Trawlers that cruise a bit faster...

Nomad Willy said:

Trawlers don’t go 14 - 16 knots. They are too heavy.
But there are quite a few that will and most look like trawlers.

But for you I’d get two boats. A faster big outboard and a good suitable recreational trawler. If you keep your OB small enough and light enough to be trailerable a whole new world of boating will find you.

Click to expand...

Okay. Two boats. I’ll let my husband know he can’t quit his job!

RCook said:

With a substantial enough tow vehicle, you could pull a C-Dory 25 or 26, or a Sea Sport 24, 26 or 27. Any of these could work for a couple, and cruise at 15-20 knots or a bit more, depending on engine. Some larger Sea Sports have diesel power. There are a handful of Sea Sports on Yachtworld.

After 7 years with our C-Dory 22, we upgraded to a 26-foot diesel/sterndrive powered Bounty 257, much like a similar-sized Sea Sport. It would cruise at 18 knots and 1.75 nmpg, or at 6-6.5 knots and 4 nmpg. Cruised and fished the Inside Passage with this one for 18 summers and nearly 40,000 nm, with a third crew some of the time.

If you decide not to go with a towable boat, a Camano 31 or Nordic Tug 32 could be a great choice. They would offer much more space, very pleasant and economical cruising at 6-7 knots, or more speed if you're OK with burning a good bit more fuel.

Click to expand...

I have no relation to this Nordic Tug, but certainly worth a look: https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/2002-nordic-32-8196659/

Hello from Western Australia,

I am new to the forum, Ive grown up on sailing boats and am looking to buy a Trawler styled boat to life abroad here in West Aus, Apologies for Bombing this post. Could someone kindly tell me how to create a new post as I have a few questions to ask ?

Thanks in advance.

Sweetypie said:

Hello from Western Australia,

I am new to the forum, Ive grown up on sailing boats and am looking to buy a Trawler styled boat to life abroad here in West Aus, Apologies for Bombing this post. Could someone kindly tell me how to create a new post as I have a few questions to ask ?

Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Go to top of the page, hit Forum, scroll down and pick subject. Hit New Thread.

I think.

"We are on the fence about trailering - it would require a much larger, heavy duty truck ($$$) than our Tacoma and traffic sucks in Seattle".

For the adventurous there is a workaround.
A tractor from an 18 wheeler that has living quarters attached can be registered as a motor home.
The local regs mist be followed ,stove , toilet , but as a motor home a CDL is not required , anyone can drive it. What is required inside varies by state, do check yours.

RV Insurance is quite low, as is the initial cost.

While it may have too many miles to run another 200,000 every year a few thousand a year is no big deal.
Lots have automatic trannys , so rowing thru 15 or more gears is all gone.
You should be able to find a nice one for $10-$15K , and once registered as a motor home , very easy to sell and recoup your costs.

The laws for private vehicles uses the same limits for width , but IS limited an overall length.65ft LOA is common., shorter in some east coast states 55ft.

A concept for the folks that might wish to have an RV for small trips that could tow a boat or camping trailer.

Excellent concept...search places like Ebay, MrktPl, RvTrdr using the term 'Toterhome' for one already built out.

Tow vehicle vs. Slip... both are expensive. The tow vehicle probably is much easier to find, but for me a slip brings a lot more pleasure. There are days that are nice enough to enjoy being aboard, while sea conditions are too unpleasant to go anywhere. In a nice marina you'll meet friends and have a social community, maybe even a pool and a restaurant/bar. If you want a slip, start looking for one yesterday.

A slip inside the locks has the advantage of being in fresh water, but be aware that the locks can add stress and require a lot of patience on busy weekends. It can be a show unto itself, but an unwelcome one when you just want to "get there".

huruta, you surely are getting lots of excellent advice! Here are a few more thoughts:

ComoDave's point - charter first - bears repeating. When we wanted to 'get into sailing', we luckily fell into a group of six that chartered a Cal 34 for a weekend. We explained to the Captain we were they to learn and he made sure it was the 'guests' who worked the boat. We had a blast and the main lesson for us was how much we didn't know. It also helped confirm how genuine our interest was. We then chartered a sailboat for a week owned by a retired USCG Captain who's 'package' was instruction first, recreation second. Day 1 was a one hour lecture and then learning how to raise and sail on a single sail. On Day 5 we were running the boat, coastal sailing after raising the hook and deflating the dinghy we'd used the night before (for our 'graduation dinner' ashore ). Those 2 experiences are the main reason we now knew what boat to look for, and that first great boat choice led to 30,000+ miles and 53 countries. If you are like we were, there's a lot of 'you don't know what you don't know' right now. The good news is that there are solutions to that puzzle.

