Trawler Ideas

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trailshredder

Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2021
Messages
6
Vessel Name
The Emerald Lady
Vessel Make
Regal 360 Commodore
Looking for some used trawler ideas. Thinking late 90 models for budget constraints. Most important features to me are fuel economy, easy maintenance (I do 90% of my own maint.), fly bridge and layout of the saloon/pilot house. Most important to my First Mate (Wife) is fly bridge for Vitamin D intake and Berth size/layout. We love the layout and features of the Camano 31 except for the Berth size seems smallish. The Camano 41 is the absolute favorite but a bit too big, too pricey and very hard to find! Anything in between?
 
If you do your own maintenance avoid twins. It is hard to service the outside part of the engines in a hull of less than 40' with twins. The one midsize trawler that will work with twins is the Mainship 34T because it has the beam of a 40'er. But this model is later than your target range.

Rather than age, what is your budget? I would rather own a Grand Banks built in the late 80s than a Marine Trader built in the late 90s.

The Camano 31 is smallish and engine access isn't great but ok. It is a Volvo though ;-).

David
 
Thinking 150Kish for budget. Of course, the less the better.
 
If you do your own maintenance avoid twins. It is hard to service the outside part of the engines in a hull of less than 40' with twins. The one midsize trawler that will work with twins is the Mainship 34T because it has the beam of a 40'er. But this model is later than your target range.


It depends on both beam and whether there's anything mounted outboard of the engines. But I agree, if looking at a boat with twins, take a careful look at what space is available around the engines for service. A 13+ foot beam with nothing outboard of the engines will probably be not bad, but a narrow beam or a boat with tanks outboard of the engines can be a nightmare to work on.
 
Agreed on the twins, I have twin inboards now in my regal and very difficult to work on.
 
Your question is reasonable for you to ask, but not easily answered without a very long response and someone having to do the work that you should likely be doing yourself. I respectfully suggest that you spend days on end looking through yachtworld, boat trader, craigslist, Ebay, and every marina you can possibly think of and then come back with questions about boats that you found interesting. It can be fun and quite informative to look over the pictures and specifications for the boats that catch your eye. Based on your description the possible suggestions could be many. My refinement of what I think I would like has changed quite a bit with the time and effort I have spent in looking at boats online and in person. I looked at a boat this week that I was VERY interested in. Once I got into the engine room my dreams blew up like a ballon full of smoke. Very often you will not know what a boat "is" until you are on it.

Ease of maintenance does sound like a single with a bow thruster (or stern , but at least one).

Flybridge and comfortable bed is nearly 65% or more of the trawlers in the world.

Does speed matter at all? Galley up or down? Will you have guests often? If it is just the two of you make sure she can get around the boat easily and safely for docking and while at sea. Do you have a "must come with" pet? How often do you swim or use a tender (water access)? Are you physically large or impaired in any important way? How important is resale (do you expect to move up or move on sooner)?

By the time I better understood what I really wanted, and more importantly needed, the number of boats available to me was far, far more limited.
 
Mainship 350 would put you in the late 1990's. A Mainship 390 would put you in early 2000's. Both will be in the same class as the 34T (Later 2000's) mentioned earlier. All the boats are 39' and change with a 14 foot beam. They come in singles and twins, have an island berth in the master and are flybridge's. Plus they would be well in your price range.
 
Thanks for the replies all, checking out the Mainship, as many have suggested.

Mopar, We have been doing just that, spending hours on end looking online. Unfortunately, where we live (Lake Erie) there aren't very many trawlers to physically put our eyes on.

Does speed matter at all? No
Galley up or down? No preference
Will you have guests often? 2-4 on occasion
If it is just the two of you make sure she can get around the boat easily and safely for docking and while at sea. She does very well currently with our cruiser
Do you have a "must come with" pet? No
How often do you swim or use a tender (water access)? Currently, very often
Are you physically large or impaired in any important way? No
How important is resale (do you expect to move up or move on sooner)? Not important, if we pick the right boat, we plan it to keep her for many years.
 
