Family from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

[taime1]

Hello to all,

I (and by extension, the rest of my small family) are new TF members. We are current sailboat owners looking to move to the trawler lifestyle as it seems to align nicely with our own boating style. That, and the admiral doesn't like the heeling and small size of our current boat.

We are just starting the learning process on all things trawlers and it appears as though this site is a wonderful resource.

The searching is in its early stages, we have yet to step onto a trawler, but we do have an idea as to what we want and how we will want to use it. We're not quite ready to make the purchase, especially in financial terms - we'll have to sell our boat before purchasing the trawler...and I don't want to be without a boat....for any period of time.

Anyway, if there are any local or relatively local to Ottawa members that would like to chat or have curious visitors check out their boats, feel free to let me know .

We are looking forward to learning from the vast knowledge and experiece of those who are kind enough to share it.

Sylvain

 

[Bob R]

Hi Sylvain,

I also switched from sail (all my life) to a trawler. A Ranger 31 which I find ideal for waters I use, Lake St Louis, Lake of Two Mountains, RIdeau Canal, Thousand Islands and to the South, Lake Champlain. If in Montreal I'd be happy to show you.

This boat is ideal for two, easy to manage and at 6.5 kts 1.4 gallon per hour. Can do 20 kts if in a hurry but at the expense of 12 GPH fuel burn.

Best,
Bob

 

[Bay Pelican]

Welcome aboard. You have a wonderful area to cruise in. Good luck on your search for a boat.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard.

 

[taime1]

Thanks for the replies everyone - I do feel welcome here.

Hi Sylvain,

I also switched from sail (all my life) to a trawler. A Ranger 31 which I find ideal for waters I use, Lake St Louis, Lake of Two Mountains, RIdeau Canal, Thousand Islands and to the South, Lake Champlain. If in Montreal I'd be happy to show you.

This boat is ideal for two, easy to manage and at 6.5 kts 1.4 gallon per hour. Can do 20 kts if in a hurry but at the expense of 12 GPH fuel burn.

Best,
Bob

Thanks Bob - I just may take you up on that. My in-laws are from the south shore of Montreal and I have a brother in Montreal as well, so we are there quite often. Maybe the next time we are due for a visit we could set something up.

I am also just starting to look at where I might haulout and store a large boat. Right now, we have a water ballasted boat and it has a nice trailer which makes it a cinch to launch ourselves and store in our yard - very handy to work on. I don't know about the prices in our area, or if we end up getting something in the 40+ size if local marinas can handle it. I would consider the Montreal area - or even Kingston for winter storage.

So much to learn!

 

[Bob R]

Montreal has many places for winter lay-up. I'm sure Kingston does as well. If you have a heavy duty pick-up truck you can trailer the Ranger. Suggest you look at the Ranger Tug website. The closest dealer is on Lake Simcoe. Note that I do not consider this an ocean going boat but for the fresh water around us, it is ideal for my purposes.

Best,

Bob

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. t1. It's not so much the overall size of a vessel but the WEIGHT. I looked into several marinas in MY area for haulage purposes and many were limited to 25 tons travel lift capacity.

 

[She-Kon]

Hello & welcome aboard Sylvain.

When we were searching for a trawler we walked the docks and asked if we could visit. Every one of the trawler owners was glad to have us aboard to talk about their boat. Some even let us measure their stuff! They're a friendly bunch.

We eventually decided to build a boat instead but our shopping experience was crucial. We heard what worked, what didn't and what some owners would change about their boats.

For a family, two adults and maybe two kids, a 31'er might be too tight. You can only get a real feel for accommodations by going aboard for yourself.

If you don't mind driving an hour south of Ottawa there's a DIY yard with storage in Iroquois and also a guy who hauls boats and stores them ashore at his facility. Iroquois is almost half way between Montreal and the 1000 Islands so it's sort of centrally located.

Good luck in your search.

 

[taime1]

Bob - that Ranger 31 is one fine looking vessel! I really like the fact that a good pickup could tow it. I have an Expedition, tow-rated for 9800lbs, so it would be out of my range - or I'd also have to get a new truck.

