Newbie has a question....i know its probably dumb

hi all,
joined this site this week looking for some insight and to help me with my thoughts. i have what may be a dumb question but a wise man once told me, "the only dumb question is the one not asked", so here it is.............what makes a trawler a trawler. is it hull style, engine(s),???
ive been looking at aft cabins that don't say they are trawlers but ive looked at trawlers that look just like a reg aft cabin.

thanks for the insight

gmillandfam

Trawler is just a name and because many boat owners have so little real experience, using the term trawler is wide open...

Often many don't have much in the way of boating traditions and terminology...but in all my years of all things boating...trawler is probably one of the more elusive terms and it really doesn't matter....unless you want it to...then feel free to use it in any fashion you like and no one can really call you out on it unless you try to use it on a 19 foot bowrider....

It would be very lonely here if only (recreational) trawler owners and the curious were permitted.

Trawler, just think in very general terms:
Slow
Self sufficient ie : sailboat
Travel worthy
Liveaboard worthy
Salty look to some degree
Diesel

Oldish guys, wearing no bling, at the helm. Trophy wives are acceptable (pictures please)

Daddyo said:

Trawler, just think in very general terms:
Slow
Self sufficient ie : sailboat
Travel worthy
Liveaboard worthy
Salty look to some degree
Diesel

Oldish guys, wearing no bling, at the helm. Trophy wives are acceptable (pictures please)

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I might add 'fuel efficient' to that list.

thank you guys. wife and i are starting the process. we got a couple years to go before we can pull the trigger i think but were getting the ball rolling

Definitely not a trawler:

markpierce said:

Definitely not a trawler:

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No, thats what they call a FAST trawler. LOL

The word trawler evokes images of a fishing boat dragging nets in hopes of a harvest from the sea. I've come to think that a recreational trawler is really more of a lifestyle than a collection of parts forming a boat. I do not deny Daddyo's list forms a generally accepted list of ideal features and attributes but there is more to it than that. I see many folks in my area living the "Trawler" lifestyle in various boats with a surprisingly wide variety of propulsion and hull designs.

I like to think of my planing boat as just a trawler with an identity crisis. Sometimes it gets in a bleeding hurry to get somewhere fast but normally is just comfortably lazing along turning 1,200 RPM at about 6 knots enjoying watching the world go by.

CPseudonym said:

The word trawler evokes images of a fishing boat dragging nets in hopes of a harvest from the sea. I've come to think that a recreational trawler is really more of a lifestyle than a collection of parts forming a boat….but normally (it) is just comfortably lazing along turning 1,200 RPM at about 6 knots enjoying watching the world go by.

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Not a bad analogy Craig, as planing boats definitely speed by the world, whereas at 6 knots it does rather seem like the world slowly passes astern...

gmillandfam said:

hi all,
joined this site this week looking for some insight and to help me with my thoughts. i have what may be a dumb question but a wise man once told me, "the only dumb question is the one not asked", so here it is.............what makes a trawler a trawler. is it hull style, engine(s),???
ive been looking at aft cabins that don't say they are trawlers but ive looked at trawlers that look just like a reg aft cabin.

thanks for the insight

gmillandfam

Click to expand...

gmillandfam, have a look at the "almost a trawler owner" thread, (if you haven't already), because that's a 'pretty typical' trawler, in our collective sense of the word..

psneeld said:

Trawler is just a name and because many boat owners have so little real experience, using the term trawler is wide open...

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It is seldom that those two terms would be used in the same sentence.

Moonstruck said:

It is seldom that those two terms would be used in the same sentence.

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Depends..if you bought a trawler correctly the first time (or need to get rid of what you mistakenly bought) like some suggest on here...

....you know a 42 footer with twin 17hp SuKawieHondabitshies...you might have them wide open a lot so they get up to temp and last forever with their synthetic oil after a backyard rebuild....

psneeld said:

Depends..if you bought a trawler correctly the first time (or need to get rid of what you mistakenly bought) like some suggest on here...

....you know a 42 footer with twin 17hp SuKawieHondabitshies...you might have them wide open a lot so they get up to temp and last forever with their synthetic oil after a backyard rebuild....

Click to expand...

:lol:
That might be the funniest thing I've read since I started following this forum! Of course it wouldn't make any sense if I hadn't been...