If you search Yachtworld for trawlers in the Great Lakes for 32-52 feet and $200,000 and under you will find several very good candidates. Some of which I have made offers on myself. One in particular just yesterday that I have wanted to purchase for two years. The Mainships mentioned here are VERY popular, particularly with the loop crowd. I feel their prices are inflated because of this popularity. Prices in general are sky high at the moment as there is tremendous demand and not enough inventory to fill it. Brokers are writing offers without people even seeing the boats. This is a terrible time to be buying a boat in the Great Lakes. I would be happy to offer an opinion on something you see that interests you, but I will not give suggestions because you and I are currently competitors for the same boats. I will answer any question with absolute honesty though. Good luck. God knows, I need it too.
 
I am always surprised by boat shoppers who make a list of "wants and must haves" but they rarely hit upon two of what I think are very important. At least for us.

A walk around bed in the main cabin. It is the only thing that disappoints me about my Albin. Having to crawl over the other person is a challenge.

For us a Galley up design is imperative. Others may demand a galley down. Either way I think that many people have fairly strong feelings one way or the other. Best to decide what works for you before you buy.

One final point. There is a HUGE difference between two guests and four guests! We often host another couple , even upon occasion for a week or more at a time. But any more than that,even for just for an overnight is just not in the cards. Even having a couple kids in addition to the parents is really stretching it for us. Making up the dinette berth every day is a big deal. Not to mention all the "stuff" a couple kids need along.

pete
 
There are plenty of double cabin trawlers in the 36-42 ft range that tick most of your boxes. Grand Banks, Monk, Albin, Marine Trader, and on and on. >>>YachtWorld Advanced Search for Trawler. Just don't limit your choices to specific brands until you narrow down what are must-haves.
When we were searching, there were a few no-go items like ladders to the FB and "sundecks" that eliminated lots of boats for us. We found out via chartering that we did not want those features.
 
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Look into Tollycraft 34', 38', 40', 43', 44'... Very well built and affordable. However, they have twins - which I greatly appreciate.
 
Hi all, Appreciate all the good comments, good to hear from owners likes and dislikes.

So far in our hours of research, we are liking the Mainship 390 trawler the most, for its layout, single engine and space. I still love the simplicity and features of the Camano 31, just wish it was a fuzz roomier. Love what I read about the Grand Banks but they are too pricey for a late model one and the old ones aren’t modern enough for our liking. We seem to like the sleekness and curved line style more than the pre-90’s hard line boxy designs. We also love some of the Carvers and the Cruiser Yachts, although they aren’t really true trawlers and most have twin engines. I am kind of thinking that two small twins wouldn’t be too bad on fuel if I had to go that route, as long as I had enough beam for maintenance. Definitely prefer the walk around bed in the main cabin. Planning a trip to Myrtle Beach soon, might have to do some looking around when we are there too. Agree that we really need to climb around on one to get a feel for it to rule out some things that we might think are important or not.
 
In general, if the total power is well matched to the boat (rather than a boat that was meant to be a single and then had a second same-size engine stuck in there instead of 2 smaller ones), twins will only burn very slightly more fuel than a single. Prop protection and maintenance (both of which vary between hull designs anyway) are bigger reasons to choose single vs twin in my book.
 
"Most important features to me are fuel economy,"


Throttle position controls fuel burn , usually cheap if not in a hurry.
 
In general, if the total power is well matched to the boat (rather than a boat that was meant to be a single and then had a second same-size engine stuck in there instead of 2 smaller ones), twins will only burn very slightly more fuel than a single. Prop protection and maintenance (both of which vary between hull designs anyway) are bigger reasons to choose single vs twin in my book.

Agreed!

Single engine boat that also has good keel and full skeg to underneath the rudder affords great prop protection; as compared to twins with props hanging bare under each side of hull-bottom.

That said: Somewhere I did see a twin screw bottom having two sturdy looking keels that had skegs extending all the way back to both rudders.

That configuration would better protect twin props regarding grounding... but... I'm not too sure there would be much better protection for flotsam damage. Because - flotsam seldom will reach a single prop in center underneath boat, but, flotsam does too often reach prop areas of twins.

Still... I do love twins!
 