I'm looking more in the older, less expensive boat range, willing to put in some sweat equity to slowly make her nicer (but not so much that I have to dissapear for days on end while the admiral tends to the our two wonderful monsters (4 and 2).

I would also, at some point, consider leaving the boat at a marina on the St Lawrence and use ut more like a destination floating cottage.

 

[taime1]

RT - That's a good point on weight capacity. I was chatting with a fellow over the weekend who brings in a crane to put his 10,000lb boat in the water. He said that the 25-ton crane was barely able to do the launch. I don't know much about cranes and capacities, but does that make sense?

She-Kon - I would be happy to go to Iroquois for yard and haulout. I think that it would be fun to have a good long first and last cruise each season.

We are headed to Kingston/Wolfe Island in August, so there may be an opportunity to check out some boats/yards along the way.

 

[CPseudonym]

I was chatting with a fellow over the weekend who brings in a crane to put his 10,000lb boat in the water. He said that the 25-ton crane was barely able to do the launch. I don't know much about cranes and capacities, but does that make sense?

It makes complete sense. The 25 ton rating he saw on cranes is only good for picking a load close to the crane. Try picking 25 tons 50' away from that crane and it will tip over if it moves at all.

 

[taime1]

It makes complete sense. The 25 ton rating he saw on cranes is only good for picking a load close to the crane. Try picking 25 tons 50' away from that crane and it will tip over if it moves at all.

That's very true - I hadn't considered it that way. Is there then a crane size that one would need as a sort of guideline? I imagine that most yards and operators "should" be knowledgeable on their crane and capacities, but then again, "should" doesn't really mean anyting in the event of a failure.

I've never had to deal with cranes or boat yards, or many other things about trawlers that are probably well known that I will ask about...so please forgive my ignorance.

 

[CPseudonym]

Here is a brief tutorial on cranes that is a bit more technical than you(or any other boater for that matter) will ever need, but I hope it demonstrates that there is a whole lot more to cranes and rigging than meets the eye.

How To Read a Load Chart | Crane Load Charts | How to Use a Load Chart

After working around them for nearly 30 years I never stop learning.

 

[taime1]

Thanks CP - that, while technical, does indeed shed some light on the capabilities and limitations of a crane.

 

[Conrad]

Our local boatyard had to bring in a crane twice - once for haulout and once for relaunch - because the catamaran was too wide for their Travelift.

The 17 ton catamaran was almost too much for the 275 ton crane but they were successful only by trucking in additional counterweights.

Part of the challenge of course is that often the lifted vessel has to be placed some distance from the water.

 

[She-Kon]

Don't hire this guy!

Crane lifting boat fail. - YouTube

 

[Bob R]

Not sure why we are talking about cranes - decent marinas in the area of interest for the OP use Travel Lifts which are capable of handling 25 tons. Much cheaper than renting a crane for sure! I had to rent a crane to step my mast (1,200 lbs) when headed from Lake Champlain to the Hudson - cost me 1200 bucks!

 

[taime1]

Not sure why we are talking about cranes - decent marinas in the area of interest for the OP use Travel Lifts which are capable of handling 25 tons. Much cheaper than renting a crane for sure! I had to rent a crane to step my mast (1,200 lbs) when headed from Lake Champlain to the Hudson - cost me 1200 bucks!

$1200?!?!? That's crazy.

I'm not sure how many boat yards are actually available in my immediate area, so I have to consider all options. I have a few phone calls to make on the subject but haven't gotten around to it - somehow work keeps getting in the way of the boat !

A fellow sailor at my current marina gets together a few other boats and they all pitch in to rent a crane to do their haul outs. Apparently this year each person paid $300 for this service, where as most years it was about $150.

I do know of a local marine service who uses a trailer to haulout and store larger boats but he's limited in lenght to about 40'. I'm not yet sure of the size of my next boat, it may well be over 40' - we'll have to see.

I'll have to essentially evaluate the hauling and storage options locally and if I have to go furher out, what the pros and cons are to that.