It's natural to think of a boat in terms of length but you also need to consider its "size" in terms of its displacement (the weight of the water it displaces...or simply its weight). All things being equal - please note the qualifier - a heavier boat will require more power (aka: fuel burn) for a given speed. OTOH it may also better handle (re: its performance) the payload you put aboard the boat. In a stiff blow on the hook, it will require stronger/heavier ground tackle (and a safe way to handle it). Some longer boats will weigh less than some shorter boats. Some lighter boats are built stronger than some heavier boats due to advanced construction techniques and materials. When weighing which boats may be 'too much' for you and which are 'not big enough', just keep one eye on displacement and its implications.

You're getting lots of info thrown at you right now, so please just stick these two references away for later reflection. But you'll notice fuel consumption is discussed repeatedly in these posts...because it has such an elemental influence on the nature of power boating. And it sure looks like you're headed for a used boat, which will come with used engines. These two references will help you dig further into how a boat choice will affect your fuel expense, and on how 'long' (measured in multiple different ways) a given engine will last before needing a $$ rebuild or $$$ replacement.

https://www.passagemaker.com/technical/feel-the-burn
https://www.passagemaker.com/technical/how-long-will-my-engine-last

Good luck to you! You have a wonderful adventure in front of you.

Jack

The thing with a slip is that you always start and end in the same place. If you have to transit awhile to get where you want to go, you end up spending a lot of time seeing the same things over and over again.

A trailerable boat opens up a much wider cruising area, even if you only trailer it 50 or 100 miles (an hour or two). Lots of big, nice lakes in the PNW that are not accessible to a boat that has to be slipped in Shilshoe.

So practically, you trade a bigger boat for a smaller cruising area or a smaller boat for a larger one.

Often had a home port where the boat was kept when not is use or doing a project. But very commonly we are not in it. Would tell the yard they could use it for transients for weeks or even months as we went off cruising. (Usually could work out a discount calculated on occupancy). Have even taken the step of leaving the boat in non home port marinas if we briefly needed to get home or elsewhere for awhile. For a number of years had no home port at all (beyond what’s written on the stern). If we felt the need to have a guaranteed berth would take the week or month rate. Which way to go (home port or transient) depended upon cruising plans. Not liking marinas many years going transient with frequently anchoring was less expensive.
Think there’s a mindset a boat needs a prepaid permanent berth. That’s not true and often confining. A few months ago bought a boat in Connecticut. After purchase berthed therefor a few weeks. Then moved it to Rhode Island berthed there for a month. Then moved to Virginia. Will be worked on and resplashed come early spring. Will maintain a berth in that yard for 2 months as we explore the Chesapeake. Come June goes to Rhode Island for at least 2 weeks to get new flooring. Then drop that berth and cruise Maine. Come late summer do the Hudson. Then long hop the east coast to the Bahamas for winter. The get a berth for a month to do Xmas with family. So for 12 months no permanent berth .
While working did similar. Pick a cruising grounds and leave the boat there. Would either do flights or if closer one way vehicle rentals. Would move around . Have also done halvies on some boats. Half the time boat moored at my yacht club. Half the time at my partners .
Not a fan of trailering. Personally found it to be a major PIA. You take so much time and effort getting the boat in or out of the water you end up thinking twice about using it. For small fishing boats have used rack storage which was great but for small cruisers it’s a PIA and limited what you can own. Just my 2 cents

rgano said:

and a Pilot 34 would be just that much more fun.

Click to expand...

You beat me to it Rich, I was thinking the same thing. A Pilot 34 is at the upper end of their size range but a good choice for what they are looking for. It should also be within their budget.

Reading Hippo's post (above), it strikes me he's adapted the typical cruising yachtsman's mindset and approach to berthing, except that he's not living aboard full time. A clever hybrid approach....altho' more suitable for those with time for lots of cruising than the full-time 9 to 5 crowd, it would seem.

Jack

ssobol's post is spot on.

The huge advantage of trailering is that it allows you to go to cruising areas that you normally could not go, this is why we are now considering a trailerable cruiser.

We are going to home-base out of southern Delaware. May even get a slip on the Nanticoke River for $860 a year. Best of both worlds.