Looking for some used trawler ideas. Thinking late 90 models for budget constraints. Most important features to me are fuel economy, easy maintenance (I do 90% of my own maint.), fly bridge and layout of the saloon/pilot house. Most important to my First Mate (Wife) is fly bridge for Vitamin D intake and Berth size/layout. We love the layout and features of the Camano 31 except for the Berth size seems smallish. The Camano 41 is the absolute favorite but a bit too big, too pricey and very hard to find! Anything in between?


I have a 2009 Integrity 346 Euro Sedan for sale on this site. Take a look!
 
Camano Berth

I’m 6’2”, bride is 5’10”. Camano Berth is 108” wide at the bulkhead, obvious tighter at the bow. Berth is ample for us.
 
Most important features to me are fuel economy, easy maintenance (I do 90% of my own maint.), fly bridge and layout of the saloon/pilot house. Most important to my First Mate (Wife) is fly bridge for Vitamin D intake and Berth size/layout. We love the layout and features of the Camano 31 except for the Berth size seems smallish. The Camano 41 is the absolute favorite but a bit too big, too pricey and very hard to find! Anything in between?


Its good to be able to list your preferred features.

I'll only add that fuel economy -- for many -- turns out to be a non-issue.

First, because you only burn fuel while moving... whereas you'll ideally spend much more time just hanging out. (So other features can legitimately over-ride fuel economy.)

Second, because in the grand scheme of "things trawler" there's not really a huge difference between fuel burn for one or another... once you've taken into account the actual time you spend underway.

Third, because even if you expand your focus to "things NOT trawler" (see our avatar) fuel is most often not the largest expense item... or even close to largest.

Happy hunting!

-Chris
 
Fuel costs:

300 hours per year cruising [that equals 50 days at 6 hours each - or - 100 days at 3 hours each] averaging 7 knots [equals 2,100 nautical miles traveled] at 2 nautical mile per gal [equals 1,050 gallons fuel] at $4.00 +/- per gallon = $4,200 +/- per year in fuel

That's a pretty good average... you can add or subtract on any of the figures used. Such as: 150 hours at same rates = $2,100 in fuel use.

No matter how fuel cost is calculated [unless we begin pushing a boat so hard that fuel use goes into the 1/2 +/- nautical mile per gallon and you put on hundreds of hours per year use]... fuel cost is pretty darn affordable as an annual expense, for most boat owners that is! I suggest, if you can't afford a particular boat's fuel cost - don't buy the boat!
 
I am going to be putting our President 41DC up for sale as soon as we get it launched so I can get some photos of it. Right now I can’t get photos in the barn, too dark.
 
Galley up or down? No preference

Maybe no preference means you have not yet had enough experience with both to have developed a distinct preference. It seems me that most people (and the vast majority of women who cook on board) prefer galley up, while those who prefer galley down really just prefer an alternate use of the "up" space. I strongly encourage you to give this careful thought.

Also, there may be features that you would be very pleased to have if you were adequately aware. In my case, having a Portuguese Bridge fits into that category -- before owning a boat with a Portuguese Bridge, I had no idea how much enjoyable use it would get.
 
...

Single engine boat that also has good keel and full skeg to underneath the rudder affords great prop protection; as compared to twins with props hanging bare under each side of hull-bottom. ...

Still... I do love twins!

Keel-protected propeller and rudder was the highest priority when selecting THE boat.
 

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Mark - I certainly hope the second photo is the most recent photo! Stay well!! - Art
 
Why not build a sharp entry vee by addong 7 feet to 9 feet lengh and to a height of 12" above waterline.
 
Just relisted my Krogen Manatee

Great liveaboard, popular looper, ready to go!
 
Just relisted my Krogen Manatee

Great liveaboard, popular looper, ready to go!
 
As was said, when I see someone putting fuel economy at the top of the list, it concerns me as to how "wide open" their collective eyes are into the adventure. I also see you liking the "sporty/sleek" look, which is generally not a true trawler, but a faster fuel eater (not that there's anything wrong with that).

I have a friend who owns an Ocean sporty. His yacht club has meet up in various locations over the summer. This particular meet up was Martha's Vineyard (from the Northshore of Boston). He left early Friday afternoon and was there sometime after dinner. Another (trawler) "guy" from the club ran all night and arrived Saturday in the AM.

Point being, you'll need to get use to 7-8 knots for hours on end (and not go crazy). Fuel economy and time are directly related.

My .02
 
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