 

[tachyon]

Hi. Welcome to the trawler lifestyle! We have a Mainship 390 at Pirate Cove Marina on the Rideau river near Kemptville, close to Ottawa. The boat is also wintered here; they have a large travelift for hauling boats. Not sure of the lift capacity but I've seen a 47ft Marine Trader hauled out with it.
I wish you good luck deciding on, then locating, the right boat. Took me 2yrs., but we're very happy with our choice. Anytime you'd like an up-close look at a 390, we're not far from Ottawa, and you'd also get a chance to check out the marina. We live just minutes from the marina, so pretty much anytime is good.

Nick

 

[taime1]

Hi. Welcome to the trawler lifestyle! We have a Mainship 390 at Pirate Cove Marina on the Rideau river near Kemptville, close to Ottawa. The boat is also wintered here; they have a large travelift for hauling boats. Not sure of the lift capacity but I've seen a 47ft Marine Trader hauled out with it.
I wish you good luck deciding on, then locating, the right boat. Took me 2yrs., but we're very happy with our choice. Anytime you'd like an up-close look at a 390, we're not far from Ottawa, and you'd also get a chance to check out the marina. We live just minutes from the marina, so pretty much anytime is good.

Nick

Thanks Nick - that's very generous of you. I may well take you up on the visit offer. I'll PM you to confirm the details.

Pirate Cove Marina is fairly close to me, I will certainly look into it.

As far as deciding, for us the biggest driver will be cost. I think we will go for the biggest size that we can get, in the best possible shape, that has as many yet-to-be-determined must haves. For now, I'm looking at older 1980's era boats, under $50k, hoping to find well under $50k - in the "how did you ever manage to paid so little and get so much" category. I know, this may be impossible, but I'll try. With two young kids (4 and 2), we're just not at a moment in life where such a large purchase is even possible. But boating is something I want my kids to grow up in, both for the pleasure and sense of adventure and the respect for the elements.

I'm all for putting in some sweat equity, just need good bones and solid mechanical systems. I seem to not keep boats very long: I try to buy them cheap, clean them and fix them up and sell them. Maybe that's because I haven't found the "right" one yet. I do like trying boats out - I think to really know a boat, it takes time and a number of different experiences/situations/repairs before I can determine what works and doesn't. Then again, maybe I'm just slow !

I do know that we want a nice aft deck, needs to be relatively kid-safe, comfortable and dry inside, good births and galley setup, fuel sipping, stable and slow is fine by us.

Is there a site that would have some trawler diagrams by builder?

 

[tachyon]

With your young family, going for a cockpit style boat rather than an aft cabin is probably wise. The aft cabins offer lots of interior room but at the expense of deck space and easy access to the water via a transom door. Also an important consideration, especially on waterways like the Rideau and Trent-Severn with dozens of locks, is the ease of moving around on deck to tend lines and anchor. Good footing and stout handrails are a big plus.
I haven't seen a site that compiles layouts from different manufacturers, but there isn't much variation possible other than galley up/down, and a dinette vs a hi/low table. Most trawlers appear to have ample storage, and decent sized berths. Some features on our boat, like the wide walk-arounds and moulded steps to the flybridge, really eat up a lot of space, but make the boat a joy to travel in. Folks who like to be in a marina most of the time may not want to trade off the interior space.

 

[LaBomba]

Welcome Sylvain, I am sure you should see lots of trawlers along the Rideau in the summer as well as around Gananoque and the Thousand Islands. If you come up the Trent or come for a ride to the Lake Simcoe area give us a shout. We love company. Good luck in your seach.

 

[taime1]

Nick,

You have confirmed my initial direction in selection. I want to be and want the kids to be outside as much as possible - so a good aft and upper deck are important. Kids will want to swim and be in the water so an easy access back aboard is a must. A transom door would be awesome, but may not be on the boat in my price range. I agree on the line handling areas and walkarounds too.

I'm not sure as to the pros and cons of the galley up/down nor am I familiar with a hi-low table so I can't compare to a dinette.


Allan & Ann,

That is a beautiful area. I have a sister in Barrie and I used to live in Penetanguishene when I was younger - I should plan a trip that way and perhaps take a peek at your fine vessel.

Thanks so much for the invitation - you may well hear from me, if things pan out.