For us, with a trailerable boat,
- want to boat Lake Champlain, be on the lake in a day
- want to boat the Trent Severn (and Georgian Bay), be there is a day
- want to boat the Tennessee River, be there in a day
- want to boat Florida, be there is two days
- want to boat the Bahamas (I'm out of luck as I'm not taking a small, slow boat there!)

Want to work on the boat, take it home.

If I had a set cruising ground, I would, however, probably opt for a larger boat over a trailerable boat.

Jim

In the area you propose there are an awful lot of boats at anchor in the summertime. My own preference in the summer is to spend more time cruising and less time in the anchorage worrying about bumping your neighbor. I have cruised Puffin, my Willard 30, between Seattle and SE Alaska for the past 20 years and rarely found its 6 knot speed to be an important limitation. And of course I appreciate the 0.6gal/hr fuel burn. In a typical week I travel between 125 to 200 miles. To each his own.

As others have said, you will have to decide between time cruising and time at anchor. If the water is warm and swimmable being at anchor can be very nice. In the PNW you cannot swim.

I would strongly suggest thinking about keeping your boat in Anacortes rather than Seattle. There are so many more places to go within easy weekend reach on even a slow boat, than if you keep it in Seattle. Driving up there in your car is so much faster, and burns so much less fuel, than doing the same trip in your boat. The downside is that it makes it hard to go out for a quick sunset cruise. And it is a pain to have to drive up there all the time to work on your boat. I practice what I preach, and live in in the suburbs north of Seattle and Keep my boat in Anacortes.

My pocket trawler

This is my Norwegian built Tresfjord 28. 8.5 kts , 2.2 gallon per hour. 75 hp Volvo diesel. Holds 85 gallon fuel. Slow but solid. And it has a trailer!

If you are going to keep her in the Seattle area you're only 60+NM to Friday Harbor. I guess if you wanted to get there in a hurry, 18-20kts would get you there before lunch, however once you are there the rest of the US San Juans are so close, speed is pretty unimportant, unless you are having to rush back at the end of a weekend...then it's everything!.

Another possibility is to berth her up north at Anacortes or one of the other marinas and commute.

Trawlers and other slow craft have to be more concerned about tides and currents. In any case, good luck. You will love boating the PNW!

Our experience with a 37' twin diesel trawler is that it was much larger than we needed.



The next live-aboard will be trailerable, probably have an outboard and hopefully enough fuel capacity for at least a couple days travel at hull speed without needing a fill up.



Likely candidates include Rosborough, Cutwater and C-Dory, all less than 30 ft. length.

I have a Mainship 43 aft cabin trawler. Cruise is 15-16 kts but dial it back to 7.5 kts and get 3 NM per gal. At cruise, .6 NM per gal. We used to go from Florida to the Bahamas in 3 1/2 hours at cruise with two couples on board. At today's price of fuel that is only $300 - about the same as two airfares but more fun. Nice to have the option of fast or slow.

After 50 years of sailing, trawlers and several hundred thousand ocean miles throughout the World, we went to C Dory's about 20 years ago. We had looked at other trailerable boats, but the C Dory was a minimalist (think VW Camper, to small travel trailer). We have owned two 22's, two 25's (one of each on the West Coast and one of each in Florida. The West Coast boats were near an airport and an older van was stored with the C Dory--fly, drive and boat. Also the Tom Cat 255 could be considered- catamaran which I would classify as a faster boat (cruise at 25 to 35 knots). (The Venture series has a bit more finished look on the interior)

The simple light weight boats were easy to trailer, and we often would put 10,000 miles a year on the trailering aspect, using the boat as a camper when on the road. (RV parks, Campgrounds, and Walmart parking lots.). These boats have done the Great Loop a number of times. They can go to Mexico, the Bahamas, and if you want to do Alaska--trailer to Prince Rupert and less than 100 miles on the water in Canada.

Information on C Brats forum. We had also considered the Rosborough 246, The Ranger Tug series as well as several 26 foot Catamarans. Each has its best features, and some detractions. It boils down, do you want a slightly larger, slower and probably more expensive to maintain, or a faster, boat which can be easily trailered, but with less room? We have done most of the major East Coast Rivers, returned to Alaska, the Inland Passage, and San Juan/Gulf Islands, plus many large lakes. Key West to AK and beyond.

rpackard said:

In the area you propose there are an awful lot of boats at anchor in the summertime. My own preference in the summer is to spend more time cruising and less time in the anchorage worrying about bumping your neighbor. I have cruised Puffin, my Willard 30, between Seattle and SE Alaska for the past 20 years and rarely found its 6 knot speed to be an important limitation. And of course I appreciate the 0.6gal/hr fuel burn. In a typical week I travel between 125 to 200 miles. To each his own.

