Trawlers and motor yachts

My wife and I are ready to move on board a trawler/motor-yacht for 6-7 months out of the year as in a floating condo. We were all set looking at Marine Trading/Trader 47-48 ft range with 210-220 twin hp engines. We had considered Mainship 40 ft models with twin 220hp originally, but like the additional "roaming around" room provided by the enclosures that the MT models provide. Now my wife has shown me motor yacht models, Maxum 4100 SCA and Cruisers Yachts 395 with twin 330hp. She likes the sleek and sexy look, light and airy feel, and modern looking salon, kitchen, and bathrooms. The MT and the Mainship models are more expensive than the motor yachts. I also know that the engines are slightly bigger and would use a little more diesel fuel, however, I also know from reading the forum that fuel costs are not the largest part of boat ownership, especially if we are using it as a floating condo with occasional trips. Owners, please weigh in to give me opinions either way to help us make the best choice for us. Thanks!

Engines don't use more fuel because they are larger. They us more fuel if you go faster or have a heavier boat.


For extended living an aft cabin is IMO preferable to a master in the bow. The best answer to your question however has nothing to do with boat types. A happy Captain always buys what his wife wants. Make sure she sees a lot of different designs before deciding. Spend time pretending you are doing the normal life things on them and see how they fit. e.g. a low overhead where you bump your head sitting up in bed or must clime over each other to get up quickly becomes apparent if you do more than look. Sleek and sexy may not turn out to be the most livable

bayview said:

"A happy Captain always buys what his wife wants."

Sleek and sexy may not turn out to be the most livable

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I don't agree at all to "buy what the wife wants." The wife hasn't put near the time and effort reviewing boats that I have. She hasn't the slightest idea "why" one boat's design is superior to another when it comes to "living aboard." To make a decision that is based on "sleek & sexy" when buying a boat is foolhardy at best. (Obviously, my wife doesn't read these posts!)

Good thing. []

Codger2 said:

I don't agree at all to "buy what the wife wants." The wife hasn't put near the time and effort reviewing boats that I have. She hasn't the slightest idea "why" one boat's design is superior to another when it comes to "living aboard." To make a decision that is based on "sleek & sexy" when buying a boat is foolhardy at best. (Obviously, my wife doesn't read these posts!)

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Haha, unfortunately, Codger, my wife does read these posts and she has done the research ?. She really likes the light and airy interior because she doesn't want to clean teak and the likes the dishwasher found on the motor yacht. We are interested in why a trawler design is more livable. My wife and I do agree that the location of the master should be aft and that headroom is an issue to evaluate on the models that we are interested in. Thanks for the help so far, any additional comments and advice is greatly appreciated.

Wifey B: I love my sleek and sexy Porsche. Sooooooooo great for carrying 4 friends with me and 8 bags of groceries or luggage for four or going to pick up something at Home Depot. NOT!!! For all those other things we have an ugly boxy SUV.

Sleek and sexy....love my Riva. But sure wouldn't want to live on it.

I don't know how many boats you guys have been on or how much time you've spent but when you're on the boat, you can't even tell if it's sleek or sexy, just if it accommodates your needs of living.

Now, having said that, I just looked at the two boats she liked. They're not all that sleek and sexy in lieu of space. So don't dismiss them. Don't hold their sexiness against them. You can be sexy and functional.

Look at and consider them like you would a home. Make lists, spreadsheets, whateva works for you guys. But look room by room, space by space. Honestly, if visualizing doesn't work for you, I'd even measure. My hubby is a numbers dude but he's sort of right that dimensions are important. (As an aside he does like my dimensions). But in looking to live on it, look like a home. Kitchen, rather than galley. Kitchen...how big's the fridge? How much counter space? See I think of a galley as small and narrow, but this is gonna be a kitchen you use. Master bedroom, not cabin or stateroom. Measure. 10 x 8 vs 8 x 8 is big diff on boat or ceiling height. Look, I'm only 5'9", well taller with heels, but like really low ceiling in bedroom is claustrophobic and hubby is like 6'4 1/2" and he prefers to keep his head so height important.

