Diesel Duck motorsailer. We can carry 2500 gal of diesel, put up the sails for a bit of wind assistance, our burn rate is only about 1.5gal and we have a range of nearly 7k nm. Being steel and having the ballast of the fuel, water and black holding tanks also is a benefit when in heavier seas for sure and the use of our stabilizers also is helpful. We see many people who ask questions on fuel consumptions and are very thankful we have a 'sipper' rather than a 'guzzler' in terms of diesel use. We will be transiting from Honolulu, Oahu to Meyers Chuck Alaska in June and anticipate to use roughly 700 gal and cross in about 19-23 days.
 
Sophiahjohnson said:
I would have to agree with everything you stated!! We also have a "bluewater" passage-maker with our 2006 Diesel Duck motorsailer. We can carry 2500 gal of diesel, put up the sails for a bit of wind assistance, our burn rate is only about 1.5gal and we have a range of nearly 7k nm. Being steel and having the ballast of the fuel, water and black holding tanks also is a benefit when in heavier seas for sure and the use of our stabilizers also is helpful. We see many people who ask questions on fuel consumptions and are very thankful we have a 'sipper' rather than a 'guzzler' in terms of diesel use. We will be transiting from Honolulu, Oahu to Meyers Chuck Alaska in June and anticipate to use roughly 700 gal and cross in about 19-23 days.
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Great Troller you have! Love the diesel ducks. I’m jealous of your fuel burn. I’m toying with the idea of putting ShaftLoc’s on my boat. My thinking is that I would run at the proper temps at lower rpms,(make one engine work harder), save fuel, and rest an engine (Cat 3208s) if I decide to do what your doing (read jealous) and cross an ocean.

I just need to experiment first to make sure my boat doesn’t pull to one side with a shaft locked. I don’t want to overwork my steering components.
 
Mac2 said:
As I was responding to the recent post on the high cost of diesel, it occurred to me that my "Blue Water" boat had a lot of benefits a prospective new boat owner might want to consider. Even though I have never crossed an ocean with my boat, there are a lot of benefits I have learned to appreciate after moving up from a 36 Krogen Manatee.
1) Weight: At 90 tons I don't get rocked at the docks by passing boats on the ship canal. I'm dead still.
2) Anchorages: More anchorages are available to me due to the ability to drop anchor in more exposed areas and also being able to carry 500 feet of 1/2 inch chain. This is the biggest benefit to me. No worrying about finding a spot in the anchorage.
3) Massive fuel tanks: Being able to carry 3,500 gallons of fuel makes it possible to hold out for cheaper fuel prices. I burn about 8 gallons an hour cruising, so this fuel would last years coastal cruising in the PNW (fuel polisher is a must)
4) Safety: The fuel tanks, water tanks, and holding tanks, creates a double hull that Protects approximately 80% of my bottom/sides.

I owned the Krogen for 15 years and never suspected the benefits of the above. I prefer to anchor out, and would not recommend if you move from marina to marina. Heavy steel boats don't bounce off things.
There are other benefits, but I didn't want to make this to long.
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I feel the same way. I love the weight of Caroline and her draft of 8'8".
Also a cruising fuel burn of under 2 GPH for the main engine or 2.5 GPH for engine and gen set. easy range of 3,000 mi.
 
MV Caroline said:
I feel the same way. I love the weight of Caroline and her draft of 8'8".
Also a cruising fuel burn of under 2 GPH for the main engine or 2.5 GPH for engine and gen set. easy range of 3,000 mi.
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Very cool boat. What is the make? Original design? Looks like a motor sailor maybe. Ballasted keel? I like the mast. Perfect setup for a steadying sail at anchor. Fuel numbers are especially impressive for this size/draft of boat!
 
Mac2 said:
Very cool boat. What is the make? Original design? Looks like a motor sailor maybe. Ballasted keel? I like the mast. Perfect setup for a steadying sail at anchor. Fuel numbers are especially impressive for this size/draft of boat!
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Yeah, I was looking for a long-range slow turner low consumption boat when I came upon her. I sailed a few Skookums in the eighties, delivered one to Florida and another to Hawaii, but knew only one was ever built as a motor-trawler. Several of this 53' hull were built as commercial motor trollers and most of the 53s were built as sailing commercial trollers and used for longterm ocean trolling in the albacore fisheries.

anyway she has a Cat 3304, tons of torque and no horsepower (94). Lol.
she burns 1.8-1.9 gph at 1500 rpm pushing her at 7kts thru the water.
 
ghostrider454 said:
Let's give credit to the right designer - Nils Lucander designed and created the tri keel for both power and sail. It's not the same as the bilge keels we see in the north Atlantic and Med. I wouldn't set down a tri keel on anything but concrete.

