thinking of giving up sailing for trawler

[jbrannen]

Hello-I'm Jim in San Diego, and have been a sailboat guy for a long time. a good friend just got a GB 32 and I'm considering doing the same thing. My first question is this: How do GB's and CHB's compare?

[bobc]

Hi Jim,

I sold the sailboat three years ago and seriously wanted a GB32. I also looked at a lot of CHB34's. I ended up with a Defever 34, which I jokingly refer to as a dry GB32 with elbow room.

The GB's start as a much higher quality boat than the CHB. The CHB's offer a lot of value for the money. Around here a lot of the CHB's have a problem with stringer rot and soft decks That might be less of a problem in San Diego. Both boats are likely to have similar engines (Lehman).

One problem to watch for on GB's is rusty fuel tanks. Deck leaks will allow water to rest on the top of the tanks. This might also be true of the CHB's (I don't remember).

A CHB will have quite a bit more room than the GB. The two extra feet makes quite a difference. One of the biggest problems with the GB's is they're a wet boat. There's no flare in the bow.

[Forkliftt]

It's a Cadillac vs a Chevy I suppose, I have a CHB. I've also been on a few GB's and they are great vessels. IMHO, so are a lot of the Taiwan built boats. Great interior finishes and very nice stainless railing weld and finish.

[Marin]

(J-- sent a Private Message re Grand Banks)

[LaBomba]

Both great boats but personally my next boat will not have any teak on the exterior of the boat and teak decks scare the h$$l out of me. Just sayin!

[jbrannen]

I understand completely about teak decks and having to varnish wood. my last sailboat was a Catalina 320, which had zero wood to maintain. All the wood on a trawler is a little scary!

[markpierce]

My trawler has no exterior wood. Most will have some (trim) or a lot (trim and deck) on the exterior. And we're not talking about all-wood boats.

[Tony B]

JB:

Welcome aboard.
Last year we went from sail to power. It's the natural evolution of things.
Best of luck in your decision.

[Codger2]

Originally Posted by markpierce

My trawler has no exterior wood. Most will have some (trim) or a lot (trim and deck) on the exterior.

My boat has a considerable amount of teak trim and I love the look of it. (I should also mention that I hire out the maintenance. ) Nothing, in my opinion, looks better than a properly trimmed teak boat or worse than one that hasn't been maintained.

[Peter B]

That's the way to do it all right Walt.