How big is the patio? Or the rooftop deck? See, cockpit and bridge are like boat terms but for your home this is what they are. Does it have a front porch (bow seating or walk around area). Washer/dryer? Space for freezer? What about outdoor grilling areas?

Now the two sleek and sexy boats you're looking at aren't bad when it comes to space. On the other hand you're comparing 40' with 48' and guess which probably has the most space?

Then think specifically of how you'll use it? How many guests and how often? So you got an extra cabin...whoopie do if you got no use for it? Or can it be the storage you don't have in other places. Speaking of storage, some boats have it under every seat, every bed, every nook and crannie and other boats the same size, got none extra.

As a house simple things become important. Can you be comfy in the shower? Do you have separate areas when one of you wants tv and the other wants quiet? Or one has work to do and the other wants to play? Oh and climate? Is indoor or outdoor more important? Now as to enclosures for outdoor areas, most can be enclosed and if it doesn't have them you probably can get them.

To me, things like a watermaker are like super important if you're going to be cruising and not at docks all the time. It's a great example of something not important for a boat but very much for a home.

So guess I'm saying not to decide based on sleek and sexy, but don't dismiss it either. Look at the boats, but look from inside out. Oh and just for the mechanical type dudes, engine room space is important too I guess.

Each boat has it's pluses. Where does sleek and sexy seem to suffer? Flybridge space in the examples you gave.

Each of the boats you listed has it's pluses and minuses. I think putting pen to paper...well, actually finger to keyboard to computer to spreadsheet, will help you both see those and decide what is important. Darn darn double darn. My hubby's corrupted me into a spreadsheet person...well, he does use them for everything and I have to admit....they sort of help.

Cruisers Yachts - Balsa cored bottoms - Beware !
I have condemned several late model Cruisers with rotten balsa bottoms.

Think you need to better define use away from the dock. If this is the 3 hour cruise on the flat calm day, buy a house on the water with dock and a picnic cruiser. The significant differences between boats has to do with use away from the dock. The differences between accommodations on the boats is all together different subject. If you don't plan to significantly use it as a boat, buy the one that more resembles the beach cottage with all the nice comfy features.

Ted

Friends of ours had a Maxum 41 for a few years and really enjoyed it. We used to cruise and anchor out with them and it could entertain 6 nicely. Not always the easiest boat to service but our buddy is a big guy.

O C Diver said:

Think you need to better define use away from the dock. If this is the 3 hour cruise on the flat calm day, buy a house on the water with dock and a picnic cruiser. The significant differences between boats has to do with use away from the dock. The differences between accommodations on the boats is all together different subject. If you don't plan to significantly use it as a boat, buy the one that more resembles the beach cottage with all the nice comfy features.

Ted

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I don't know about that, perhaps I'm misreading the meaniing though.

Comfort and usage away from the dock go hand in hand. The more comfortable a boat is, the more comfortable the people on board will be.

Unless you are refering to passagemaking boats vs coastal cruising boats, most SD boats for example will handle very similarly size for size, in a given sea state. The same goes for FD hull designs, again for the most part.

So the difference is how comfortable along the way.

A good example is for example your boat a Cherubini independence. That to the best of my knowledge is a SD design, based on the larg engines I see in them. a Great looking boat BTW.

It's SD hull foorm is not in reality going to handle a sea much differently than other similar size SD hulls, for example hulls found in "beach cottage" boats you refered to in your Post.

Greetings,
Mr. 4U. Welcome aboard. First off, saloon. Nothing wrong with your mate liking sweet and sexy after all, she married you didn't she? MANY good points made thus far and the ONE thing I can't stress enough is DO NOT GET EMOTIONAL whilst looking for a boat. You can wax nostalgia and looks AFTER the sale but before, be as pragmatic as you possibly can. Keep all of the above suggestions in mind and think about them when you're attempting to repair a leaking/broken sewage line at o'dark thirty.
Rounded and sexy work too...

ksanders said:

I don't know about that, perhaps I'm misreading the meaniing though.

