I would be interested to learn about your experience for long range coastal cruising with a Helmsman trawler. How would you qualify your experience cruisng with a 38 or 43 trawler. Have you lived aboard a 38 or 43 for several months and what is your feedback. Look forward to reading you. Thanks.
Experience long range cruising on a Helmsman trawler 38 - 43
- Thread starter Olivier B
- Start date
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Fletcher500
Guru
We have had a H43 for 5 years. I retired in 2020, so that is when our longer trips started, but we are only coastal cruising between SoCal and Central Cal, and generally within 50 miles of shore.
We use the boat almost weekly in San Diego for bay cruising and then depart in June or July and are gone until Early November.
The boat is very comfortable with plenty of living space, especially due to the full beam saloon. Some people want side decks which is all good but I can tell you there is nothing I can’t do without aft side decks after 5 years of use.
Out adult kids are busy with their jobs, but they do join us periodically for Island cruises. We can sleep up to 7 people using the drop down saloon table and pilot house bunk converter.
Some highlights from last year:
https://youtu.be/qdOlTfEUXjg
We use the boat almost weekly in San Diego for bay cruising and then depart in June or July and are gone until Early November.
The boat is very comfortable with plenty of living space, especially due to the full beam saloon. Some people want side decks which is all good but I can tell you there is nothing I can’t do without aft side decks after 5 years of use.
Out adult kids are busy with their jobs, but they do join us periodically for Island cruises. We can sleep up to 7 people using the drop down saloon table and pilot house bunk converter.
Some highlights from last year:
https://youtu.be/qdOlTfEUXjg
FWT
Guru
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2020
- Messages
- 1,522
- Vessel Name
- Resilient
- Vessel Make
- Helmsman Trawlers 38E
You may want to track down Tom Hale, who used to post here as tadhana.
He had / has a Mariner, the predecessor to Helmsman, and I believe lived aboard for quite some time cruising the east coast. He wrote some articles, one of which I link below. And also do a search of his posts here.
https://www.proptalk.com/cruising-icw-tips-first-timers
He had / has a Mariner, the predecessor to Helmsman, and I believe lived aboard for quite some time cruising the east coast. He wrote some articles, one of which I link below. And also do a search of his posts here.
https://www.proptalk.com/cruising-icw-tips-first-timers
chanprr
Senior Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2018
- Messages
- 256
- Location
- United States
- Vessel Name
- Kiskadee
- Vessel Make
- Helmsman 46 Hull#1
Took a 72 day cruise in summer of 2022 from Port Ludlow WA north to SE Alaska in our 2020 H38E. Turnaround point was Sitka. Was very comfortable in the 38E and she performed extremely well. Have no negatives to tell. Sold our 38E in Sep 2022 and upgraded to a H46, which is scheduled to arrive in Seattle Sept 2023. Plan to return to SE Alaska in 2024 on a 4-month cruise.
Robert
(posting on The New Helmsman 46)
Fletcher500
Guru
One person with a 38 and another with a 43 (myself) have answered your question regarding their experiences.
Nocanvas
Senior Member
We have a 2008 Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse with a Cummins 480HP. We purchased it through Scott Helker (good experience) when the boat was located on Lake Michigan if I remember correctly in 2019. After shipping it over land to Bellingham, Washington State We spent a couple years getting to know the boat in the San Juan Islands and Canada ICWs.
Shaking out the boat for a couple years gave us a great opportunity to find what was most important to us to repair and upgrade before trucking the boat to Seneca IL where We started the Great Loop (Circumnavigation of the eastern seaboard. Our departure down the Illinois river in 2021 quickly showed us the boats 3'8" draft was never an issue traveling the shallow river systems.There wasn't any issues traveling down the Illinois, Mississippi, Up the Ohio & Tennessee or down the TennTom and Mobile rivers. Throughout all of the ICW & AICW We didn't have any issues with draft that waiting for a tide didn't take care of.
