Moving to the Dark Side

[Bellakins]

Hello, everyone. After many years of sailing, including spending half the year for the last 3 ears on our boat in the Caribbean, we are selling our sailboat and looking to buy a trawler in the 36-40 ft. We now also have a 75 lb German Shepherd, so we'd like a boat that will be easily accessible for her. We are looking at Monks and the Heritage East 36. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks!

[O C Diver]

Welcome to the forum! Lots of sedan trawlers have a swim platform and transom door which would make it easier to get a big dog or senior citizen aboard.



Transom door is to starboard. There is a step up from the swim platform to the back deck and no height change from the there to the saloon floor.

Ted

[High Wire]

We once had a miniature poodle that would climb chain link fence but ladders rungs were a little too far apart. Most sedans and europa's have ladders to the FB. Some later Mainships have stairs instead of ladders that are much easier to the 4 legged friends. Monk 36s and most double cabin trawlers have short sets of steps that a healthy GS should be able to handle.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Bellakins

We now also have a 75 lb German Shepherd, so we'd like a boat that will be easily accessible for her. We are looking at Monks and the Heritage East 36. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

We have in the past cruised with our Pretty Good Pyrenees (~120-lbs) and his brother Golden Releiver (~75 lbs). And then later with a larger Golden Receiver, ~90 lbs).

I'll suggest you think first of more features required for big-dog-management. Swim platform is good, and then transom door is mandatory.

Over and above all that is your go-ashore system, which will consist of dinghy, motor, mounting system, and lift system if separate from the mounting system.

Plus a solution to the "how to get the critter into and out of the dinghy" and "hot to get Fido onto the dock" issues.

(On fixed docks, we could usually offload dogs from the cockpit to the coamings and then onto a dock or finger pier under their own power, and back in the same way. On floating docks, they could walk out the transom door and across the swim platform -- in between transom and dinghy -- and onto the floating dock, and vice versa. IOW, we needed two solutions to the get on/off the dock problem. Dog from swim platform to dinghy, and back, was easy.)

And then there's some safety stuff: dog-personalized PFDs with an integral chest/belly strap and a lifting handle, etc.

We also graduated to a boat with stairs (not a ladder) to the flybridge, so Golden Receiver could enjoy the view "upstairs" with us. The earlier boat had a ladder, so the big dogs couldn't rise to our occasion... but we also had a lower helm, then, and could pilot from below if they got too nervous in various weather conditions.

Ideally you might also be able to train Fido to "go" on the boat somewhere, with astroturf or whatever. We were never able to successfully do that...

-Chris

[GregBrannon]

Welcome. Good luck with your transition!

[Bellakins]

Thanks. We are actually looking at a few Monk 36s, along with the Heritage East 36. I want her to be able to get on the flybridge, too, and both fit the bill for that.

[Bellakins]

Yes, planning a ramp or two. I've wondered about the transom door and access to it if the dinghy is on a system on the back rather than up on the roof. We'll also need a set of dock steps to carry with us if we get a Heritage East. They're pretty high off the ground.

[psneeld]

First of all get one thing perfectly straight.....

You are moving to the light side. Driving from inside, warm and well lit....well you get the idea.

Many here are former sailors. Are we stupid? Do you realky think we went to a "dark side"?

Heck we have plenty of laughter passing sailboats waiting for bridges huddled beneath their dodgers with their sail furled. LAUGHING ISNT DARK...IT'S LIGHT !!!!......

All kidding aside...most of us still love sailing....we just found a more pleasing way to travel the way we do it now most of the time.... so come on over with no regrets....

And....all problems have an answer ....as long as you have the money.....

[Ken E.]

As Ranger described, a swim step and transom door will make things much easier getting your dog into the dinghy and ashore for the daily duties. Our border collie now equates the anchor going down with a trip to shore for her business and some frizbee.

[Comodave]

We have an 80 pound black lab that just loves going on the boat. We had a Trojan F32 before but it had a steep and tall ladder to the bridge. No way to get Radar to the bridge so we decided on a President 41. It has a 3 step ladder from the sundeck to the bridge. I replaced the steps on that ladder with some wider steps and now he can easily go up and down it. The sundeck has a ladder to the swim platform that he cannot navigate, but it has a crane to lift the outboard off the dinghy that will work if necessary to get him to the swim platform. He has a PFD that has 2 handles that we can use to crane him up and down. We like the sundeck because it gives us another room with the full enclosure.