The Ultimate 32' Trawler

I want to open a dialogue about "What is the Ultimate 32' Trawler?" Maybe this should be posted elsewhere in the Forum but since I'll open the discussion with the 32' Island Gypsies and Gourmet Cruisers, I'll start here.

When it comes to deciding on how big a boat to buy, an old adage is "buy the smallest boat that has all the comforts you desire." I have found that to be absolutely true since I've owned & cruised a 54', 48', 42', 38', 35', 32', 30' & a 29 footer. My choice (and vote) is for the 32 footer. Remember, the question is about 32 feet and a 7-10 knot trawler.

My vote for the cruising couple goes to the 32' Island Gypsy Europa. One hell of a lot of boat in 32 feet. Full walk around, covered cockpit, fly bridge, separate shower from the head, single engine, generator, dinghy davits, etc. Yes, I know grand Banks also made a 32 but, IMHO, if one takes the time to compare all the features on these two boats and doesn't get all caught up in the brand, the IG wins hands down!

Now, for the day sailor, bay cruiser, wine & shrimp platter crowd, the 32' Gourmet Cruiser is the way to go. (You know that was coming as that is what I've been driving for the last seven years.) Single engine, no fly bridge, separate shower from the head, queen size island bed, a great cockpit, nice little galley, and an interior that satisfies the most discriminating yachting couple. (No apologies necessary at your yacht club with this boat. It turns more heads than Lady Godiva!)

Photos:
1 & 2 Island Gypsie 32 Europa
3,4 & 5 Gourmet Cruiser 32

It's much simpler for me Walt.

32 NT

manyboats said:

It's much simpler for me Walt.

32 NT

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I must admit that when I was aboard a NT 32, I really liked it! (Cockpit was too small, though.)

Walt, I think you have one of the nicest 32' weekend cruisers going. That said, I can't see a 32' boat with 330 HP and planning speed capacity hull, called a trawler.


Ted

I agree, Walt. Two of the best designs for their intended purpose.

O C Diver said:

I can't see a 32' boat with 330 HP and planning speed capacity hull, called a trawler.

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Ted: If my boat would get on plane and do more than 10 knots I wouldn't call it a trawler either. The fact is, It won't plane! If I were a cruiser (like I used to be) I would have a boat like Moonstruck's.

The first time we saw an Island Gypsy it was a 32 in Cowichan Bay. We thought it was an amazing vessel and started looking at them as our future boat, we had an Albin 25 then. So we looked at a lot of different 32's, IG's, GB's and NT's. We gravitated to the IG and GB but felt the NT space configuration was not to our liking. We were taken out on a few of the GB's and IG's to get a feel for them and we could not distinguish between them how they handled any of the seas we encountered. The IG became our choice for value for the dollar. Our space needs changed with the arrival of grand kids and we decided to go with a 36 and almost bought a IG Europa 36, but ended up with our GB. We felt the tri cabin worked best for us and the IG layout was not as usable for our needs in that style. IG's are great boats in our opinion and the 32 is as sweet as they come.

The best 32 footer for a cruising couple is.......a Prairie 29!!!!!

I've always been a fan of the IG32s!!! Great boats!!!

SeaHorse II said:

Ted: If my boat would get on plane and do more than 10 knots I wouldn't call it a trawler either. The fact is, It won't plane! If I were a cruiser (like I used to be) I would have a boat like Moonstruck's.

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My mistake, one of the listings on yacht world said 10 to 12 not cruise. Figured you had to be mostly on top at 12 knots.

Ted

No contrary opinion from me with you on this issue Walt. Two boats on our radar for a possible next boat are in this thread, the IG 32 and Prairie 29.

In that under 32' category another boat I'm a big fan of is the Willard 30'.

SeaHorse II said:

When it comes to deciding on how big a boat to buy, an old adage is "buy the smallest boat that has all the comforts you desire."

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I think I've begun to find that premise isn't perfect.... when builders stuff a boatload of features into a package that's so small it becomes less easily serviced due to access issues.