We enjoyed a few crossings in open waters, the Gulf of Mexico from Dog Island Fl to Clearwater Fl , The Gulf Stream Cay Biscane to Bimini, Bimini to the Berry Islands, Nassua, most all of the Exumas, Obrien Cut to Eleuthra, Eleuthra to Abaco, Abaco west side via Whale Cut to Stewart Fl and another outside run a couple times Atlantic City to New York. One of the items on our model and year of boat We modified was the enlargement of the rudder (not needed on the H38E models).
We also enjoyed the Dismal Swamp, Albemarle and Chesapeak Canal, Chesapeake and Delaware , C&D Canal.
The Erie Canal was great fun where We enjoyed the simple drop down mast which allowed us to transit the system with ease. One person can candle the mast.
We also enjoyed the Chambly, Richelieu, Saint Lawerence, Ottawa, Rideau, Trent Severn, Georgian Bay, North Channel and Great Lakes.
We found the Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse to be a great boat that exceeded our expectations in all areas of travel. We are fair weather boaters but did have our fair share of sloppy seas and big seas on the open waters.
Even though the majority of our traveling has been mostly ICW travel, the open water cruising with selective sea conditions the boat did not disappoint us over the last two and a half years of live-aboard cruising. The fuel and water tanks are more than ample to travel from one fuel stop to another for where we have traveled. We have found the boat loves a head on sea and performed better than expected in a beam sea. We prefer to avoid the following sea over 3'. How the boat is loaded certainly makes a difference how the boat performs. We ran the last 2 1/2 years fully loaded up around 33,000 pounds fully loaded. (weight given by travel lift scale).
Im think in one of the threads I posted a photo of the boat in the Ocean going through Whale Cut you might find fascinating.
Marco M/V Navigator
Shaking out the boat for a couple years gave us a great opportunity to find what was most important to us to repair and upgrade before trucking the boat to Seneca IL where We started the Great Loop (Circumnavigation of the eastern seaboard. Our departure down the Illinois river in 2021 quickly showed us the boats 3'8" draft was never an issue traveling the shallow river systems.There wasn't any issues traveling down the Illinois, Mississippi, Up the Ohio & Tennessee or down the TennTom and Mobile rivers. Throughout all of the ICW & AICW We didn't have any issues with draft that waiting for a tide didn't take care of.
We enjoyed a few crossings in open waters, the Gulf of Mexico from Dog Island Fl to Clearwater Fl , The Gulf Stream Cay Biscane to Bimini, Bimini to the Berry Islands, Nassua, most all of the Exumas, Obrien Cut to Eleuthra, Eleuthra to Abaco, Abaco west side via Whale Cut to Stewart Fl and another outside run a couple times Atlantic City to New York. One of the items on our model and year of boat We modified was the enlargement of the rudder (not needed on the H38E models).
We also enjoyed the Dismal Swamp, Albemarle and Chesapeak Canal, Chesapeake and Delaware , C&D Canal.
The Erie Canal was great fun where We enjoyed the simple drop down mast which allowed us to transit the system with ease. One person can candle the mast.
We also enjoyed the Chambly, Richelieu, Saint Lawerence, Ottawa, Rideau, Trent Severn, Georgian Bay, North Channel and Great Lakes.
We found the Mariner Seville 37 Pilothouse to be a great boat that exceeded our expectations in all areas of travel. We are fair weather boaters but did have our fair share of sloppy seas and big seas on the open waters.
Even though the majority of our traveling has been mostly ICW travel, the open water cruising with selective sea conditions the boat did not disappoint us over the last two and a half years of live-aboard cruising. The fuel and water tanks are more than ample to travel from one fuel stop to another for where we have traveled. We have found the boat loves a head on sea and performed better than expected in a beam sea. We prefer to avoid the following sea over 3'. How the boat is loaded certainly makes a difference how the boat performs. We ran the last 2 1/2 years fully loaded up around 33,000 pounds fully loaded. (weight given by travel lift scale).
Im think in one of the threads I posted a photo of the boat in the Ocean going through Whale Cut you might find fascinating.
Marco M/V Navigator
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