Sylvain

 

[LaBomba]

Sylvain, we to wanted a walk thru transom door but obviously all boats don't come with them. One alternative was a good boarding ladder with grab rails. Makes it easy for all the grand kids. You will find a lot of gives and takes in boats so start making a list if you haven't already on want things are essential and what are nice to haves.

 

[taime1]

Sylvain, we to wanted a walk thru transom door but obviously all boats don't come with them. One alternative was a good boarding ladder with grab rails. Makes it easy for all the grand kids. You will find a lot of gives and takes in boats so start making a list if you haven't already on want things are essential and what are nice to haves.

That's a great setup and I too would do something similar as an alternative to a transom door.

I've started to compile a list of things to consider, not so much classified in essential and nice-to-haves. I found a couple of lists from in the posts here and that is my basis. I'll continue to read the forum to see if others have posted similar lists. It would be a good thing to have a list of options compiled somewhere. Then, the debate on the value of each option can begin.

 

[tachyon]

Nick,


I'm not sure as to the pros and cons of the galley up/down nor am I familiar with a hi-low table so I can't compare to a dinette.


Sylvain, I believe some boats were offered in both galley up and galley down versions. Up if you need more cabin space below (plus the personal choice of cooking with a view), down for a larger salon. The hi-lo table is one that converts from coffee table height to dining table height. Ours is moveable (weighted in the base), and has a hydraulic piston as an assist to raise and lower. The plus side is there's more room in the salon when there's no dedicated dinette, the downside is having to secure the table if the going gets rough!

 

[taime1]

Thanks Nick - I'm just reading a interesting thread on the galley up vs down thing. After reading, tabulating and analysing I've got the definitive answer: it depends. The galley question, will likely not be a make or break for us. It'll have to do with the rest of the boat, its layout and the love factor when we get there. Unless of course, the admiral makes it a hard requirement, then all bets are off.

The hi-lo table is an interesting concept. At first I was thinking it was a table that converted to a bed, like many sailboats have. It never occurred to me that living space could be modified in this way to change the room function. Quite clever, I must say.

I think we ultimately need to get out an look at some boats to have a true idea as to what space and its various configurations tangibly look like.

 

[Xsbank]

If you are only planning locking and lakes, maybe have a look at a houseboat? Tons of room, the amenities you want, plenty of outdoor space and no slower than a trawler while locking. Just an idea as you don't have much dosh and a houseboat would have simple systems. You could probably drag it up on a beach for the winter and if it was level, it would make a nice winter cabin! Lots of houseboats have outboards so you could take the motor home for winter maintenance.

We would still talk to you if you bought a houseboat!

 

[taime1]

If you are only planning locking and lakes, maybe have a look at a houseboat? Tons of room, the amenities you want, plenty of outdoor space and no slower than a trawler while locking.

We would still talk to you if you bought a houseboat!

I appreciate the sentiment and thought - but I don't think I could do houseboat. I have nothing against them per se, just not my thing. I'll keep my sailboat or upgrade to a bigger one well before I'd go houseboat.

But, you do make a good point, it would probably do most of what I want to do with it in the short-term. I do want to travel to and around Lake Ontario, Georgian Bay, and wherever else in between that can be done in a few weeks to a month of time - so that might preclude houseboat. The rest of the time, it would be a floating cottage in sheltered waters, much like a houseboat.

I think I can still find something suitable at a low cost that is a "saltier" boat. I'm only in the early stages of searching but have seen a few potential contenders, albeit only virtually. It may take me a while and who knows, maybe I will ultimately have to give up on the idea...and settle for a houseboat.

I am willing to travel south (or any direction for that matter!) to get it, having done that before, but not for such a big boat. I only had to trailer my 26-foot boat back from Cape Cod the last time. It was fun.

Anyway, for now, I am excluding houseboats from my list of potential future acquisitions.

 

[alormaria]

Sylvain,

You've got some great cruising area up there. My family and I were up there in 2000. Ontario and Kingston are still our favorite cities. As for the boat suggestion,
take a look at the Marine Trader 34. It's available in multiple configurations, made for years, family friendly, multiple price points and certainly rewards DIY owners. Here is what they look like...welcome2
Mine is not for sale.