I think I'd sacrifice "smallest" in favor of "best systems access."

Example: we have a second stateroom in a boat that would have instead made an even nicer single-stateroom model. I'm sure the builder was thinking about market issues... but we'd have preferred a better master (it's pretty nice already, but could be improved) and easier access to plumbing and so forth. Moving to proportionally smaller (smaller enough) boats of the same genre eventually eliminates second stateroom, but without any improvement to the rest of the boat.

-Chris

ranger42c said:

I think I've begun to find that premise isn't perfect.... I think I'd sacrifice "smallest" in favor of "best systems access."

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"Best systems access" requires a "bigger" boat and since it is one of the things you require, obviously a smaller boat will not fit your needs!

SeaHorse II said:

"Best systems access" requires a "bigger" boat and since it is one of the things you require, obviously a smaller boat will not fit your needs!

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Yeah, I think that means "best systems access" is a creature comfort

-Chris

It would be hard to combat the IG 32 for a cruising boat of that size. It's got everything, if not a bit less of each, but it's all there. My 32 choice would be the Gormet for class and style, and we were about to move on one when we thought we'd only have room for 33' at our dock.

Check out the hull extension and bow mod on this 32 If it wasn't for sale on Yachtworld, I'd think it was a photoshop job.

IG.1993 Island Gypsy 32 Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

Seen that before. Something amiss somewhere methinks.

healhustler said:

Check out the hull extension and bow mod on this 32 If it wasn't for sale on Yachtworld, I'd think it was a photoshop job.
IG.1993 Island Gypsy 32 Power Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

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I would love to know what the performance is like on this boat as I have never seen anything like it.

There are only so many 32's available to compare, so the 32 Halv's will inevitably be compared to 30 and 34 models.

Comparing my 34 Californian to the 32 Halvorsen, I probably have a small advantage in system access with an unobstructed ER 20 ft long by 12 ft wide. They used that space to fit twin diesels, but with my small 85 HP Perkins, they have good access. The engines, trannies, batteries, holding and fresh water tanks, water heater, fuel tanks, shaft and rudder logs, etc are all easy to access and maintain. What that costs me is below deck storage space including a segregated lazarette storage like on the 32 Halv. I have not yet seen a 34 Californian with the 3208 Cat twins...they must be nearly impossible to access.

Above deck, I might gain a slight advantage in cabinet storage and true walk-around side decks/lower helm door but it costs in salon size and openness. I have 2 staterooms that are each small and a single head/enclosed shower combo, not divided head and shower. By comparison, my 34 ft boat (37 LOA) boat feels smaller when moving around the interior, but opens up when moving fore or aft on the exterior. I think my cockpit might be a small bit larger, too...again at the cost of interior space. Having double sliding aft doors into the cockpit makes that space just a bit more appealing and inviting, unifying the interior and exterior spaces somewhat.

When we get 4 or more people on my boat, we're all doing a ballet to keep out of each other's way. I think the 32 Halv makes much better use of interior space. Also, they do it with higher quality materials and components. The 1977 standards may have been lower than that of the new millennium boats, but I doubt it. There's no comparison on the fit and finish or component quality between my 1977 and Walt's 2005. Not that my boat isn't stout...it is. But the interior quality on the Halvorsens is head and shoulders above that of the early-vintage Californians that I've seen.

I guess in the end, it's all a trade-off, but in the 32 Gourmet Cruiser, the compromises seem less apparent to the eye.

Don`t assume all older IG32s are single engined, as most are. One for sale here has twin Lehman 120s, some years back I inspected one with (more appropriate) twin Lehman 80s, raw water cooled(less appropriate).

Ok, I'll bite and say for a 32 and a couple, we love our Nordic 32. However, I wonder if it still counts now that they have renamed it the 34 . . . .

As for the cockpit, yes a bit larger would be nice, but we have more than enough room to fish and for the two of us to sit with two deck chairs. But, we actually spend more time sitting and relaxing on the cabin top (the "dance floor") than in the cockpit.