As others have said, you will have to decide between time cruising and time at anchor. If the water is warm and swimmable being at anchor can be very nice. In the PNW you cannot swim.

Click to expand...

Wifey B: Actually you have many choices other than time cruising and time at anchor. You can get somewhere and then spend time on shore exploring all the wonders of the area. We went from Bellingham to Ketchikan in 46 hours, averaging 13 knots, limited by nighttime and log avoidance. However, that gave us 3 days there and time for the Totem Heritage Center and Southeast Alaska Discovery Center and Annabelle's and then a quick 6 hour run (average near 17 knots) to Wrangell where we got to see the Wrangell Museum, Anan Creek Bear Observatory, and Petroglyph Beach before moving on to Petersburg, a 13 hour trip at 16 knots. Lots to enjoy beyond cruising and anchoring.

Thanks again to all of your for your thoughts! There is so much to learn and figure out and this conversation is making me think about lots of different factors and how we think we’ll use the boat, which is critical to getting into something that fits our needs.

@FF…interesting idea. I don’t think we are that adventurous and our tight city streets are already stretched by our 3 cars so I’ll leave that one to others – very creative though!

@slip versus tow commenters – I think this is an open question for us. I love the freedom a tow could offer, but can see it being a PITA and a truck would need to replace our current SUV given our space limitations. There is something so appealing about walking 3 blocks to our boat at our nearby marina, could see us going down to it just for dinner and to leave the house, or taking it out for an afternoon during the work week.

@whoosh, thanks for the resources. I think this will be a year of chartering. We aren’t quick deciders, particularly when it comes to big purchases. I like the idea of a package deal with instruction before taking out our first charter on our own. Displacement considerations make sense.

@ssobol “trade a bigger boat for a smaller cruising area or a smaller boat for a larger one” – great point and definitely a decision we need to make.

@hippocampus, in our future! Right now husband’s job involves caring for patients in-person so we are less flexible. The glide path (when he cuts back to 50%) in a few years should give us more flexibility.

@porchound, good frame of reference. More and more excited to actually get on the water!

@bobm and rthomas, currently thinking is that something in the 27-34 foot range might be a good fit, and options are nice (fast, slow) – I suppose it’s figuring out what we are giving up to have that option that matters.

@rpackard, good to know 6 knots wasn’t a limitation, given our limited time on the water I don’t think we have the proper frame of reference for this yet, but given we both still work a bit more speed seems like it would give us more reach to see things along the way? I think the chartering can give us more of a hands-on perspective. We sure WONT be swimming – way too cold for us!

@snapdragon. I think this might be a stage 2 plan. We are planning to retire to Bellingham and hope to move during our glide path to retirement when we start cutting back to ~50% in 3-5 years, so would probably move the boat up there in a few years anyway.

@thataway, wow! I have looked at the C-dorys and am excited to check out LOTS of different boat types tomorrow at the Seattle Boat Show. C-dorys have a huge following and I love that they are locally made. They are definitely more minimalist (do they have heating…I think I saw one that was just from the stove) and I am craving a bit of creature comforts, but they are not crossed off the list. I can definitely see the appeal. One of my long-term dreams is to boat the Inner Passage from Seattle to AK and I’m not sure the C-dorys would be a good fit for that use, but I expect that could be a different boat regardless of we start with now. For someone without any material experience are the C-dorys too small? Would a larger boat be more stable and safe?

@BandB, good point.

Look at Cutwater CB30, also made in your area. My wife and I had a Mainship 390, but I wanted to go a little faster. Got a Sabre 38. Down the ICW to Florida and back to Norfolk in the Sabre, I missed the bridge deck for being outdoors, we kinda felt we missed a lot because we were too fast (fun!), and I had no intention of committing to keep a gorgeous boat gorgeous. We saw the Cutwater at a boat show and we’re pretty intrigued.

Right place

You’re asking a good question in the right place, Trawler Forum.

I chose to attend Trawlerfest to learn all I could before buying, so many important courses. Steve Zimmerman’s course on how to buy a trawler specifically addressed how to choose hull shape, length, etc. Consider Trawlerfest, much cheaper than a mistake.

I also joined U S Power Squadron quickly after buying to meet boaters in my area, what cruising destinations appealed, mechanics, and more.

To me, getting there is more fun that the destination. There are nice destinations within 2 to 10 hours at hull speed for us, others at HS plus 2. Check on destination selections before you buy.

