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.

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by taime1

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]

Originally Posted by CPseudonym

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]

Originally Posted by 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!

$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]

Originally Posted by 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

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?