Comfort and usage away from the dock go hand in hand. The more comfortable a boat is, the more comfortable the people on board will be.

Unless you are refering to passagemaking boats vs coastal cruising boats, most SD boats for example will handle very similarly size for size, in a given sea state. The same goes for FD hull designs, again for the most part.

So the difference is how comfortable along the way.

A good example is for example your boat a Cherubini independence. That to the best of my knowledge is a SD design, based on the larg engines I see in them. a Great looking boat BTW.

It's SD hull foorm is not in reality going to handle a sea much differently than other similar size SD hulls, for example hulls found in "beach cottage" boats you refered to in your Post.

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I said it poorly. Many of the features we pick for our cruising boats are irrelevant for the 3 hour cruise:

Fresh water capacity or watermaker, doesn't matter.
Battery bank capacity, doesn't matter (let the generator run for 3 hours).
Fuel capacity, doesn't matter for a 3 hour cruise.
Storage space, you can rent a unit on land to store your excess stuff.
Food storage, how far away is the grocery store.
Do we even want to start talking about anchors and twins versus a single engine.

Ted

O C Diver said:

I said it poorly. Many of the features we pick for our cruising boats are irrelevant for the 3 hour cruise:

Fresh water capacity or watermaker, doesn't matter.
Battery bank capacity, doesn't matter (let the generator run for 3 hours).
Fuel capacity, doesn't matter for a 3 hour cruise.
Storage space, you can rent a unit on land to store your excess stuff.
Food storage, how far away is the grocery store.
Do we even want to start talking about anchors and twins versus a single engine.

Ted

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Thanks Ted, now I understand

O C Diver said:

...
Do we even want to start talking about anchors and twins versus a single engine.

Ted

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If we do start talking about number engines and anchors, can we also discuss single vs multi hulls and which boats can handle a large, heavy gun safe? :lol::lol::lol:

Later,
Dan

I much prefer the master in the aft. Much quiter, much less noticable movement. Had a forward master in the previous boat and never liked the water slapping the bottom, the anchor chain noise and so on. However aft master comes with comprimises especially in the cockpit area.

I would definitely consider what your wife likes and does not like. This is a huge thing to live on board and how awesome is it to have someone that wants to be on the water with you. With that being said, when buying our boat (we do not live aboard) the most important thing to my wife was access and light. She wanted to have something that was very bright and she did not have to walk up and down stairs every 2 feet. When looking at the sundeck and 5 deck models just think what it takes to get a crab pot from the stern to the bow. How will you provision the boat with storage. Does it take 35 stairs to get a bag from the dock to the bow stateroom. Walk the boat many many times! All boats are compromises, like houses, and different strokes for different folks!

We have met many many cruising and/or liveaboard couples. The unhappy ones all involved one partner not being involved in the selection of the boat and the processes necessary to selecting what the right boat for a particular use is for a particular couple. Now often that was a symptom of a dysfunctional relationship to begin with, but nonetheless it was consistent.

Many thanks!

Thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts and opinions. Many great points to consider!

Snacks4you...just our .02. Wife and I looked at a LOT of boats before choosing one to live aboard. I required a certain amount of functionality but at the same time, SHE had to be happy with the living accommodations. What fit us both was our 1985 Mainship DC. Not saying that that's the perfect boat for you, that is YOUR personal choice. Just stating that both of you can be happy, and will be happy when the right one comes along. Don't judge totally by the pics provided either...you gotta walk around and as suggested by another poster.."pretend to live" on one...then you'll know.

Don't scare her. Have fun!