Carolena said:

Ok, I'll bite and say for a 32 and a couple, we love our Nordic 32. However, I wonder if it still counts now that they have renamed it the 34 . . . .

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I'm sorry but it doesn't qualify...Have you noticed others with Prairie 29s, Willard 30s and Californian 34s trying to enter the competition? The rules were quite clear as to this being a 32 comparison. (Man! You only missed it by an official 2 feet with a great boat!)

Wow, my vote for the Willard

Walt .. thats nuts. The 32 NT is a 32' boat w a built in swim step. The actual boat (stem to back of cockpit) is still 32' on the NT. The difference between the 32 IG w a swim step and a 34' NT w a "hull step" is not worth talking about ... unless perhaps you want to talk about boat handling or seaworthyness. You'd like to keep it out of contention as you're afraid it will take home the honors you feel belong to the IG & Halvorson. Since the beam isn't so great on the NT considering them the same size boat makes even more sense.

We should have a pol. I think the IG & H will come out above the NT halving something to do w the cabin arrangement. The NT is a three cabin boat while the IG & H are two cabin. The main salon is bigger and has a much more usable cockpit aft. I, however would MUCH prefer the raised wheelhouse w much greater visibility and separated from the social part of the boat. 32 NT for me. Can I vote twice?

manyboats said:

You'd like to keep it out of contention as you're afraid it will take home the honors you feel belong to the IG & Halvorson.

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Yep, that's it! I'm cheating to make sure the IG & Halvos win!

Geez, Eric...My tongue was firmly in my cheek when I wrote that!

I am curious about the sea keeping abilities of the IG, GB an NT. I have been aboard the IG and GB in various situations but not the NT. I honestly like the looks of all of them but would like to hear from people that have an actual comparison based on time on the water. Has anyone been aboard that can speak to this. Not looking for a hugely technical description but an experience based discussion of the merits of each in head, beam and following seas. I realize there are a myriad of variables in this but topic but it is one of the early statements or questions that come up when talking with people about their boats.

Maybe this is a separate thread. Not trying to hijack here, just add some info t the topic.

Keith,
Would like to see that too but I think only small stuff will emerge like the wetness of the GBs, twin engine availability, stability factors re the narrower NT, size of keel, rudder and directional stability ect ect ect. NTs are narrower but their CG may be lower than all the others but who could make that call ???. All are going to pound in big head seas, give their skippers white knuckles in following seas and roll in beam seas far less than Willards and the like. The NT will be more easily driven and economical fuel wise.

To me it's not a "shopping by specs and popularity" but a question of how much do I LIKE what boat. That's the only big and meaningful difference among them unless you throw in some other 32' boats like the 32' Fales. Now you've got some BIG differences to speculate on.

Walt .. I was funn'in you too but I don't think there's anyone here w enough knowledge of the boats mentioned to bring many comparative truths to the surface.

Keith perhaps there's someone here very familiar w the NT and the IG or GB.

A better value from Econo-Trawl is this sleek 32' Super-Displacement Cruiser. Walk around decks, high gunwales, plenty of freeboard, choice of outboards, spacious interior and ATM.

healhustler said:

A better value from Econo-Trawl is this sleek 32' Super-Displacement Cruiser. Walk around decks, high gunwales, plenty of freeboard, choice of outboards, spacious interior and ATM.

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I love it!

I`ve been aboard an IG32, parked. The saloon area was better use of space than my 36. Of course layouts may vary.

healhustler said:

A better value from Econo-Trawl is this sleek 32' Super-Displacement Cruiser. Walk around decks, high gunwales, plenty of freeboard, choice of outboards, spacious interior and ATM.

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Well, I was going to state the obvious, that the winner had to be the IG 32, being posted on the IG thread and all that..............However, a boat with an ATM, my god that's brilliant. New deck, hang on I'll just pop to the ATM.

Seaway Hybrid

An interesting contender - diesel electric hybrid powered by VW diesel (165hp)