DDG/.SP - Nils Lucander

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/nils-lucander-designs.3012/
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Ridiculous! According to your thinking you could say the credit goes to the designer of the propeller. No one was commenting on the designer of the triple keel. Someone asked who designed my boat. It wasn’t Nils Lucander.
 
Mac2,

Great thread you started. We admired your boat a few years ago (STEELY) when she was displayed at a show, I think in Anacortes. I think I saw you out last fall while on the Seattle-Kingston ferry…I am still admiring her.

I am interested in steel boats. What kind of fuel burn do you see at 6 and 7 knots, respectively, please? Can you please share your experience with exterior coatings (type, cost, difficulty, etc.)? Are there specific concerns with insurance? Any other comparisons to the fiberglass/gelcoat boats would be appreciated.

Thank you!
 
View attachment Cold Hard Steel | PassageMaker.pdf
IRENE said:
Mac2,

Great thread you started. We admired your boat a few years ago (STEELY) when she was displayed at a show, I think in Anacortes. I think I saw you out last fall while on the Seattle-Kingston ferry…I am still admiring her.

I am interested in steel boats. What kind of fuel burn do you see at 6 and 7 knots, respectively, please? Can you please share your experience with exterior coatings (type, cost, difficulty, etc.)? Are there specific concerns with insurance? Any other comparisons to the fiberglass/gelcoat boats would be appreciated.

Tha free nk you!
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View attachment Cold Hard Steel | PassageMaker.pdf
Thanks for the kind words. This is one of the best articles I’ve read on steel boats. The takeaway is how important the build is. The Flowers family built my boat in 1998 at it is impressive on how well it has held up. For steel boats in a cold environment, the insulation is probably the most important factor. My bilges are obviously not insulated(about 2 feet to each side of the keel) and you can see the condensation/sweat buildup. I’m sure this is why older steel boats were known to rust from the inside out. You can see/address rust on the outside, but you’ll never see it behind walls and structures on the inside.
I owned a Krogen Manatee for 15 years prior to this boat. The maintenance is way less on my steel boat. If the Manatee didn’t have teak, I’m thinking the maintenance would be pretty similar. I do all the repairs/maintenance myself (mostly). Plastic is great. You can repair everything yourself. Steel is very similar for minor repairs. The big difference is coring problems. Steel you can cut and weld sections, fiberglass coring is a much bigger job.
My hull is Awlgrip. A real pain to repair. Awlcraft or similar is preferred-something you can buff.
I have twin 3208 NA cats. 210 hp each. I don’t have a fuel flow sensor, but my research shows I’m burning about 8 gal//hr at 8-9 knots. At 7-8 knots I should be around 6 gallons an hour, but I would not be operating at desired temperatures.
I’ve talked about getting shaftloc’s to run on one engine at a time for long passages. I still need to experiment with locking a shaft to see how my steerage is affected. I don’t want to overwork my auto pilot. I’m hoping my 90 tons won’t be prone to wondering.
Feel free to pm me with any additional questions or stop by for a visit if your in the neighborhood.
 
I recommend reading: Cold Hard Steel | PassageMaker.pdf - linked in post # 52, just above this.
 
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Mac2,

Thank you for your thoughtful response.
 
IRENE said:
Mac2,

Great thread you started. We admired your boat a few years ago (STEELY) when she was displayed at a show, I think in Anacortes. I think I saw you out last fall while on the Seattle-Kingston ferry…I am still admiring her.

I am interested in steel boats. What kind of fuel burn do you see at 6 and 7 knots, respectively, please? Can you please share your experience with exterior coatings (type, cost, difficulty, etc.)? Are there specific concerns with insurance? Any other comparisons to the fiberglass/gelcoat boats would be appreciated.

Thank you!
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Forgot to mention your insurance question. I have had the same insurance issues as everyone else this year. Your issues with steel boats is financing. Anything over 20 years could be hard to finance. Underwriters haven’t caught up with the new coating systems and assume a steel boat is rusting away. Remember, they used to build steel boats with a formula on how long it would take for the metal to rust away and build it to that thickness.
 
Mac2 said:
Forgot to mention your insurance question. I have had the same insurance issues as everyone else this year. Your issues with steel boats is financing. Anything over 20 years could be hard to finance. Underwriters haven’t caught up with the new coating systems and assume a steel boat is rusting away. Remember, they used to build steel boats with a formula on how long it would take for the metal to rust away and build it to that thickness.
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If your vessel was built in a hot, humid climate like China - it's rusted before sandblasting is attempted. They just paint it.
 
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ghostrider454 said:
Yeah - how many steel boat builders are there in FL?
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Really? In two seconds of searching I found 2 - St. John's Ship Building and Duckworth,
both large, well known concerns. So maybe in a full minute I'd have found 60? :rolleyes:
 
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