One of the big advantages we had when it came to choosing a boat to cruise and live on full time was that we rented/chartered several different shapes and sizes in the seven previous years. Then we could a genuine understanding of what living and operating comfortably would require for us. Not to mention the baseline fact that boating and cruising were for us to begin with. How the boat is going to be used is an important consideration; for instance, big difference between year-around sole residence and something for weekend/vacation use. For the latter , we would have something way way smaller.

caltexflanc said:

One of the big advantages we had when it came to choosing a boat to cruise and live on full time was that we rented/chartered several different shapes and sizes in the seven previous years. Then we could a genuine understanding of what living and operating comfortably would require for us. Not to mention the baseline fact that boating and cruising were for us to begin with. How the boat is going to be used is an important consideration; for instance, big difference between year-around sole residence and something for weekend/vacation use. For the latter , we would have something way way smaller.

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Chartering. We did it. Glad we did it. You learn what you like and what you don't like. Not criticizing any of you who have relatively slow boats and enjoy traveling at 7 knots or 10 knots or 12. I admit we went in with a belief we wouldn't like slow but we still tried to go in with an open mind, having listened to others who are so happy with it. We did want to find out if we might be mistaken. It was an absolutely beautiful boat. We loved everything about it and it's layout. Quality outstanding. Day one, relaxed and ok. Day two, starting to feel it a bit. Day three, we found ourselves so bothered by the lack of speed. We missed getting up on top of the water and more of a breeze in our hair. We went the entire week and we loved everything about that boat when sitting still. But underway, it just wasn't for us.

Now you can't charter all the boats you wish exactly. But you can learn a lot about what you like and don't. How badly does the small galley bother you? Do you mind not having a full size refrigerator? You might find with your lifestyle and cruising style it's no big deal. What about a forward stateroom? Can you sleep with the water sounds? Some people love them, some hate them. Do narrow or no side decks bother you? The more boats you can walk the more you learn. The more you charter even better.

We have a friend who just sold his 62' Sunseeker Predator and is looking for something slightly larger with a flybridge. Most of the larger boats have nice galley's and many have them opening to the salon. His Predator had a very small one on the lower deck. He has rejected many boats over too big a galley. Well, one has to understand, he has never prepared a single real meal on the boat, only perhaps snacks. Never dinner. Always at a restaurant. Grills on the deck? Most of us must have. He's never used one. They use their boat much like a hotel room, moving from dock to dock. But then I know of a man with a 56' Hatteras who traveled with a captain and the owner never spent the night on the boat, always in a motel or hotel. Caltexflanc knows the captain and boat I'm referring to.

Go for the room. Sleek and sexy means newer. Avoid any balsa coring or wood below the water line. Older means more wood and more to maintain. Look for engine room space. Bigger is more comfortable but more to clean, wax and buy for dockage and storage.

snacks4you said:

She really likes the light and airy interior because she doesn't want to clean teak and the likes the dishwasher found on the motor yacht. We are interested in why a trawler design is more livable.

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Lot o' boats can have dishwasher. And washer/dryer. Trawler, motor yacht, doesn't matter

I don't think a lot of motor yacht guys would agree trawlers are more livable. Lots of members in our owners club have motor yachts, wouldn't consider a trawler at all.

OTOH, these same owners go fast (a relative term) mostly all the time. Don't have to, just do. Or maybe they prefer to. Although the hull form of many motor yachts might lend themselves toward higher speeds in some sea states.

But if one drives a motor yacht at mostly trawler speeds... the differences between the two styles narrows. They could go slow, and end up with a curvy trawler. (Can't bring myself to say any boat might look "sexy." That'd be about that last thing I'd want to encounter...)

One common difference ( a gross generalization, oversimplification) is that a trawler will often have skinnier living quarters than a motor yacht of the same length. But then that same trawler would likely have wider side decks, often easier to deal with docking maneuvers.

Another common difference might be a lower helm on the trawler, with a door to the side deck. Takes up interior living space, but OTOH driving in sloppy weather may well be more comfortable... and that door might make docking maneuvers easier.

And so forth. One couple's pro is sometimes another couple's con.

-Chris