I noted your Retirement planning, etc. Smart to keep that as a priority. Among the good choices is a boat that you enjoy at trawler speed so that fuel cost stays insignificant, whereas HS plus 5 and more gets very expensive. Also look at resale, and maintenance. One engine costs less to maintain that two. Slips cost less for shorter length.

For me, the Camano made sense, no exterior wood to maintain, outstanding resale, fuel efficient, low center of gravity helps in a lumpy seaway, capable galley, sleeps great. Check Camano Program on YouTube. But there are additional great choices. Dock walking is a great way to learn more…. Best wishes for a patient, well informed decision.

huruta - I am hoping one of the themes you guys are gaining from this thread is you have endless options. I would venture a guess that you would probably really like having the boat just a few blocks away from you in Shilshole. In the summer as you know the sunsets are stunning and sometimes it's just nice hang out at the dock on your boat and take it in without even leaving the slip. Also even with a 6-7 knot boat you have about 10 destinations within about 90 minutes or less from Shilshole. That's a mix of quite anchorages, not so quite anchorages and marinas. If you visit each of the 10 places then go back to your 5 favorites a second time that's 15 trips right there. Expanding out to a few more hours opens up many more places so don't feel too locked in Shilshole. Also after a few more years of ownership you can always move the boat to another location like Anacortes, Olympia or even Sidney, B.C. to change up the cruising grounds. Sounds like a move north is in your plans anyway so expanding your cruising grounds will naturally happen.

As for swimming in the sound it's totally possible around if you can tolerate mid-70 degree water temps. You just need to know where to look for the coves and bays that warm up in the summer.

You guys probably have an advantage over some boat shoppers because you have camper life experience. You know what seating, cooking and sleeping space you find comfortable. Have fun at the boat show and try not to drown with all the information

@redrascal, yes! the discussion is actually clarifying priorities for us. I didn't realize there were that many options nearby- more to learn. the mountains have just been SO packed with people even with our offroad vehicle and we are tired of the city and the boat seems a way to get away from it all. I have taken a dip in Puget Sound, though not often -maybe its sitting in my cold house after this crappy winter that has me thinking a big no to swimming, though same crazy folks are always swimming at golden gardens during my morning runs...

@fixin, yes am going to check out Cutwaters tomorrow at boat show!

@ncheaven, there's a Camano for charter at the marina just blocks from our house, expect we'll have some exposure to it this summer.

huruta said:

I have taken a dip in Puget Sound, though not often -maybe its sitting in my cold house after this crappy winter that has me thinking a big no to swimming, though same crazy folks are always swimming at golden gardens during my morning runs...

Click to expand...

Wifey B: There's a reason people have heated pools.

The lake we lived on was 70 degrees or under from late Oct to Early April. Even water skiers went to wet suits.

O C Diver said:

It might be worth looking backwards at this. You might want to establish an annual boat budget and calculating the expenses to see what you can afford to own. If the fuel alone was $400 for the weekend, does that limit your use? If going smaller in the 25 to 30 range, halfs the fuel cost, does that significantly improve usage?

Lot to be said for renting a few times to see how much space you really need.

Ted

Click to expand...

Who down in the Ft. Meyers area rents trawlers? I'm looking to buy one for a winter getaway. I hate Chicago winters. I'm a former sailor and did a few solo lake crossings and got my Bareboat Charter certification down in BVI on a 46' Morgan. Age has now snuck up on me. I'm a widower and 79 is on the horizon. Before I commit to one last boat in my life, I'd like rent first like you suggested. Do some cruising down by the Keys. But, I think may have two big problems.

1) Solo, no crew member who has any boat sense. Passengers DON'T...they're clueless and like to break things 2) I have a dog and where I go, he goes. I talked to some Loopers with dogs. They trained them to do their "business" on an Astro turf carpet. Not sure a rental operation would allow that.

Ted, any suggestions and input would be greatly appreciated.

Bob

Re -C Dory, a good read is 'Riverhorse' by William Least Heat-Moon....cruises transcontinental US, East to West...from Atlantic just off New York to Pacific at Columbia bank....using freshwater inland waterways connecting thru center of country....who'da thunk you could do that!

Crux said:

Re -C Dory, a good read is 'Riverhorse' by William Least Heat-Moon....cruises transcontinental US, East to West...from Atlantic just off New York to Pacific at Columbia bank....using freshwater inland waterways connecting thru center of country....who'da thunk you could do that!

Click to expand...

Part of a travel trilogy, only this one, book 3, is by water. Also available in Kindle and in Audio book.