There are already many good comments regarding the transition from Sailboat to Trawler. Both have much in common, but are different. I used to sell Mainships and Hunters. My fav was the Hunter 41DS.
Anyway, I saw some comments about running a trawler at slow speeds. I'm not a diesel engineer, but the basic rule of thumb I was taught is that diesels should be run at 70-80 % power. Newer common rail diesels allow some leeway on this, but you really should be looking at a Trawler already set up to cruise at the speed and fuel burn you desire. I had a Mainship 390 with a single Yanmar 315 HP engine. Cruised at 8-9 knots and was good on fuel. More traditional Trawlers (some mentioned in the first post) use lower HP engines, cruise around 6-8 knots. The options are out there.
Again, my suggestion is to locate the boat which fits your cruising desires as is at 70-80 % power.
Enjoy!
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